Adrenaline rushing through the bloodstream.

Quickened heart rate.

Sweat dripping down the brow.

A sharp pain shoots in the calves.

The thought of giving up flashes across the brain.

Legs slow down a bit.

Suddenly, the will to complete, if not win, takes over.

They had known this all their life- “Winners are not people who never fail, but people who never quit”. It’s time to live the learning.

Giving up becomes a far cry within moments.

With a hastened pace, they outrace some of their peers, with eyes on the finishing line.

As the line approaches closer, a thousand thoughts flash across the brain.  Smiles erupts from nowhere.

As they stumble across the finishing line, it all starts making sense. The pain that they endured seems worth the satisfaction of completion. They seem to be at peace with themselves.

The pain – prickly, gnawing pain – which was so difficult to ignore moments ago, suddenly vanishes into thin air. Or maybe, it’s the gratification that overtook other feelings and movements.

They did it. They made it through the finish line.

A dozen emotions erupt altogether, which reflects on their faces.  Tears of joy, toothy smiles, slight grins, but mostly, delight in the eyes- a cacophony of emotions.

The above sketch is a rough portrayal of what our colleagues underwent- and might have felt- at our recently organized marathon.

Held at the breezy scenic location surrounding Lake Sukhna, the 10 Km run had been the most anticipated event of the year. The atmosphere around our colleagues was a mixed bag of emotions. One could sense enthusiasm, happiness, delight, fear, and hesitation in the air prior to the start of the race.

As time eclipsed and the last person crossed the finishing line, delight happiness overtook as the most dominant emotion around the place. We made some amazing memories that day.

The memories followed a few lessons – for success in life – which was the subject of an internal mail from Navkiran, a fellow colleague and one of the participants at the GreyB marathon.

What success lessons, you ponder? Let’s find out in her very own words.

It was fun running Marathon this Saturday and kudos to all the winners and the ones who completed it. This experience gives us many lessons that can lead us to achieve success in various spheres of our life. The take away pointers are below –

Believing in yourself – The very first thought of running 10 km seemed impossible to some (including me). This fear of not completing the marathon, took its toll on the will of some and hence they did not participate (not to point any fingers, ahemmm, Vivek!). Others, on the other hand, believed in their potential and participated. They wanted to at least complete the run (it didn’t matter whether they won or not). And they did.

The lesson we can take from here is that it is the fear of failure itself which stops us from achieving our goals. Just because you think that getting to the end is near impossible, it shouldn’t discourage one from trying.

Acceptance and Planning – Many have realized that their fitness level is not up to the mark and needs serious efforts. They accepted their weakness and started practicing, which ultimately paid off on the judgement day.

This teaches us that accepting your own weaknesses is important, as it provides a starting point and allows us to develop a plan focusing on the areas that require improvement.

Dedication – Let me share my experience in this case.

After completing 5 km run, I was damn tired and nearly wanted to quit. But, the will to at least complete the run, even by walking, kept me moving and this helped me complete the run. I know, everyone who participated and is reading this email right now is able to relate to this sentiment.

You wanted to give up at one point, but you didn’t. Why? It is because you were committed to the goal you had set in your mind when the race began, “No matter what, I am completing this marathon.”

The price of success is hard work, dedication and determination that despite the fact that we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to achieve the goal.

Accomplishment – Below images best explains this point –

 During Run

At finishing line

When you achieve something that you thought was nearly impossible, you gain a huge sense of satisfaction. It not only makes other goals seem more achievable, but gives you the sense that yes, you have actually earned that piece of Amritsari Kulcha.

Alright, Alright. We know those butter-laden kulchas aren’t very healthy, but a little indulging doesn’t hurt – especially after running a marathon. It made some of us forget about our aching legs too.

At the end of the day, aching calves or not, the experience was worth it.

Memories, lessons, tingling taste buds, and most importantly, the smug satisfaction of completion.

Who said, endings can’t be beautiful?