Meghana Hassan
The Ghats of Sahayadri Mountains never fail to surprise me with their beauty. I was there at Kaas Plateau in Satara district last weekend to explore its colourful seasonal wild flowers and the stretch uphill and the plateau post monsoon is to die for. How about a Marathon amidst that beauty, away from the hustle-bustle of city. Yes, PNB Metlife is sponsoring Satara Hill Half Marathon’s sixth edition with the theme ‘Rajdhani Run’ on September 17th 2017. The heritage city of Satara, once the capital of erstwhile Maratha Empire, is all set to welcome the fitness enthusiasts. The 21 km run that takes place annually is sponsored by PNB MetLife and organised by Marathon Association Satara, a Non-Profit Organisation. When R4Review team was invited by PNB Metlife for the pre-marathon event with Mr. Satish Gujaran, the eminent Marathoner, I didn’t wanted to miss.
Reigniting the passion and pride of ancient warriors, PNB MetLife: Satara Hill Half Marathon Promo
About SHHM
SHHM is a globally recognized marathon and a two time consecutive title holder of The Guinness World Records for ‘Most People in a Mountain Run – Single Mountain’. The 21-km marathon has seen a 3-fold registration since 2015 with 6200+ people participating from across geographies and demographics. The course of the Marathon is measured and ratified by the IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation). It is one of the few marathons in the country to have the distinction of being a member of the AIMS (Association of International Marathons and Distance races).
The Half Marathon is classified under three categories – Top Over-all Finishers (including Indian and Overseas Elite runners), Top Indian Finishers (# only for Indian finishers residing in India, irrespective of age and Indian Finishers having Age-wise Group Categories.
Running Tips from the Marathoner…
I started my first Marathon at Mumbai Pinkathon 2015 and have been running Marathons around the city, so a talk with Mr. Gujaran definitely interested me to better my distance and timing. Mr. Satish Gujaran who started with running/walking for 500 meters, has done 25 full marathons, 16 ultra marathons(ultra is more than 42km) many 21 half marathons and 10 km runs. Out of 16 ultra marathons he has completed 8 comrades marathon. Comrades is one of the toughest and oldest ultra marathons held in South Africa. Mr. Gujaran shared with us his journey of running and also shared few running strategies, especially for hill running. When asked about the diet, all he said was “eat what you have been eating since your childhood, with a watch on oil and junk, there is no need for any extra supplements”. I was keen on knowing bare foot running, his thought on that was “its the new trend set by Milind Soman, and a runner would need much practice to shift from shoes to bare foot, and its a completely different feeling when your foot gets in contact with the ground while running and even regular runners walk bare foot post run to feel the pleasure”.
Satish Gujaran on his three day run from Mumbai to Satara, he will reach Satara on 16th Sept.. He is running to support the underprivileged children from ISHA foundation
About PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited
PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife) is a joint venture between MetLife International Holdings Inc. (MIHI), Punjab National Bank Limited (PNB), Jammu & Kashmir Bank Limited (JKB), M. Pallonji and Company Private Limited and other private investors, with MIHI and PNB being the majority shareholders. PNB MetLife was previously known as MetLife India Insurance Company Limited and has been present in India since 2001.
For more information, visit www.pnbmetlife.com
About Marathon Association Satara
Marathon Association Satara is a Private incorporated on 25 October 2016. It is classified as Non-Govt Company and is registered at Registrar of Companies, Pune. Marathon Association Satara’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was last held on N/A and as per records from Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), its balance sheet was last filed on N/A. Directors of Marathon Association Satara are Vitthal Shripati Jadhav and Kamalesh Madhukar Pisal.
