TV Today executive director and CEO G Krishnan keeps fit by taking part in marathons.
For G Krishnan, executive director and CEO, TV Today Network, breaking into a sweat is almost a daily activity. At 54 years, Krishnan runs five to seven kilometres daily, and on the weekends he runs almost 10 km. Says Krishnan, “I have been running since my school and college days.”
From this passion for several sports as well as running, which he has had since his early years, Krishnan now participates regularly in city marathons. He says, “I grew up in Kolkata and my father was a keen lawn tennis and badminton player. As kids we got ourselves involved in these sports as well.” Krishnan then went on to add football, hockey and cricket to his existing portfolio of sports, and says that he has “never played an inactive sport.”
From that time to now, Krishnan has more or less stopped playing the other sports and focussed on running. Recalling his first marathon, he says, “I started participating in the marathon in 2003-2004 and thereafter I have been involved.”
In 2004 Krishnan ran both the Delhi and Mumbai marathons, and he intends to participate in the upcoming edition of the Delhi marathon in October. He says, “Its easier for me to participate in the Delhi marathon as I know the weather conditions here.” And then adds, “When you run the marathon you have to get used to running on hard tar roads.”
What motivates Krishnan to continue running, day after day? Explains Krishnan, “The objective to run is to win over yourself. Most often we underestimate our abilities. I feel that one can always push oneself, stretch oneself a little further.” Apart from this psychological battle with oneself, running the marathon also, he says, makes you reconnect with the city.
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He says, “When you are running through the city for the marathon, it looks beautiful. You begin to wonder why the city doesn’t look like this all the time. You feel part of something.” He also adds, “I enjoy the movement of running. And when you are stressed due to some reason, running makes a big difference.”
Krishnan, who often runs on the treadmill, especially during the energy-draining summer months, says that it is mental toughness that keeps him going while running. He says, “Mentally you cannot break down. If you decide that you want to run five kilometres then you do it. I run in the morning even if I have slept late the night before. The more you push yourself, the more your grey cells also open up.”
Krishnan feels that exercise has a positive impact on the brain’s ability to function more productively. He says, “I recall things when I am running and often I find solutions to problems. I find that anyone who is into active sports tends to take logical decisions.”
It would, therefore, be logical to assume that Krishnan also keeps a close watch on what goes into his mouth. He says, “I keep a very strict control on my diet. I tend to eat more vegetarian food, more greens. I try not to add fat to my body.”
Krishnan’s biggest bugbear when running with someone — which he does from time to time, including with other marathon runners — is chatting. He says, with complete certainty, “I don’t mind running with other people but I don’t like chatting when I run. When I am outside I like to see what there is.” Has the number of years of running dulled his interest in running? “I continue to be enthusiastic about running. Friends talk about golf but I find that sport too sedate.”
As the years pass and the body ages, could that be reason enough to hang up one’s running shoes, even though we live in times in which 80-year-olds are still physically in excellent condition? Says Krishnan, “Sleeping long hours, especially on the weekends, that some people do is being too inactive as far as I am concerned. The brain can stagnate if one is physically inactive, and that’s not a good thing.”
Does Krishnan run to win the marathon, I ask, as our interaction begins to wind down. “I have improved year on year in the marathon, but coming first is not an issue.”
Running is often both the act and the reward, such is the demand that it makes on the human body. Winning is often with oneself and not so much with others. For Krishnan, running has helped him keep fighting fit both at the workplace and from the ravages of time that inevitably all of us have to face sooner rather than later in life. And just that is enough reward for this exacting sport.