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THE SPORT CHRONICLES CHAPTER II: IF YOU START A RACE, FINISH IT.

My hyperactive nature extended to competitive sport too, during the school years.

This manifested in me participating in categories that I did not train for and hence had no business competing in – long jump, high jump, 400m and 800m races.

There was really no upside to such participation. Since I was a short distance runner and did not have the physique or stamina for these categories; the following should have been obvious

1.       I had no chance of winning in these categories.

2.       I was at risk of hurting myself, pulling some muscle or twisting an ankle.

But a combination of cockiness and eagerness trumped logic at that age.

This is a story of when I chose to participate in a 800m race in asignificant tournament; when one of our team runners couldn’t race. This was a morning race and I had qualified for the 100m, 200m and 100x4 relay scheduled in the afternoon.

I had not informed my coach about my decision. And when he heard about it, he did give me a earful, stating very clearly that I was risking my position in the finals.

But he did have one thing to say just before I ran the 800m race. He said “If you start the race, finish it”.

It was a relevant comment. I was used to 100m and 200m dashes and hence was not equipped to run a 800m, which simply put, is not a dash but a race where you build speed. There was a risk of me not being able to complete the race.

But it was not an isolated comment. It was also a comment about resilience. About not giving up, especially in a situation when you may not win. It is still important to complete what you started.

Showing resilience in situations when challenges are big but results could be big too is relatively easier.

It is way tougher to stay the course when you know the end result may not be perfect. I have had many situations where a marketing campaigns didn’t turn out as awesome as we wanted, a pack design couldn’t be what we envisioned, and a product didn’t have the sensory appeal we aimed to hit.

It is in these times that my coach’s words push me along “If you start a race, finish it”.

It taught me to finish anything that I started, every single time, irrespective of its ability to succeed.


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