I was Principal Technical Consultant & Head Coach for adidas India (running) from 2014-2017. I was also the founding Director of Sports & Exercise Department at Ashoka University (2014-2016) where I was responsible for the sports infrastructure and making sports and physical activity an integral part of the curriculum. 

I was the founding-head of Sports & Exercise Medicine department at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore (2006-2008) long before Sports Medicine was a popular term in India.

In 2015 I was invited to prepare a white-paper for a Sports University planned by the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. It taught me that politics was definitely not my core competence.

I was elect-Chairperson for World Congress of Science & Medicine in Cricket (WCSM), held during 2011 Cricket World Cup in India, but decided to quit because I wasn’t one of them. During the 2007 World Cup (West Indies), I was invited by the WCSM committee to represent the sub-continent.

Besides heading Back 2 Fitness, a Sports-Medicine & Muscuklo-Skeletal Medicine (focus on Neck, Back & Knee Pain) clinic for last 14+ years, I, along with my band of crazy friends, came up with La Ultra - The High, which had 11, 22, 33, 55, 111, 222, 333 & 555 km categories. We put it together for 11 editions since 2010. Some argue that it was the world’s toughest, missing the point that it doesn’t matter. More importantly, it’s not about running. For that reason we have some updates on La Ultra which you find here.

In 2017 we brought to India it's first Running Festival, iRun Fest, which showcased Running Documentaries from around the world, Panel Discussions with thought leaders in running being on board and a platform for all involved in running in whatever capacity.

Yes, I do have some ran-dumb degrees like MBBS, MSc Sports-Exercise Medicine from Nottingham University and MLCOM - Medical Osteopathy from London College of Osteopathic Medicine, besides a few other diplomas and certificates. 

More importantly, I started running very early on in life and have been doing so for over three decades now. It's given me an edge over my medical colleagues in understanding the human mind-body better. When you race middle to long distance, you have conversations with pain at an all together different level, on a daily basis. I soon learnt that pain wasn't an enemy or something to be scared of, all it needed was to be acknowledged and it would move on. 

In bigger schemes of things, numbers don't matter, but probably they are the only things that do, so here are some for you. I have run half (21 km) marathon in 1hr 18min, full in 2hr 38min and 100km in 11hrs 25min. I would have done marathon or more distances now more than 250+ times. To begin with, these numbers are helpful, but soon you evolve and they don't matter much. Same applies to living. You soon learn to listen to your mind-body, unlike no other expert out there. 

The biggest learning for me has been that we humans, first as sperms, ran to be born. But soon enough we stopped moving. We were forced as kids to sit on the most important muscles, namely gluteus maximus, also called butt or arse. And we've become slobs. Today, physical inactivity is the biggest killer.

Coming back to my medical colleagues, most of them treat pain like an enemy, whereas I am of the firm opinion that pain is only a messenger. Dealing with pain is not a destination but a journey. I am always learning, hence a student of Running & Pain, for life. 

I have been writing for a while now, with the intent of spreading knowledge, so wanted to compile all my work in one place. I also have a lot to say about topics that I am very passionate about, like running, moving, getting off your arse (GOYA), pain, leadership and life. I wanted to blog about all these topics in a more sane place.

In the past, I was elect-Chairperson for World Congress of Science & Medicine in Cricket, that was to be held just before the 2011 Cricket World Cup in the sub-continent, but decided to quit. I previously headed London centre of Kieser Training, a Swiss-German chain of rehabilitation centres which specialize in Medical Strength Training. I moved to India in 2006 to set-up Sports & Exercise Medicine department at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore. In 2009, along with a running buddy, I founded Runners High in Bangalore, a running institute with the belief and intention that everyone can do more.

In 2013, I got involved in a Couch to 6 km running program for ladies. I soon experienced first-hand why ladies are the nucleus of the society. There were 18 ladies from all walks of life, age ranging from 13 to 60 years. In less than a couple of months, more than 100 people were walking, ranging from their children, not-so-significant halves, parents, in-laws, neighbours, partners, someone who had a crush on them to complete strangers. 

I am on a very simple mission, to get people to keep miling and smiling, as long as they are on this third rock from a star called sun. 

Photo credits: Mala Mary Martina's book 'I Love Mondays' in which I was featured.

HIPPOCRATIC OATH

Modern version of Hippocratic Oath — Written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, and used in many medical schools today.

I swear to fulfil, to the best of my ability and judgement, this covenant . . .

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of over-treatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.

I will not be ashamed to say ‘I know not’, nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me so that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. Above all, I must not play God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.
I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.