CEO on top of the world: Rama Vedashree aced the Great Wall of China marathon!

For Rama Vedashree, running was a late discovery in life. The Chief Executive Officer of Data Security Council of India (DSCI) took to the track only after she had turned 50. But the late entry was in no way less fun or challenging for this top boss who till then was used to doing yoga and going for walks.

Around seven years ago, she kicked off her running stint with short distances - five kilometres initially - which then graduated to longer ones (10 kms) and half marathons. And clearly there has been no slowing down.

"In the last 3-4 years, I have done half marathons frequently. Before I started off with the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in 2009, I had done only the Great Delhi Run and the Hyderabad run (10kms)," she says.

And Vedashree, who herself is from Hyderabad, has special love for it.

"Hyderabad is considered the toughest city for half marathon, thanks to the rolling hills and inclines," she says with much pride.

Apart from the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) where she has been participating since 2013, this CEO has also done the tricky and tough Bhatti Ultra trail of 20 kms. And her love for the road has taken her across latitudes and borders.

"In May 2015, I attempted and completed the Great Wall of China Half Marathon, considered to be one of the toughest in the world. There were participants from more than 70 countries at the marathon but the logistics and execution was exemplary with emphasis on safety," Vedashree notes.


Rama Vedashree was among participants from over 70 countries at the Great Wall of China Half marathon.

Although she has many runs to her credit, including the tough hill marathons of Satara and Mukteshwar, she insists that she is still a "very slow runner" who'd rather focus on endurance than pace.

And she has been working on building her endurance by training regularly. For the last three years, she has been consistently doing one hour of strength training and stretching assisted by a coach.

And thanks to a job that demands frequent travel, Vedashree says her practice is not very planned. But she does make it a point to head out for an early morning, long run on Saturdays, with another day in the week devoted to a 6-7 km morning run.

"Although, I don't follow a specific diet particularly for a marathon, I am disciplined about what I eat and make sure that I don't skip breakfast. I also focus on drinking a lot of water, coconut water, home-made butter milk while training in Hyderabad during summer," she says.

For this tech veteran, having been a part of a running group has helped her to wake up early and join the gang for a morning run.


Vedashree and her pet dog participated in the 'Run with your sweetheart' marathon in Gurgaon.

"If I can wake up at 3:00 a.m. for a morning flight, I can also get out of bed for a long run! I keep my social life or late-night movie-watching to a minimum, with my weekends or evenings being devoted to some running and workouts," she says.

For Rama Vedashree, running is all in the mind and anyone can pick it up at any age. It also proves that there are no shortcuts to success and that life is a continuous learning process.

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