Running is like SWOT analysis for me: Vaishali Kasture, Partner, Deloitte Consulting

Vaishali Kasture was an academic in school and college. She never ran or participated in any outdoor activities.

For her, the first running stint happened when she was in her early 30s. And that too, in Hong Kong where she was living at the time with her then husband. And it was all due to the goading of an expat friend, a runner himself, who insisted that she start working out. Kasture, who was working with Bridgewater Limited at the time, heeded her friend's advice and began running on the treadmill at the gym.

She noticed a difference in no time: there was a sense of achievement and elation that she felt was greater than even her academic accomplishments.

"Being an academic through my life, I never knew the joy that existed in outdoor activities. Once I completed the 10K race in 2003, there was no looking back for me," Kasture says over the phone from New York.

This former Goldman Sachs Managing Director has completed four of the six global races - Berlin, London, Tokyo and Boston - and made her New York marathon debut two weeks ago. And next year after completing the sixth and final one at Chicago, she aims to become one of the 1000 people in the world who have run all the global marathons.

For someone who discovered running at a not-so-early stage of life, how did she prepare herself?

"By 2010, I managed to pick it up. Having a young child meant that my practice was slightly irregular, but I kept at it."

With long workdays in tow, hard or intense training sessions are difficult. As her work entails a lot of travel, Kasture makes It a point to keep it simple.


Kasture has completed the SCMM seven times and the ADHM six times.

"I am on the move a lot. There are days when I come back from a run in the morning and head out to the airport with a suitcase. Training for me is less structured and am on my own," she says, pointing out that there is hardly any time to adjust her schedule.

Kasture has run four marathons already this year including the Berlin marathon. For someone who runs through the year, her training also, naturally, is not a week-long event but happens over 365 days. And being a 'mindful eater' as she calls herself, her food habits don't change much even, upping the intake of fruits, vegetable juices and supplements.

"A month before a run, I get into preparation mode. As I train through the year anyway, I don't have a separate schedule," she says.

Kasture can be easily called the veteran on the track: she has run the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) for seven years and the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) for six. She has also done the Bangalore Marathon, along with Pune, Goa and Hyderabad, and the Cauvery Trail.

For this India Inc boss in her mid-40s, running alone is not only about the much-wanted "me-time". It is also about pushing the boundaries and doing a self-appraisal, of one's strengths and weaknesses and is food for the body and soul. Apart from feeling good about herself, nothing - work, life, relationships - looks unsurmountable. Also, she feels that it boosts self-esteem and endurance.

"History has proved that sportspersons, especially runners, make great team players, have a surplus of grit and determination and can push (physical and mental) barriers when needed," she says.

And that's why this top boss believes running a marathon is equivalent to executing a project. From giving attention to detail, training, juggling options and multitasking, it lends a holistic approach towards life in general.

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