In his 50s, Ram Rajagopal, a doctor by profession, runs a distance of around 16 km, three days a week. With increased awareness of the benefits of running, more and more doctors are jumping on the bandwagon.
Dr. Rajagopal, an intensivist, started running seven years ago and has completed a few marathons. He says that although he started running for health reasons, it has now become a part of his routine. Since he started running, he has inspired other doctors to take up the exercise.
“My sister-in-law, a retired doctor, has taken up running in her 60s,” he says.
ADVERTISEMENT
There are a number of doctors who seem to have taken to long-distance running in the past year or so. Akshit Thimmaiah, a microbiologist, says, “Running the first two kilometres is always a struggle. After that, it becomes like meditation and I am able to plan my day ahead clearly. Each time you run, it is a completely different experience, so it never gets boring.”
According to Parthasarathy Srinivasan, a spine surgeon, who also trains for triathlons, juggling the daily schedule to make time for the exercise is the biggest challenge. “I make sure I don’t schedule a surgery before 8.30 a.m. and I try to finish early at night, so I can wake up the next day. Other doctors with more unpredictable timings try to run at least three or four times a week, and many of them find places like the IIT campus to run in the evenings, since traffic is less of an issue,” he says.