My Running and Life Philosophy

The late-life running habit has taught me some of the greatest lessons of my life. I live a part of 'words of wisdom'.

Most mornings, before Kathmandu fully wakes, I step out to run. I don’t negotiate much with myself to get out of bed. I just go out. I do not agree with my excuses of being tired, the weather being bad, or having pain in my knees. As David Goggins says, "Life isn’t always about doing the things we like to do. It’s about doing things we have to do."

The first few kilometres are the hardest. Then it gets easier to the point that I start to enjoy it. The human body is way more adaptive than we believe. As I start to crush through the tightness of my legs and heavier chest, soon everything loosens up.

A very old and very simple idea sits at the centre of my running. The Stoics said it best, "Some things are within our control, and some are not." I can not control the weather, rain, cold, hot and many more, but I have definite control over my will to run.

There will always be a lots and lots of people who run faster and better than me. This should never prevent me from doing my part. They are an inspiration, and I do my part. I continue. I don’t run because I am a natural athlete. I run because it allows me to unleash myself.

I understand that persistence can bring me further. Small steps, repeated, cover any distance. The person who runs ten kilometres did not run ten kilometres. They ran one kilometre ten times. Running has started to rewire how I approach everything else. Work deadlines. Family tensions. Financial uncertainty. Creative blocks. All of them become more manageable when I stop looking at the whole mountain and just take the next step in front of me.

On those days, I learned about pain. I see pleasure comes along with the pain. Running is painful. But the award of that pain is so valuable that I embrace that pain with pleasure. They appear to be the two faces of the same coin.

After the run, when my body is tired and my mind is unusually clear, I read. There is a specific quality to the post-run mind. It is not empty, it is uncluttered. As I challenge myself to run longer and better, I have started to challenge myself in reading. I started some classic books that are considered difficult. I have become selective about what I read. And I avoid news, social media and self-help books (in general). Reading better books is not about productivity; it is about perspective. And perspective, I have learned, is the most practical thing I can own.

I learned to take a pause and think. These days, we are being constantly pushed for 'more' – more output, more progress, more noise, more optimisation, more equipment and more. I have learned that the relentless pursuit of “more” is a trap. It never ends. There is always one more task, one more improvement, one more thing to worry about. The finish line keeps moving. The pause, deliberately and enjoy coffee. The coffee is not just coffee. It is to say to myself, "slow down" and select what I need (not want).

Running has now become a habit. Habit requires no motivation. It is a part of me now. No desire to win, and I don't aim to be better than someone else. I just run, run alone and enjoy. No single session changes anything. No single run makes me resilient. It is now a work of more than two years of regular running. I have built my body to endure to become an ultra runner, step by step, day by day.

I have become a little more resilient, a little more patient and a little tougher. I run because it allows me to practice how I want to grow. It has helped me to persist when stopping is easier. It has made me move through discomfort and 'just do it' when I don’t feel like it. Not perfect. Not heroic. Not impressive by any external metric, but just do it, because it is the right thing to do.

Comments

The Weekend Expedition

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." — Saint Augustine "One must travel to learn." — Mark Twain "To travel is to live." — Hans Christian Andersen Travel quotes are beautiful. They make me want to quit my job, buy a backpack, and disappear into the mountains with nothing but a notebook and an unreasonable amount of optimism. Then I remember I have bills. I also admire the people who wrote these famous travel quotes. They all lived before commercial airlines, budget airlines, baggage fees, airport security, visa applications, and the invention of the middle seat. Back then, travel was a genuine adventure. You packed your belongings, mounted a horse, boarded a ship, or simply started walking. If you returned, you wrote a book. If you didn't, someone else wrote your biography. There was no climate guilt attached to every journey. Nobody calculated the carbon footprint of a camel. There were no traffic jams stretching for fi...

My Morning, Their Midnight

Time is relative. I am not bragging about Einstein's Theory of Relativity. This is about several time zones within Kathmandu city. Five o’clock is not universally “early morning.” This morning, it was a usual morning for me. But the empty roads suggested that for many others, it was still midnight. Near the temples, devotees were already walking back from their prayers. Their day had clearly begun long before mine. I imagine they must be thinking, "Ah, the late risers are out." And the vegetable vendors? For them, 5 a.m. is practically late morning. Shops open, scales ready, transactions underway. Their workday was already in full swing while it was still dark. Then comes Thamel, lights still glowing, people spilling out of pubs, laughing, smoking. For them, the night was young. It appears Nepal’s little Las Vegas, blinking through a hangover. “Early” and “late” are not absolute words. They are relative to what we make with our own lifestyles. Time is less a clock and mor...

The Pursuit of 3:59

I registered for my next marathon. The 18th Kathmandu Marathon is scheduled for Saturday, 10 October 2026, just one day before Ghatasthapana. The following morning, Dashain will begin. Families will gather, kites will appear in the sky, Dashain dhuun and smells of the festival. And for me, if all goes according to plan, it will also mark the end of a three-month break from alcohol. What a day to resume a glass of whiskey. I am giving myself three months to prepare properly. No shortcuts. No excuses. Clean eating. Consistent running. Adequate rest. I am breaking my last year's marathon record of 4 hours and 28 minutes. This year, the target is clear: sub-four hours. The difference between 4:28 and 3:59 is not only twenty-nine minutes, but it is also going to be what I do in these three months. My run, my food, my sleep and many more, all my small decisions will definitely make a difference. In many ways, the marathon itself is the easy part. The race lasts a few hours. The preparati...

When a Job title becomes an identity

"Hello, my name is Bond, James Bond, and I am a marketing assistant." A 9-to-5 job holder, James Bond would be proudly selling a product. But James chose the right job: to become an assassin. he is still a government employee, and much of his identity as 007 is as an MI6 agent. Our surnames are based on profession. My surname is Maharjan, which means a farmer. I no more do farming; nonetheless, the surname remains deeply embedded in social identity. My surname says what my parents and ancestors used to do for a living. Many government quota systems are still based on surnames. For me, I have a profession, and I have my Business cards, LinkedIn profiles, office door nameplate, email signatures, and my elevator pitch; all reinforce my profession as the centre of my identity. Have I blurred the line between my profession and personality? I have been a job holder for more than 25 years now. A job title is useful for me. It tells people what I do. It is comforting. It provides pu...

The book Thief

I finished The Book Thief this week. The first thing that stands out about the novel is its narrator. The story is told from the perspective of Death. Rather than appearing as a terrifying force, Death becomes an observer, a collector of souls, and ultimately a storyteller. Out of the millions of lives that pass before him, he keeps returning to one ordinary yet remarkable girl: Liesel Meminger. Liesel is a foster child growing up on Himmel Street, a modest working-class street in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Through Death's narration, we witness her life, her struggles, her friendships, and the quiet moments that unfold beneath the shadow of a devastating conflict. What impressed me most was the simplicity with which the story is told. There are no grand military campaigns or dramatic political speeches. Instead, we see football games in the street, the loyalty of her friend Rudy, the kindness of the Hubermann family, and the small routines of everyday life. Most war ...

Random hits on the keyboard

Search This Blog