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| With his TMM 2026 Personal Best pace in Full Marathon |
While I wake up every morning and decide what route I shall take for my small walk or whether I shall work out with dumbbells or find a scenic route for a long and leisurely walk, I realise many people all over the world are doing the same. It's a great group activity if one comes to think of it. Everyone, ok let's be honest, a minority of people everywhere are waking up daily with new physical goals. But, these small groups of people in each of their neighbourhoods, schools, colleges and office spaces make a difference in inspiring people around them who have next to no motivation. The fact that the subject of sport is the most read one in my blog proves that even people who don't do regular sport seek motivation. Others who do sport need new motivation and perhaps the super achievers may be the only ones spared of this external push.
I always manage to find amazing people to write about and that's a great signal to the world. Motivation can be found everywhere; we just need to keep our eyes open and ears ready to listen. Parmeshwar Birajdar, when you speak to him, is the humblest athlete you will meet. I know him through my sister and I've heard from her how Parmeshwar did this or that trek or that he recently ran so and so events. So, it seemed obvious that I reached out to him. Most of the runners or athletes I write about live in Mumbai or Brussels, but you could also catch my Yoga teacher Rasika, who lives in Hyderabad and who loves trekking in the Himalayas.
Rasika and Muthu climbing and conquering mountains together #couplegoals
Parmeshwar is the first runner I'm writing about who lives in Pune. He grew up in a small village called Dhanegaon in Latur district in Maharashtra. His early days surprisingly never involved sports, he says. However, since he lived in a village, walking was part of everyday physical activity. Later on, he shifted to Pune for his higher education and completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English Literature from Fergusson college. When he started living in the city, he realised that many of his peers used to take off for the weekends in the surrounding hills.
Pune has extensive hilly terrains that are characterized by a rugged, scenic landscape. These transition from rolling hills to the dramatic Western Ghats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghats
It is normal then to find several areas very close to the city that offer beautiful walking trails. These areas also are dotted with several forts that form the absolute backbone of Maratha history.
https://www.britannica.com/
Parmeshwar started going on these treks with friends and soon realised that he was hooked. Being out in nature, surrounded by green valleys & mountains, he knew this was a sport he could do for the rest of his life. Also, everyone else noticed that he was extremely fit and his body seemed predisposed to the activity. Since the passion lasted more than just a couple of months, one of his friends suggested that he do a course in Mountaineering.
In 2012, Parmeshwar travelled to Manali to complete a Basic Mountaineering course with A.B.V Institute of Mountaineering & Allied Sports (https://abvimas.org/). He then started working with an established unit in Pune called Explorers, Treks & Tours (Since 2001) (https://explorersgroup.in/) as he was now a Certified Outdoor Instructor.
For several years this was his job on the weekends while during the week he worked at Symbiosis International University as an English language facilitator.
As an Outdoor Instructor, he specialises in Rock climbing, Rappelling and Valley crossing (also known as Flying fox). He worked with groups of individuals and corporate professionals who went for easy to tough treks and some that even needed the whole weekend to be covered. Parmeshwar was happy doing these activities till COVID came along. The year was also positive for him as he got married that year. But, because of his work at that time which required him to travel despite the restrictions and a sedentary lifestyle, he had minimal physical fitness for about two years.
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| the list of marathons in India is always in his sight |
On his birthday in 2022, Parmeshwar had had enough of being heavier than he ever had been and getting bored sitting at a desk. He decided to go out for a run. He realised, once again, that running came easy to him and soon developed great physical endurance. His years of walking up & down mountains were recorded in his body and his legs and that rewarded him with quicker form and strength. He loved running for longer distances and running faster each time. He ran his first half marathon 3 months later in November 2022 and completed it in 1 hr 49 mins. The high he got from that event and his daily training made him hunger for more. He joined a local running group. Distance was his thing and so he trained towards a goal of completing a full marathon. He ran his first ever full marathon with a Sub 4, which means he accomplished it in less than 4 hours. Honestly guys, I feel like I have discovered a man who's a machine because these are his timings in all 5 Full Marathons he has done so far:
January 2024 Tata Mumbai Marathon 3 hr 59 mins
August 2024 Hyderabad Full Marathon 3 hr 49 mins
January 2025 Tata Mumbai Marathon 3 hr 43 mins
August 2025 Hyderabad Full Marathon 3 hr 39 mins
January 2026 Tata Mumbai Marathon 3 hr 22 mins
If you notice his pace gets better and he gets faster!
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| Procamslam 2025 1yr-4 races-4 cities-4distances |
The Procamslam 2025 was Mumbai 42kms, Bengaluru 10kms, Delhi 21kms and Kolkota 25kms.
Parmeshwar is planning to run his next full marathon in August 2026 in Hyderabad.
He also aspires to participate in the prestigious World Marathon Majors (https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/), the iconic Comrades Marathon in South Africa (https://comrades.com/), and renowned trail ultramarathons across the world, all of which feature prominently on his running bucket list.
He is currently training virtually under Mr. Jagdish Shinde, Head Coach of Elite Running Academy, Khanapur, Belgaum, Karnataka a place that has been inspiring and transforming runners especially from the rural parts of India through its disciplined training culture, personalised coaching and unwavering commitment to helping athletes discover their true potential both on and off the track.
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| Runs & Miles Half Marathon 2026 receiving prize from Milind Soman |
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| running the Runs & Miles Half Marathon |
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| with his prize - Runs & Miles Half Marathon |
His typical training schedule is running 6 days a week with 3 easy runs, 1 long run on Sundays and 1 to 2 speed runs. He also trains using the Fartlek method, which is a Swedish training method that's gained popularity.
Interval training and tempo runs are also a standard for Parmeshwar. On the easy run days, he combines strength training for about an hour. Strength training specific for runners. He says that a runner needs strength training to avoid injuries.
I can see someone clearly running towards his goals that are getting bigger and meatier each year. We must take a moment to specify that Parmeshwar does all this while managing a full-time job as an English language teaching and assessment professional and family responsibilities. He has now also started training his friends who surely got motivated by him and have taken their health in their hands. I wish him the best and you make sure to follow my blog to get updates on Parmeshwar's journey.
You can also follow him on his handles on Strava and Instagram under
https://www.instagram.com/
What I love about running is that most sports need you to be super young to do well, whereas in running, being experienced and having determination and a strong mind means you can get better with age.
On top of that, it's as much a sport for us girls! Women are leading the 'long, long races ' of the world today.
Rachel Entrekin (34) made history by becoming the first woman to win the grueling Cocodona 250 ultramarathon outright!
Her insta https://www.instagram.com/rachel__entrekin/?hl=fr
or read about her exploit on
https://www.bbc.com/sport/
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