The Tata Mumbai Marathon for 2021 will be announced shortly. Why am I writing about it now?  Well, like all big marathons this will also have the following –

Qualification

Entry fee

Dress code, and bib wearing code

a start line, a finish line, timing measuring equipment along the way

support – water, energy drinks, markers, medication

Volunteers

Finish line will have medals…of course everybody gets it.

About 50000 people will run it. They would have come from all over the country. Ok make it the world. The Kenyans come with a view to winning it. the other 49980 run to get a ‘participating medal’. It actually costs Rs. 25 to mint one like that. No, nobody will know the difference.

Anyway, we need groups to make us run. Or behave in a particular manner.

In another corner you could start your own marathon. Most runners have a watch – most commonly found is a Garmin – and it costs about US $ 300-800. Most of them have a pouch in which they can carry one bottle of water. That’s all they need. They could run 21 km to their own speed, and satisfaction. However, there will be no photos, no group camaraderie, no Hi Five..no “how much time do you think you will take” kinda questions. It will be a challenge unto yourself. Boring, no support, no nothing. In case you wish to you can improve on your past time. Or you can run with a different objective. You could race against your own self, or anyway your watch will tell you your pace, speed, number of steps…..HOWEVER VERY FEW OF US WILL EVER DO THIS. This is tough.

Sadly, for most of our real life activities we will not have a start line, finish line, flag off, gunshot, support, water, medicines, …..etc. You will have to do it alone. As the race gets harder, it will get more boring. You can cry, laugh, or whatever, but yes you have to complete the race! Races are not about winning. It is about setting up a good system and making sure that it works.

Whether it is your health or wealth it is a race where you run alone. It is boring of course. The reward is the race itself. Good health. Good wealth. Happiness. Gratitude. Shine on the face – you get all of this. Hey, you can even have a financial coach if you want.

You need to get up every morning and do what you MUST, not what you want. You must control what you eat – understand the short term pleasure could be a long term pain. Like sugar which can give you 30 seconds of pleasure and decide to stay on your waist for 40 years. Short term pleasure like Futures n Options. You could do 3 good deals in which you earn Rs. 5000 each and lose Rs. 300,000 in one deal.

As you graduate from an amateur to a serious amateur runner you get yourself a coach, a dietitian, a strength trainer, a cycling group, a running group, better clothes, better shoes….and you are off. In your investing journey too you need a financial coach, an IFA, a Chartered accountant to file your return if the return is complicated, a lawyer to draft your will, a clerk to manage your documents – hey you need a team or have tremendous motivation to do all this yourself. I find people in both categories. I also find some people who think that all of us are MOTIVATED enough to do this ourselves. We are not. Some of us need a nudge. Some of us need a shove. Most of us need a kick in the butt to get started on this solo journey. See to which category you belong, and get started. We are just in mid Jan…go make 2020 different.

Run your own marathon….when 50,000 Mumbaikars will be running on the roads and blocking your traffic.