Last year he became the first runner from Calcutta to complete the Grand Slam of running. This year post his Tokyo (March 5) and Boston (April 17) runs, he had nine world marathon majors under his belt. Vernon Morais, an engineer from Chennai with an MBA degree, who, now calls the City of Joy his home. Vernon chatted with The Telegraph from Boston on Tuesday afternoon, India time.
Congratulations! How does it feel to have competed in nine world marathons?
It's an awesome feeling and it is a zone where very few have treaded upon in our country and I truly believe that 'no human is limited'. I want to continue to show the path to other budding runners of Calcutta who have started running their debut world marathons.
You just ran in Tokyo and Boston. What can you tell us about your experience?
Tokyo was unbelievable. I was the only one from West Bengal. A smooth run and I executed my plan to score my personal best of three hours 29 minutes in my second Tokyo marathon. The Boston Marathon is iconic and I had the dual challenge of coming back from a hamstring injury coupled with a rainy Boston on Marathon Monday. This was my second time running the Boston course and I strategised my run to keep the injury at bay and finished in three hours 38 minutes. It feels amazing to be the only one from Bengal to have completed nine world major marathons.
Having participated in so many marathons, which one has been the toughest?
The toughest marathon that I have encountered so far is the London Marathon. London was the hottest ever in the last 66 years on the day of the marathon on April 22, 2018. A strong London runner died at the 38th km.
How has your preparation changed over the years?
I have been blessed and gotten to know myself better and how to control my body during the marathons, when to cruise control and when to pace up. I coach runners from the length and breadth of Calcutta... from Eco Park to Howrah... and I reinforce my teachings by sharing these with the runners.
What memories do you have of the nine world marathons?
Memories... so many memories are still flashing in front of my eyes from my first major world marathon, the Chicago marathon. I had run the Chicago marathon four weeks after suffering an accident in Calcutta with 16 stitches on my jaw and living on only a liquid diet during that tune-up to the marathon. Tokyo 2018 started at 1 degree C and finished at 0 degrees C and my best at that time. A fellow doctor runner gave me his T-shirt to cover myself at the finish line as I was suffering from hypothermia.
London 2018 was about the tragic incident of the death of a runner and the hot weather. New York 2018 was a different experience. I travelled by taxi, then a ferry crossing The Statue of Liberty, then took a bus and walked to reach the starting point which was the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The circuit was topsy-turvy but there was a lot of crowd support.
During Berlin 2019, I started on a sunny morning and from 21km, it started raining and from 30km, cold winds added to the challenges. I was still able to best my major world marathon time at that time.
Boston 2022 was my six-star marathon that beat all my previous best world major times by 21 minutes. It was a perfect day and I enjoyed every step of Boston. I finished in three hours and 32 minutes.
During Berlin 2022, I had a 100-degree fever a day prior to the marathon and on marathon day, I was able to execute it in three hours and 35 minutes.
I finished Tokyo 2023 in three hours and 29 minutes and I felt extremely good 10km onwards to finish strong with my personal best. The Boston 2023 marathon was a wet and windy marathon. I was coming off an injury and used a strategy to run and executed it to a T.
How do you celebrate after each marathon?
I celebrate by being with my fellow world marathon runners from Chicago, Switzerland, London and Germany. We meet at every major marathon and share our positive vibes and how to keep on improving.
What are your takeaways from Boston and Tokyo?
In Tokyo, I enjoyed the Japanese lifestyle. I am carrying back the concept of healthy eating. Boston taught me that the unicorn is a monster. If you don't plan to conquer it, the unicorn will engulf you. Likewise, we should measure our challenges in life, study, prepare and execute the plan.
What are your tips to get marathon ready?
Have a 20-week training regime if you are not a half-marathoner and a 16-week regime if you are already a half-marathoner. Don't overdo, just do the right things.
What are your overall tips for good health?
Keep your life simple and do not overstress anything. Be thankful and grateful for what you are and what you have and keep looking forward in life. Comparing with others is your worst enemy, you are your competition, so compete with yourself. Eat simple food, sleep early, wake up early and devote at least one hour to some workout.
What are your future goals?
I want to bring more discipline to the sport in our city and make runners conscious of choosing how many events to run rather than running everything that's happening in our city.
We need roads. At least one road should be earmarked for runners in Calcutta like Mumbai, Nagpur or even Bhubaneswar.
My suggestion would be to dedicate a road like Red Road (one half of the road closed to traffic from 5am to 7am), so that runners can train and be the example to making our city fit and proud internationally too.