About the Blog: This is a personal story. This is not about any of my travel experiences, but my own journey in a period of about 2 and a half years. This is about my transformation from being 101 kg heavy in 2023 to running my first Marathon in 2025.

It was in August 2022, that I was first diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). According to WHO, PCOS affects an estimated 6-13% of the female population of reproductive age. And upto 70% of them remain undiagnosed worldwide.

Thankfully, I was diagnosed with PCOS, but unfortunately, I did nothing about it. The reflection in the mirror became rounder and chubbier, but I blamed genetics for it. I kept on with my sedentary lifestyle (which is very common these days) and eating whatever I felt like. After all, we live only once!

Spiti Trip: The first Wake up Call

The first wake-up call came when I was on our Spiti Trip. It was the fifth day of our trip and we were going to hike up to the Dhankar lake, from Dhankar village. It was just an easy 5 km hike up to the lake. The day was bright and sunny and we were quite enthusiastic to make it to the lake.

45 minutes into the hike and I was totally out of breath. My legs seemed to become like lead and I simply did not want to walk any further. I was sitting on a rock, huffing and puffing, and blaming the sun! Why did the sun have to be so “sunny”!

We ultimately did not make it to the lake.

And it was a blow to my ego.

The girl who used to do multiple days Himalayan treks even a few years back, could not even hike 5 km!

Later as I was sitting on the balcony of our homestay and looking at the Dhankar Monastery, I realized how unfit and unhealthy I had become.

Second Wake-up Call

Coming back from Spiti, the first thing that we both did was go for a full body checkup.

And that was our second wake up call.

I was diagnosed with all the common lifestyle diseases like high cholesterol, triglycerides, high Blood Pressure, borderline sugar and non-alcoholic fatty liver. It was like – you name them, I have them. And then there was PCOS also. By this time, I had all the classic symptoms of PCOS – irregular periods, hirsutism and mood swings.

The weighing scale showed triple digits for the first time in my life. I was 101 kgs heavy.

Of course, the doctors asked me to lose weight. They advised me on a low-fat diet and activities.

I was depressed and did not like what I saw before myself in the mirror. I was totally down. My work suffered and so did my relationship. I was the worst version of myself at that time, something that I am not proud of.

This was also the time when I stopped writing blogs, did not work on myself and became an absolutely miserable person, both to me and towards others.

We Live only once!

But it was then I decided that I have to turn back. I have done it before and I can do it again. I realized that following a diet or hitting the gym will not be enough. To be healthy, fit and strong again, I need an entire lifestyle shift.

To climb the mountain again, I need to change my outlook and lifestyle.

After all, we live only once!

With the help and support of my partner, Agni, I started my journey towards a better me.

I started small. A slight change in food habits, going for morning walks every day and refraining from outside food was all that I did for the first couple of months.

I started in July and after 3 months in September, I lost 10 kgs. It was a win, but I knew I had a long way to go.

And the Running Journey Started

It was in late October that I started running. I had never thought of running. With Agni’s insistence, I started running.

The first time I ran, I could hardly run 200 metres. I would run a little and would be totally out of breath. I felt that my heart would come out of my chest.

But I did not stop. I ran little by little. I ran slow and for a short distance. It was like letting myself see whether I can do it or not.

Our First Running Event

In December 2023, Agni and I decided to go for our first running event. It was the Anada Run in Tata Steel World 25k in Kolkata. It was a 4.5 km run (non-timed).

I was excited and even scared. Even though it was a non-timed run, I was scared and anxious. We did the run. I completed 4.5 km in 45 minutes by walking and running (mostly walking).

And I liked it.

I loved the challenge that it gave me. I loved the support of the people. And most importantly, I felt great after running. Not physically, no. It was difficult and tiring. Mentally I felt amazing.

I decided that I will continue running. And perhaps, Agni was happier than me at my resolve.

I started training with Agni. Just as we travel together, we also run together. Doing things together was always fun and running together was simply therapeutic for us.

Agni is definitely much ahead physically. He sacrificed his running pace to run with me and encourage me. And I worked really hard and pushed myself.

We participated in a few running events in the beginning of 2024. In one of the running events, we met a member of North Kolkata Runners (NKR), the biggest running club in Kolkata.

We joined soon after and trained with them. It improved our running and strength.

Procam Slam! What’s that!

In the midst of all this, Agni suddenly decided that we would participate in the Procam Slam in the next running season.

For the uninitiated, Procam Slam is like a grand challenge in running, created by Procam International (the company that organizes India’s biggest marathons). You have to complete the country’s 4 most famous long distance runs in a single season. These runs are –

• Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon (VDHM) – running 21.1 km or half Marathon
• Tata Steel Kolkata 25K – 25 km run
• Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM) – 42.2 km or Full Marathon
• TCS World 10K Bengaluru – 10 km run

For runners, it’s not just about medals — it’s about the pride of saying “I did the Procam Slam!”

I was just running 10 km then. And suddenly I would be running the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon (21.1 km) in 6 months in October 2024.

To be honest, at that time in April 2024, I could not even imagine running 42.2 km.

I was slightly irritated. I ran only 10 km at that time, that too with a bit of difficulty. And suddenly I was thrust into this “Procam Slam” business, where I have to run a Full Marathon in the next 9 months. I am still struggling with my weight and PCOS. I thought that it was next to impossible. I did not believe in myself. It wasn’t only me, others also never thought that I could do it.

But there was one person who believed in me. He just said that I could do it if I put my mind to it. He asked me to trust him, even if I didn’t myself.  His trust in me never wavered.

I had to respect that trust.

And so, we trained.

We trained hard, consistently and diligently. We ran, we worked out, we learnt. And we travelled also.

Gradually, I started believing that I could do a half marathon, and maybe a full marathon (Full marathon was still a dream at that time).

In August, when I went to my doctor, he informed me that my PCOS condition was mostly managed. He asked me to keep doing what I was doing.

I was ecstatic. Physically, I felt better, mentally I was stronger and I was happy.

My First Half Marathon

By October 2024, I was ready for my first half marathon in Delhi.

It was a good run. I ran with a smile on my face. I ended strong. And I reached the first benchmark!

Goechala Trek: Adorning the trekking boots again

It was after this I wanted to test my endurance. We booked for a trek. After all, this started with a failed hike.

We went for Goeche La Trek in November 2024. Goeche La is a tough trek. And for the first time in my trekking journeys, I carried my backpack on this trek. I was stronger and better.

The next few days after Goeche La trek was all about training and training. I have started dreaming about doing a full marathon now.

In December 2024, I ran 25 km at Tata Steel World 25k. It took 3 hours to complete 25 km. Life came full circle.

Ready for the Full Marathon

Come January 2025, it was the time for my maiden Full Marathon. I was nervous, excited, scared and everything rolled in one. There were butterflies in my stomach.

In the early morning of January 18, 2025, I ran my first Full Marathon. The weather in Mumbai was tough that year.

It was not an easy run, but it was a happy run. I took 5 hours 40 minutes to complete 42.2 km and finished strong.

I got my first Marathon Medal. I cannot really describe what I felt at that time. I felt on the top of the world. It was like seeing the clear Kanchenjunga ranges from Goechela View Point. But my reward was to see the smile on Agni’s face and I wished to see that smile forever. I might sound sappy, but that is what I actually felt at that time.

The Procam Slam Cycle ends at Bengaluru

Finally in April 2025, we went to Bangalore to complete the cycle. We ran 10km in Bangalore and completed our Procam Slam cycle.

We got our Procam Slam Medals. It was a totally euphoric moment. Who would have thought that from weighing 101 kgs in 2023, I could run a Marathon in 2025 and get my Procam Slam Medal as well. I could do it by sheer determination and the will to change myself for the better.

Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional

It was not an easy journey. I had several hiccups along the way. I got knee and hip injuries during this time when I could not run for a month. The practice was painful and tiring. After all, as they say it “Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional”.

I decided to embrace the pain and let go of the suffering. And that is all that made the difference.

What running a Marathon taught us?

If there is one thing that I learnt during this period is that we are invariably stronger than our excuses. Every innovative excuse has a disciplined comeback.

Secondly, motivation is a transient thing. It comes and goes (just like my motivation to write)! Consistency and discipline are what keeps us going.

And with that, we had a complete lifestyle shift. Our sleeping cycle changed, food habits went for the better. The journey from late night binges to sleeping at 9.30 pm and waking up at 5.00 AM was not easy, but interesting. Eating out, drinking became rare occasions.

All our physical discomforts like pains and aches, bloating, acidity were all gone.

Some might say that this kind of life is quite a regimented one. But I beg to differ. Instead of finding joy in food and alcohol, we find that in something else.

While travel broadened our outlook, taught us to appreciate the little joys of life and cherish the diversity of people and nature; running taught us strength and endurance. I would say, it is a great combination!

In the meantime, we have traveled to the beautiful Uzbekistan, the vast Kazakstan and the stunning Georgia. We also went for the Goechela Trek and visited Darjeeling a couple of times.

In Conclusion

I am still running with Agni. We travel together; we trek together and we run together. We plan on running more, maybe do an Ultramarathon sometime later. The road has just begun. The running shoes are yet to be broken.

A lot of people struggle with their health and weight. I have been there. If my story helped you in any way, please let me know in the comments below. If you need to talk to someone, you can email me or ping me on Instagram. I will be happy to share my  experiences, both travel and health.