Chennai: For most people, balancing work and passion is farfetched. But for Siddharth Ravishankar, living life in dual-roles is reality. He is a hard-working ophthalmic surgeon by day and a passionate triathlete by night.
Unlike regular recreational hobbies, Siddharths passion for years was to become an Ironman, an internationally renowned race that starts with a 3.8 km open-water swim, a 180 km bike ride, followed by a 42.2 marathon. For most people, this seems physically impossible to do, but what they dont know is that this race is more of a mental game.
He has been training everyday over the last year to race at Barcelona, Spain. The Ironman, apart from all the physical activity is also an expensive affair, right from the training, to the diet all the way up to race day.
Over the course of his training, he has been following a diet thats been made flexible to his training hours & type. His days start early. On some days he run or cycles, on other days he swims. This willpower and constant need to manage both passions of his – fitness and medicine, is what keeps him going.
A race like this is not a one-man sport. It is something Siddharth could not have achieved without his support crew. He was coached by James Teagle from the United Kingdom – a triathlon training & nutrition expert, his parents Sadhana and Dr Ravishnakar, encouraging him as well as prepping his everyday strategic meals, his cycling mentor Kandappa C, leader of Motley Crew, his friends Arun, Mervin and Maryann who trained alongside him for his bike rides and runs, and most importantly his wife Suguna who has selflessly supported him every step of the way, always waking up early and gearing him up for race day.
I ran to the finish line and then the commentator said it. Those four beautiful words that all the training and sacrifice was for. Siddharth, you are an ironman! Felt a roller-coaster of emotions as soon as I finished. That one moment had flashed in my head a million times over the last 10 months and it finally happened! says Siddharth.
Siddharth was officially declared an Ironman on 6 October. He says Id do it again without a second thought.
He can be contacted at 99404 29714.