Q&A WITH MILIND SOMAN

Q. What inspired you to do the 515-km Ultraman triathlon at 51 years old—and barefoot?

I wanted to do a bigger challenge after Ironman. As for barefoot, I just do not wear shoes anyway.

Q. What was the first step in training for the Ironman? The race required me to cycle 180 km, and I had never sat on a cycle. Similarly in swimming, I had to regain the level of proficiency I had earlier. I had to prepare my body, but there was no special training: for me fitness has been an everevolving journey.

Q. How have your food habits evolved after you decided to take up fitness seriously? There’s nothing I eat out of the ordinary. I eat a lot of dal and rice, with a lot of fruits and vegetables. That gives me everything I need for a low intensity, high endurance kind of sport.

Q. Do you work out daily? I do not believe in exercise, you have to be constantly active. The reason one has to exercise is because most of us in urban areas have a sedentary lifestyle. I do not exercise every day. But I love to run, so whenever I get the time, I run.

Q. You also started Pinkathon in 2012 to encourage women to run. Your biggest challenge?

The idea was to encourage women to take out time for themselves—whether they run, walk, read a book, or do yoga. The biggest challenge was sponsorship: for the corporate world, women are not the decision makers in the family. Last year, though, we had almost 70,000 women participating and that got the interest of businesses.

Q. Any tips for those who want to get fit in 2018? Just start. Wanting does not mean anything, unless you do it!