(This is an appreciation post for that incredible young man, Sachin Tiwari of the ‘measured tone’ – the indefatigable runner, conqueror of the baikal lake & himalayan runs, teacher, experimenter, farmer – & for the imperturbable calmness that he exudes…)

(View from Sachin’s farm near Wardha)

(Sachin’s farm getting readied for Cotton – circa May 2020)

(Baikal Ice Marathon – On the ‘frozen’ the largest freshwater sea/lake – all photos from the young man’s post)

(Marathon starting point on Baikal lake)

(Young man at the starting point)

Young man also maintains a short-form blog – check it out…

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…I used to be fond of running, running long distances, running with my pupils – but not with a view to running Marathons, clearing them, competition etc – though I have done a ‘full marathon’ once (literally collapsed at the end, because I did not practice long distance running at all, before that!) and one ‘good’ half marathon, in those begone days of my generally wasted youth.

I have run mostly as an individual and always barefoot. I have experienced the ‘runner’s high’ quite a few times. Running is flying, yes – the Loneliness of the Long-distance Runner notwithstanding, Sillitoe of me.

Even now, I can run very reasonable distances – but I always remember one of my many idols of youth: The great Bill Dellinger.

And his advice: ‘moderation.’

Especially after I nearly broke my neck while trying all kinds of stunts with my Son (who is 15yrs young!) including multiple somersaults on the Trampoline, a few months back.

I should be respectful to my age. And, to my body. Yes.

But, this post is about Bill Dellinger – one of my youthhood idols, who has remained an idol even as of now…

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In a  nutshell, not only was Bill a great runner, he was also an incredible coach, from whom we can all learn our life’s much needed lessons or ‘anchoring principles’ if you will; in a succinct manner and of course, it is all Practiced Wisdom. Humbling.

Of course, Bill managed to reach Bronze levels in Olympics – but he coached gems. He was the western equivalent of a Dronacharya. Or may be a milder version of Banzo. But, he was clear about his objectives and the internally & externally consistent ways through which objectives could be consistently reached.

A short, 20- min video of him here. The Magician. Please watch. It is a noisy documentary, not meditative – but nonetheless, is good.

Here is Bill’s ‘five principles’ programme (his coaching anchors) which I have tried to adapt and use as much as possible in my life – with, I must say, very reasonable results – from circa 1985 or thereabouts.

The following snippets have been taken from a fine book: Mastery : interviews with 30 remarkable people – by Ames, Joan Evelyn (1997) – borrowed from a library.

Five principles – Adaptability, Progression, Moderation, Variation & Callusing – yes, they are applicable to ‘anything & everything in life as well!’

Adaptability

Progression

Moderation

Variation

Callusing

Ok.

‘Moderation’ in longform posting needs to be taken into account too – though this post is much shorter than the usual 1000+ word posts.

Also, my finger-tips have become callused, yes.

END.