Kieren D’Souza is an Indian ultramarathon runner and endurance athlete. Has been running as a full-time athlete since 2015 and has represented India at the Trail World Championships in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In this episode of Run with FItpage, Kieren talks about his unconventional training methods and the evolution of ultramarathons in India with our host Vikas Singh.
Episode Summary:
00:23 – About this episode
02:40 – Welcoming Kieren to the show!
03:42 – How did Kieren get started with athletics
06:06 – Moving to professional running
09:35 – How did trail running come about?
16:04 – DNF in La Ultra 111, 2014, to becoming the first Indian to win in 2016 – getting through the mental blocks
20:08 – What are the building blocks for a rookie runner?
26:27 – Vikas’ advice on what to do when you are overwhelmed
26:57 – Kieren’s FKTs
32:16 – How does Kieren plan for his nutrition?
36:03 – How should people face failures?
41:25 – The evolution of running as a sport in India
Guest Profile:
He first took up running as an undergrad student in Bangalore in 2011. In 2020, with the pandemic bringing the world to a halt and all racing called off, Kieren had been able to merge the sport of running and mountaineering to make some never before made speed attempts in the Indian Himalayas. D’Souza does not have a full-time coach and plans his workouts with inputs from other ultrarunners and part-time coaches. He trained for his August 2016 La Ultra by doing altitude work in Spiti Valley and Leh, logging 160 kilometers per week, with 700 kilometers in June 2016. He is also the first Indian to run the Spartathlon, a 246 km race across Greece. Kieren is a newbie to some sport every time, making him fitter and recover actively.
About Vikas Singh:
Vikas Singh, an MBA from Chicago Booth, worked at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, APGlobale and Reliance before coming up with an idea of democratizing fitness knowledge and helping beginners get on a fitness journey. Vikas is an avid long-distance runner, building fitpage to help people learn, train, and move better.
For more information on Vikas, or to leave any feedback and requests, you can reach out to him via the channels below:
Instagram: @vikas_singhh
LinkedIn: Vikas Singh
Gmail: vikas@fitpage.in
Twitter: @vikashsingh1010
About the Podcast: Run with Fitpage
This podcast series is built to bring science and research from the endurance sports industry. These may help you learn and implement these in your training, recovery, and nutrition journey. We invite coaches, exercise scientists, researchers, nutritionists, doctors, and inspiring athletes to come and share their knowledge and stories with us. So, whether you’re just getting started with running or want to get better at it, this podcast is for you!
This podcast has been recorded via Riverside.fm.