Kharshan is an endurance athlete who recently posted himself on TikTok, holding funny signs with his friends to cheer on other marathon runners. This was the first time he was unable to finish a marathon. He did, however, stress that he did not want to sulk about it. So, along with some of his other training buddies, he decided to lift the spirits of other runners.
@kharshan Personally, I wasn’t prepared for this marathon. Enjoyed a little too hard after the Ironman and didn’t get a proper training block in to make sure I crush this race. My body actually felt better during the marathon leg of the Ironman as compared to the attempt today so I knew I couldn’t get a PB and it wasn’t worth it to aggravate the existing pains in my legs. This was what I needed; a strong lesson to make sure I never let this happen again. The marathon distance will always be daunting and this humility is something I need to accept before tackling bigger challenges. Didn’t want to waste my morning feeling sorry for myself so I pushed the feelings aside and met up w the boys and cheered runners on at East Coast park. Had a hell of a time there and celebrating others was a feeling like no other. So genuinely proud of everyone for being so strong today 💪🏽 . . . . . #sgmarathon #scsm2023 #scsmgobeyond #sportpluscreators
♬ original sound – kharshan | endurance athlete – kharshan | endurance athlete
The group decided to station themselves at the 27km mark, as Kharshan said, “thats often where runners start to feel their mind and body breaking down.” After realising that participants couldn’t see their signs from the overhead bridge, the men headed down.
In his caption, Kharshan recounted an amusing exchange with a runner who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties. The man approached him and his friends who were holding a sign that seemed to say “pain is temporary, glory is permanent”. Pointing to his back, the man comically exclaimed, “pain is permanent! Glory is temporary!”
“Smiling while suffering so much is a tough thing to do[,] so being a reason for their smiles at that point of the marathon was a true honour” – Kharshan
The signs were entertaining, with one saying “9 months ago… you thought a marathon was a good idea HAHA SO… KEEP running :)”. The other side said “Smile if you p💩💩ped in your pants HEHE #SHITHAPPENS”.
@kharshan After not finishing my marathon, i decided to not be a b*tch about it and join my ironman training bros to cheer the marathon runners on. The experience was so wholesome. We were at the 27km point and thats often where runners start to feel their mind and body breaking down so lifting up spirits at this part of the race was so fufilling. Didnt capture all our experiences but, somehow, as much as the runners were tired, they all still had a sense of humour. Johnson was ringing the bell and then a group dudes asked him for ice cream cos he sounded like the ice cream uncle. Another runner asked us wheres the beer. One runner (in his 50s or 60s) came up to us after reading our signs and said “pain is permanent! Glory is temporary!” then pointed to his back (he had back pain LOL). The 2 dudes in the video said they couldn’t read our signs from the bridge so we went down and caught them when they returned from the loop. Smiling while suffering so much is a tough thing to do so being a reason for their smiles at that point of the marathon was a true honour #marathon #sgmarathon #scsm2023 #scsmgobeyond #marathonsigns #runtok
♬ original sound – kharshan | endurance athlete – kharshan | endurance athlete
It seems that Kharshan and his friends were able to achieve their goal, as many of the runners high-fived and fist-bumped the group with smiles on their face!
