From zero to 13.1 miles: Columbus resident runs toward big goal

Dipti Gore had never done much running until about six weeks ago.

Now, she is training to run 13.1 miles.

The 33-year-old native of India is hoping to conquer the Mill Race Half-Marathon on Sept. 23. She will share her journey with The Republic and its readers over the next 10 weeks.

“It’s been about 10 years that I’ve been thinking about (running), and I’ve been talking to a lot of friends who have been running,” Gore said. “There’s always a conversation with them about how they run, and they really enjoy it. I always thought this was not really my cup of tea. I always thought that 13 miles is too much of a distance and is not something I could ever do.”

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Over the winter, Gore was talking with a fitness instructor, who said she should try different activities to build up strength. So she has been doing a lot of weights and spinning since January.

Running was a different challenge.

“One day, me and my husband were like, ‘Why not just go out and try to run?'” Gore said. “The instructor said the same thing. So we just went and did a mile run, and that was a big game changer for me. I thought if I really put my foot into this and really tried to train, maybe I can do this.”

Before that, when Gore tried to run, she couldn’t even run a mile. Now, she can run a mile easily.

Gore can run at least three miles now, but at first, it wasn’t without pain.

“I could finish the first mile, so that kind of felt like a big achievement, but I think as I started running the second mile, initially, I had a lot of pain in my right leg,” Gore said. “The pain was really unbearable. That was difficult.”

So Gore did a week of training with Alex Contreras, who runs the Mill Race Marathon training program. After the week, she ran a three-miler, and the pain was reduced to a large extent. She credits the training, and at the same time, getting to know her own body, understanding how to pace herself.

The goal for now is to finish the half-marathon.

Gore and her husband Sanmit Ambedkar, who works at Cummins, moved to Columbus from Pune, India, in October 2014. Just before moving, she started a company, Tech Story Media Private Limited. She oversees seven employees who write articles about small businesses in India.

“I can manage my own schedule, so that’s a big plus point,” Gore said.

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Name: Dipti Gore

Age: 33

Hometown: Pune, India

Residence: Columbus

Occupation: Owns Tech Story Media Private Limited

Family: Husband Sanmit Ambedkar

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