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Creative

Creative

In whatever free time I have outside of my work and research contributions, I enjoy running, traveling and reading books.

Over the years, I have run 10+ (ultra-)marathons in different places, terrains and altitudes. In particular, one of my goals has been to run a marathon on every continent. Because why not combine extreme physical exertion with jet lag? So far I have marathoned in 5 continents.

Global Marathon Madness

🌎 Number of continents: 5
Number of countries: 9
Number of cities: 20
Total race kilometers: 822 km

Number of ultra-marathons: 3
Number of marathons: 9
Number of half-marathons: 6
Number of shorter races (< 20 km): 14

Here is a sneak peek into the details of each race, from the bustling city marathons to the serene countryside trails.

February 2024 Moerfelden-Walldorf 2024 21.1 km, Moerfelden, Germany
🌎 πŸ‡§πŸ‡· April 2024 28th Sao Paulo International Marathon 2024 42.2 km, Sao Paulo, Brazil (South America)
February 2024 DSW Swim and Run S:700 m + R:5.5 km, Darmstadt, Germany
🌏 πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί September 2023 Sydney Marathon 2023 42.2 km, Sydney, Australia (Australia)
June 2023 B2Run Muenchen 2023 5.6 km, Munich, Germany
June 2023 40. Rhein-Ruhr Marathon Duisburg 2023 42.2 km, Duisburg, Germany
May 2023 10. Darmstaedter Merck-Firmenlauf 10 km, Darmstadt, Germany
February 2023 Moerfelden-Walldorf 2023 21.1 km, Moerfelden, Germany
March 2022 Basteilauf 2022 10 km, Cologne, Germany
Sometime in 2021 HP Virtual Run Challenge 6 km, Somewhere in Aachen, Germany
-- Pandemic Pause --
September 2019 Berlin Marathon 42.2 km, Berlin, Germany (Europe)
April 2019 Montreal Double Challenge Run 10 km + 21.1 km Challenge, Montreal, QC, Canada
🌍 πŸ‡²πŸ‡¦ January 2019 Marrakech Marathon 42.2 km, Marrakech, Morocco (Africa)
November 2018 Athens Authentic Marathon 42.2 km, Athens, Greece
October 2018 Amsterdam Marathon 42.2 km, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
September 2018 Suedthuringen Trail 47.5 km, Suhl, Thuringen, Germany
August 2018 Trail des Fantomes 50 km, La Roche en Ardenne, Belgium
🌎 πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ June 2018 San Diego Marathon 42.2 km, San Diego, CA, USA (North America)
May 2018 Trail des Cisterciens 36 km, Tangissart, Belgium
March 2018 North C Ultratrail 50 km, Coxyde, Belgium
December 2017 40. Aachener Sylvesterlauf 10 km, Aachen, Germany
🌍 πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ June 2017 Rhein-Ruhr Duisburg Innogy Marathon 42.2 km, Duisburg, Germany
April 2017 Deutsche Post Half-Marathon 21.1 km, Bonn, Germany
February 2017 Lauf zur 33 Winterserie des LSV Porz 21.1 km, Cologne, Germany
December 2016 39. Aachener Sylvesterlauf 10 km, Aachen, Germany
July 2016 Himmelgeister Brueckenlauf 21.1 km, Duesseldorf, Germany
July 2016 Actimonda Tivolilauf Aachen 10 km, Aachen, Germany
June 2016 Sportscheck Nachtlauf Aachen 10 km, Aachen, Germany
June 2016 Midzomernachtrun Ghent 16 km, Ghent, Belgium
May 2016 Benefizlauf 10 km, Aachen, Germany
December 2015 38. Aachener Sylvesterlauf 5 km, Aachen, Germany

In 2019, I also qualified for running the Orsières-Champex -Chamonix 2020 (OCC) Ultratrail from the UTMB family of races; however, unfortunately, the draw was negative. I also have a road bike which I use for cross-training frequently. Another mind-blowing experience I was part of was a 10-day/ 100-hour meditation retreat last year, which felt like an marathon exclusively for the mind. Here I learned a bit on how to observe my mind objectively.

I love traveling to new places, and learning new cultures and hanging out with people from different parts of the world. I travel during the weekends, holidays for leisure and multiple times for work every year. So far, I have travelled across six continents and 55+ countries. Among my travels, some of the most otherworldly experiences were exploring the Great Barrier Reef and the Peruvian Amazon, and I will absolutely cherish these memories.

I have done some really cool hiking and biking trips with my friends and also during my travel. Here are the epic ones that I thoroughly enjoyed:

April 2024 Machu Picchu Salkantay Hike 75 km, 4 days, Peru
August 2017 Cross-NL Country Biking Trip (Aachen - Eindhoven - Dordrecht - Den Haag) 350 km, 3 days, Netherlands

I have been following a plant-based lifestyle for the past 10 years and have found it great for my overall health and well-being. I also gave a podcast with coach Karina Inkster on plant-based food, running, and importance of critical thinking in diet choices, check it out below.

I love reading books, and I believe that constant learning helps keep my mind sharp. For books I have read or will read, see my Goodreads page. I refrain from purchasing new books and usually read from kindle or get second-hand books. Occasionally, I also listen to audiobooks.

Watching movies is only second to reading books for me. I have watched over 3000+ contents in different languages. I hope to update my favorite titles on IMDb sometime. Hopefully, I beat procrastinating this at some point.

I have been learning to play the keyboard and violin on and off over the past decade. This hobby is largely for leisure and usually takes a backseat when work takes over. In the past, I tried to get myself a skydiving license but left it halfway through due to PhD workload. I hope to resume it sometime in the future.