Dehradun, March 11 -- Sherab Melvin, a seasoned marathon runner, started as a hobby to stay fit, after the birth of her daughter, which soon transformed into an unexpected journey that saw her competing in the world's most prestigious marathons, including the Chicago, New York and Boston Marathons all in a few months. Interestingly, by 2014 she had participated in the Boston Marathon nine times.

Melvin's journey began in 2002 when she trained for her first half marathon. "At that time, marathons were far from mainstream." Encouraged by her training group, she decided to push herself further, "I thought a full marathon was crazy," she recalls. "But they told me that training for a full isn't 50% more effort-it's just 25%. And I thought, w...