My name is Kannan Sundararajan. I’m also known as Coach Kay. Since I was a child, I was constantly engaged in athletics, and my passion for sports and sports theory only grew as I began to immerse myself in endurance running in 2011. I’m proud of the many things I did in my journey in sports; I’m an experienced, certified coach.
With a Mechanical Engineering degree, I’m also a certified project manager, agile Scrum master and a Lean Six-Sigma black belt holder. I’ve also played leadership roles in several multinational companies, including Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) and Siemens Industry Software. After working for 24 years, I left my corporate career (LinkedIn profile) and launched KaysFIT Academy in 2016, chasing my passion for coaching. I am an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, UESCA ultrarunning & performance coach, race director, and corporate fitness consultant.
OOTYULTRA, my marquee marathon event, was launched in 2018. It’s conducted early in Ooty, Tamil Nadu, and my goal was to create a measured, premium experience for runners in a destination unexplored by many. In the three editions that followed, I’m proud to say that my event has stayed true to the vision with which I started this event.
I also created Bison Ultra in 2019, an even smaller, more exotic experience for ultrarunners in Yercaud, Tamil Nadu.
Coaching Style
I’m a friendly coach and mentor. I bring my in-depth knowledge of running, sports performance, human anatomy, kinesiology, functional training, sports conditioning, and numerous years of ultrarunning experience into my coaching.
Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime
I also enjoy bringing in my experience in project management and professional process excellence to teach my clients the best planning skills, helping them discover their best selves and achieve their goals in a structured manner.
Credentials
- I’ve completed over 50 marathons & 20+ ultramarathons in my running career since 2011
- I ran 42 marathons and 42 consecutive weekends in 42 places in India between Jul 2015 to Apr 2016 to spread awareness of road safety & the importance of first aid through Be Safe! Be there to Save campaign
- Back-to-back finisher of the Comrades Marathon (90 km ultramarathon in South Africa)
- 100-miler (160 km road race) at The Border 100 miler on the 22-23 Dec 2018 in under 27:59:00 hr
- The first-ever finisher of The Triangular Run Challenge, in May 2019, by completing 500 km in one month
Ultramarathon coach & ACE Certified personal trainer.
External mentions & references
- The Safe Ultramarathoner (www.finishermag.com)
- How running left the jogging tracks and became a fun, community exercise (https://economictimes.indiatimes.com)
- Meet the ‘coaches’ who keep amateurs run-ready (www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
Road Safety Ambassador
I regularly organise First Aid and CPR training for various corporations and communities. Through the #helpkiran campaign, I raised over 6.5 lakhs within one month to support an accident victim in Bangalore. Read read read about the #helpkirantoday campaign
A good Samaritan
Kay is a recipient of ALERT BEING AWARD – 2017 for being a good samaritan for saving lives and accident victims.
Road Safety Campaign in Limca Book of Records
The 2018 edition of the Limca Book of Records featured my Marathon Safety Campaign under the human story section.
External References:
- One Man’s Extraordinary Journey and What Indian Railways Could Learn from It! (www.thebetterindia.com)
- One man’s extraordinary journey and what Indian Railways could learn from it! (www.citizenmatters.com)
- HELP 22-year-old Kiran who met with an ACCIDENT – KETTO FUNDRAISER PAGE (www.ketto.org)
- Bengaluru Marathoner Stops Mid-Way To Help Out An Accident Victim, Raises Funds For His Surgery (www.indiatimes.com)
- How to save a life: This Bangaluru runner stopped his marathon from helping an accident victim (www.thenewsminute.com)
- Bengaluru Runner Stops Mid-Marathon To Help Accident Victim, Raises ₹5.5 Lakhs For Treatment (www.scoopwhoop.com)
- Bengaluru Runner Helps an Accident Victim during a Marathon & Raises Rs 5 Lakh for His Treatment (www.thebetterindia.com)
- How a Bengaluru runner helped an accident victim during a marathon! (www.inuth.com)