The Pl(r)easures Of Running

It is a lazy Sunday morning. It's raining and the weather is quite cold - perfect for snuggling in right? Wrong. I am leaving for the gym, to do nothing less than a 1 hour run. I have no one else to blame but myself for this and this is how it happened...

My first run was the Mumbai Marathon in 2005. It was awesome to participate in. The crowd, the people, everyone running together... I went again in 2006 but couldn't complete because of leg pain. I kept the bib (running number) though and even took it with me when I left Mumbai for Chennai. No runs there although my boss was a member of a running club and it quite intrigued me. I just didn't have the energy or drive to get up really early on weekends and go running.

After coming to Bangalore, the first run I went for was the Sunfeast Marathon in 2008. I told everyone that I was going, practiced for two weeks and somehow managed to complete 5.7 kms in about 32 minutes. The satisfaction I got from a) running the whole distance and b) crossing the finish line was awesome. That's when I got serious about running. So I took my bibs out and put them up on my office board. In a way, it was inspirational and reminded that I just needed to focus and pull along and I could achieve things. I have since then added three more to it, the last one being the Nike 10k Human Race. I completed that in 62 minutes. Yup, very proud ;-)

The pressure part comes from the fact that I feel that I have to up the distance. So from 5 kms I went to 10 kms and now on Nov 15th, I am going to attempt 25 kms at the Bangalore Ultra 2009. Plus, timings do matter you know. Also, people in office keep coming up and saying things like - Wow you run, that's cool or Lets go for this event or that event. So now I really have to keep running. But I don't mind no sirree. It keeps me fit. Its brought down my paunch. And like I said, its great fun, addictive even. So I'm really looking forward to Sunday morning even if it means no partying on Saturday, getting up at 4am and driving out in the cold.

Get Ready to Run (the) Kaveri Trail and Bangalore Ultra Marathon

This post is primarily to give you a heads-up on the marathons that are coming up in Bangalore over the next couple of months.

Btw, I surfed this really cool site called 42k195.com. It is powered by Google Maps. It gives you details of all the marathons being held in a particular place during a particular period. Course, if you have OCD, you can find all the marathons being held across the world.

Kaveri Trail Marathon – Like the name suggests, it is a run on the banks of the River Kaveri. This year, it is being held on Oct 19th. The location should be near Mysore. Ok Sarge, I confess… there seems to be no more info on the run on the net. However, there is a foundation called Asha that primarily works to support the education of underprivileged children in India. Asha provides training in collaboration with Runners for Life so that they can do fundraising. Asha Bangalore is organizing its second marathon-training program for the coming races, Kaveri Trail and the Ultra. The session is being held on Saturday, July 28 at 4 PM at 19th Floor, 'Target', Public Utility Bldg, MG Road, Bangalore.

Bangalore Ultra Marathon – Imagine running 78 kms. I can’t imagine it, unless it is spread over couple of weeks. Anyway, there are three categories in this race – 78 kms, 52 kms and 26 kms. The Kaveri Trail Marathon can be used as a training race for the Ultra. Bangalore Ultra will be held on 16 November, 2008; registrations open on August 15th.

Personally, I plan to start training for the Kaveri Marathon in the latter half of August. That should give me two months time. In the meantime, I guess it’s the usual cardio and leg muscles strengthening at the gym. Will keep posting as I receive any updates.

Run Maadi in the Sunfeast Marathon

Ever since I took part in the Mumbai Marathon in 2006 and failed to complete it, I have been waiting to take part in another marathon and complete the experience. The Sunfeast Marathon which is going to be held in Bangalore this May 18th will give me just the chance and I am so looking forward to it (my body is up in arms and would write something different, given a chance)

To me, the word marathon means something which is going to involve a lot of effort, oohs and aahs and a pain in the butt. The dictionary however defines it as

1. a foot race over a course measuring 26 miles, 385 yd = 42 km, 195 m

2. any long-distance race

3. any contest, event, or the like, of great, or greater than normal, length or duration or requiring exceptional endurance

The Sunfeast World 10K Marathon is being held on May 18th 2008 at Bangalore. It is not a marathon in the true sense as the longest distance is 10 kms. The good part is that only international and national elite athletes can take part in this category so I can always pretend that - 'I wanted to do the 10k run yaar but they wouldn't let me'. For atheletes (ahem) like me, there is a another category called Majja Run which is a distance of 5.7 kms. Couple of things struck me as comical - do the organisers really think we are going to have a lot of majja (fun) while running this distance? Also, the qualifying criteria is 12 years. Man, it is going to be pissing off if a bunch of kids run past me waving and shouting 'Uncle, Uncle'. There is also a Sr. Citizens’ Run and Wheelchair Event. Overall, I am getting good vibes about it as they have a pretty decent website - http://sunfeastworld10k.indiatimes.com/. They have online registration and once I registered they have sent me a couple of mails updating me on the event.

The Mumbai Marathon had an awesome turnout. One of the main attractions was and continues to be the celebrities who come to support the event. Also, the sheer number of people makes you feel great, like you are one big city and all about to do something. There are people stretching, chatting, nervously wondering if they are gonna complete the race, giving each other fundas of what to do and what not to do. I was alone and hence spent my time people watching. The race kicked off and immediately my shoes began giving me problems. The laces kept getting unknotted and I had to constantly stop to tie them up. After about 2 kms, my legs started paining unbearably and I stopped running. After walking about two minutes, I cam upon a pocket of residents cheering on the sidelines. I felt so ashamed that these people were out there cheering each and everybody on and I WAS WALKING!! I started running again but my legs gave out. So after that, whenever I came to a pocket of supporters, I would start running. I saw the same spirit of Bombay folks when the big rains happened in Jul 06. The city people were out there providing food and help, sometimes standing waist high in water. What a city, man!!!

Coming back to the Sunfeast Marathon, the Majja run category starts at 9.45 a.m. The weather has been pretty hot over the past two weeks and that will make it tougher to run. The good thing is part of it will be through Cubbon Park. Most of the info is available on the site but there are a couple of cool things such as
Timing Chip - This is a high-tech internationally recognized timing device. It is a miniature transponder in a specially designed housing. It comes with a refundable deposit of Rs 500 on return. Alas, the Majja Rum guys cannot avail of this

www.marathon-photos.com - these guys stand around and take your photo while running. Later, you can click on the event you raced in and enter your race number. Any photos identified with your race number will be displayed. Woo-hoo.

Best Costume Award - It is being given by Kingfisher. The best individual costume gets Rs 30000 and the best group gets Rs 75000.
For some interesting trivia, please check out http://scmm.indiatimes.com/trivia.html. Be warned, some of the trivia might put you off from ever taking part or at the least, agree that my definition is more apt.

So, I have started training. I have gone 5 times and have done the Majja run distance once. I feel I will complete it this time except for an Act of God. The downside is people have started telling me that I am looking thinner than ever. Jealousy rears its ugly head heh. Who da chicks gonna be looking at eh? Also, Gatorade has run out of stock in my part of town. I think someone is plotting against me. So if you can grab a case and you are in Bangalore, do come and be a part of this. It will be fun, for sure.