My costliest half marathon

After the ADHM, the INDO TIBETIAN BORDER POLICE HM (7th October) was my second half marathon in the space of a week. I got to know about this HM just a week before it was to take place. I went home and did the online registrations for the event (it was free) and the very next day I went to the ITBP office and submitted the required documents. I was with a bit of pain in my legs after the ADHM and was doubtful about participating in the ITBP HM. Still I decided to get the bib number and decide on the participation later. Thankfully the pain subsided in 2 days and on the 3rd of October I went to the JLN stadium to get my bib number. As I reached gate number 6 I was in for a bit of a surprise, there was a long line of people standing in front of a single counter. Also there were people sitting beside the road and creating a lot of ruckus. As a few girls passed by these people started to comment on them, thankfully for those girls the ITBP people were stationed all around and they managed to pacify the crowd by waving their ‘LATHIS’. As I reached near the counter, an ITBP policeman almost shooed me away with his lathi but not before I managed to ask him as to how to get my bib number. He told me to write my name and registration number on a piece of paper and stand in the line. I did the same. I had reached the JLN stadium at 2 pm and had to submit my details thrice before I finally got my bib number at around 7 pm (5 hours of wait, standing in the sun). There were people who came after me and got their bib numbers before me. With over 20k registrations, these people needed to be a lot more professional in their approach. So many forms were rejected and they were not even allowed to know the cause. But I had a few more days to realize that these were the LEAST OF MY PROBLEMS!!!

As the race day drew closer I had to think about reaching the JLN stadium on time for the HM. This time around there were no arrangements made by TCS so I booked a cab on the night prior to race day. The next day i.e on the 7th of October I reached JLN stadium at around 5 45 am. I did not carry any bag with me this time as I was unsure about the safety of the baggage counter at the ITBP HM. We were assembled at the football ground and from there on we entered the track and field event arena of the JLN stadium. And then the BIG moment!!! SALMAN KHAN(chief guest) had arrived. The crowd went berserk. Luckily things remained under control. He gave his short speech (I could neither see him nor was he very audible due to the hullaballoo of the crowd).

Finally the race started at around 6 40 am. My aim was to complete the HM under 2 hours and I was not thinking about breaking my ADHM (1:57) timing. There were no timing chips for this marathon which was another negative. The route was almost identical to that of the ADHM and the climate was better than it was a week back (small difference which we otherwise don’t notice but plays a big part in things such as a marathon). There were stretches along the route where you have to do a full U-Turn; some participants were cutting their distance short just by crossing the dividers along the road, so much for running FOR THE NATION. After 10 kilometers, I started cramping up a bit and I was in a bit of a worry but thankfully I completed the HM in around 1:55 bettering my ADHM timing. Yipppeee!!! There were enough water points along the road but fewer medi-assist camps compared to the ADHM. The crowd was there but in numbers lesser than the ADHM.

After successfully completing my second HM in the space of a week I was highly satisfied and made my way to have some NIMBOOZ (it was some other brand but tasted the same, didn’t care to notice :P) and water. Then I waited for my friend Rahul to complete his race and he was there soon enough. We clicked a few pictures with his camera and then we went to get some water for him. The crowd of people was chaotic in their behavior and the ITBP people were asking everyone to form a line. A few of us obeyed and stayed in the line for around 20 minutes only to realize that people were still breaking the line in front of us. Suddenly I felt an emptiness in my pocket and as I searched for my cell phone it was not there. I was aghast!!! It had been just 2 and a half months back that I had got myself the Xperia Ray which cost me 16k and now it was gone. I searched for it here and there hoping against hope that I might have dropped it and might find it lying there, but it was not to be. I asked my friend to call my number but it was switched off (EXPECTED). I came out of the stadium disheartened and dejected. At the gate I met a few guys from my native land who had just run the ITBP HM. We talked for a while, exchanged numbers and promised each other to run together from the next marathon onwards. And THUS ends my COSTLIEST HM ever!! SOB SOB !!!:’( :’(

P.S. This incident will not in any way deter me from running more HM’S and hopefully FM’S in the future.

Airtel Delhi half marathon - 2012 - My first half marathon

The first half marathon of my life- Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, was an absolutely amazing experience!!!

 Let me begin with a night before D-DAY. Had an early dinner, called up my friends to wish me luck and went to bed quite early as they say "Early to bed, early to rise"(leave out the rest :P). Soon i found myself checking out the watch every alternate hour thinking i might be late for the event(so light was my slumber). Time flew by and soon it was 4 am, i decided to get up, had a shower, prayed to GOD to be kind on me for my first HM, dressed up and was all raring to go. The pick up cab provided by TCS arrived at 5 10 am and soon I was on my way to the JLN stadium for the ADHM. As we neared the JLN Stadium the traffic increased, people in tees(with their respective running numbers proudly displayed on their chests) and shorts all geared up for the run were seen walking to and fro. Participants started getting out of their cars to reach Gate no 14 on foot so as to be on time for the HM. I decided to follow suit. There was a bee-line for gate number 14 so i had no trouble watsoever in finding it. I could see people of different ages, all in vibrant colors making their way towards gate number 14. Soon i reached the gate, went through the security check up,deposited my bag at the counter and was on my way to the starting point(just follow the crowd was wat was told to me ;)). Soon we reached a narrow lane covered by high fences and i realised that the starting point was nearby. As this was my first HM i was put into the C category in the open event and our race was to start at 6 55 am according to the announcements made. However irrespective of the category the race started at 6 40 am for all the open category participants(for the ELITE runners it was 6 30 am). I started at around  6 55 am and as soon as i stepped out of the narrow line and crossed the starting point i could hear the clappings and chants of the Delhi'tes "run dilli run, come on". Quite a boost up, that!! I could see that people had thronged up beside the route to cheer up the participants(by the end i found out that the entire route was full of people cheering us to run on and on and on). I had in mind to complete the HM within 2hrs and fifteen minutes and started quite confidently. Soon the 1st km sign post showed up and i was so pleased to see it. The route was filled with local bands singing their hearts out for the runners. I saw the BMW lead car displaying the time quite early at the start of the HM and it turned out to be last time i saw it. :P. i had barely completed 20 mints of my HM and i could already see the 'ELITE Runners' speeding their way back to the finishing point. The refreshment points soon came up with water and enrgy drinks being provided to the runners. Medical check points and security was present throughout the route. Sponges soaked in water were being handed to the participants to cool off!! The cooling tunnels which sprayed water was of no help really, rather disapponting!!The route was filled with cameramen and i made sure quite a few of them caught me on their camera grinning wide!!

The part of the HM near INDIA gate was the tricky part as the sun was out in full bloom at around 7 30 am. Soon an hour was up and i saw that i had crossed 11 kms and that was the first time i considered a sub 2 hour finish. The constant cheering up of the crowd was always a motivating factor!! I completed 16 kms in 90 minutes and instead of tiring out I got all the more excited to finish the HM as soon as possible. I kept running and after a little more than a quarter of an hour, i could see the 500 metres to finish sign post, i pressed on the accelerator for a few hundred metres and finally crossed the finishing line which was full of people cheering those who completed the HM. I firmly believed that i had completed the HM in about 2 hours maybe a minute or 2 on the higher side but when i saw the timimg results (1:57:29), YIPPEEEE!!! my joy knew no bounds.

Finally,I  realised i was exhausted and I went to the medal distribution centre to collect the finisher's medal and then to the refreshment area for some food and drinks. Met up with a friend, clicked some pics and finally it dawned on me that it was all but over.

The best thing about such a big event is the participation, the strong will of the people to complete the HM. HATS off to all the participants of the ADHM!! 

P.S. hope this was the first of many more to come!!

TCS Open 10 km 2015 Bangalore

The TCS World 10 km event, the race just before the start of the running season.  I was really looking forward to this event as I had an unfinished goal from last year, to do a sub 50 10 km run in an official timed event.

 Let’s take a sneak peek into what happened the last time around. I had this sub 50 target in mind when I had come here for the first time last year but unfortunately could not achieve it. I was comfortably doing sub 50 in Chennai during my training runs at the Marina beach so I thought it was quite achievable. But then not everything goes as we plan it, right? As I was placed in the last category (Procam running divides the runners in categories based on previous race timings and the faster runners get to start first followed by the rest with categories from A to F, the number of participants increase with each category) I had to face a lot of crowd and couldn’t really build the speed for the first 4 kms. Also, it rained the night prior to race day and it was humid and there was a big puddle of water as we entered Cubbon Park. To top it, the running application on my phone was not able to lock the GPS due to which I was a little unsure about my pace. I finally managed a 51:25, with a rank of 640, a little disappointed. However, there was some consolation as the rank made me eligible for the finisher tee.

Coming back to the present, I had come to Bangalore on the 5th of April, 2015 for my new job after my post-graduation, with little or no running in the past month and also putting on some extra pounds of weight. Thankfully, one of my running idols and good friend Paripurna Pandey was staying close to where I was putting up and so the training sessions began soon. I found out that even a month away from running could badly affect your form and timings. I had become unsure about doing a sub 50 even this year. However, a few weeks of practice runs (I moved to Indira Nagar and joined Indira Nagar Runners) and I started to regain my pace. I did a sub 50 a week before the race and I got the confidence again that I could do it. With last year’s timing I was lined up in category B which improved my chances for a sub 50 run. Also, the route was better than last time though there were a lot of turns which added a few more seconds to the total timing. And even though it rained a day prior to the run, this time they must have cleared the puddles on the road as there was no sign of it. I finally completed the run in 48:26 seconds, shaved off 3 minutes from last year and a ranking of 360.

Also, we had a sumptuous breakfast @Infinitea after the run along with fellow Indira Nagar Runners and had a lovely time.

Hopefully, I will manage to do a sub 45 next year around. Till then, happy running. :) 

LRG night marathon - "The moonlit marathon" sans the moon

After missing out on 4 marathons I had planned to run in the last 6 months I had become desperate to participate in a long distance running event. Seeing the LRG night marathon event on facebook made me happy though I had my initial doubts about running at night. I had already started running on the roads to prepare myself for any upcoming marathon. Finally, I decided to give the night marathon a shot and registered for the 10k event. I ran 2 10k before race day on the 6^th of april and achieved a best time of 53 minutes.

On race day I started quite early in the evening at around 6 pm from my place (Noida) by metro and reached my friend’s place at gurgaon at around 8 pm. My friends wished me luck and one of them took me to the venue of the event on a bike. Thanks to google maps navigation we reached sector 56 without much of a bother.  As we reached the place there were already a few people gathered and they were giving away the bibs and I collected mine. Also I met my friend Vikram Bhambhu who is a very passionate and good marathoner himself. I found out that the marathon was to start at 10 pm and I had an hour before the race started. The crowd started building up and so did the excitement. People of all ages were there and in very high spirits cheering aloud and clicking pictures.

As the start time approached the organizers asked us to form a circle around him and he explained the route to us though I couldn’t really make out a thing. Soon after we reached the start line and on the blow of the whistle we were off. After running a few hundred metres the route was completely dark with minimum visibility as the street lights were out. Soon we had to take a U-turn as per the route and then run straight. We had completed a km by the time we took the U-turn and then we had to run straight again. After another km the traffic increased and we had to be a bit careful but thanks to them we always had some amount of light on the road. After completing 3 kms I saw a tall lanky boy run past me with long strides who finally turned out to be the winner in the 10 km category. After 6 kms, we had to take another U-turn and run back from where we started. I finally completed the race in 49 mints 22 second and found that I had come 3^rd in the race after the tall lanky guy I mentioned earlier, Ashok Kumar was his name and he completed 10 kms in 37 mints(enviable timing), second was my friend Vikram who completed it in 42 minutes. I was elated as I was not hoping to get a position and was only concentrating on a sub 50 minute finish.

After having a few bottles of energy drinks, clicking a few pictures and collecting our finisher medals our job was all but over for the night. Vikram dropped me at my friend’s place and we promised to catch up and run more marathons in the near future. Back at my friend’s place they congratulated me on my run and after having a stomachful of dinner, I retired to bed and soon dozed off tired after my satisfying run and with the zeal of running more marathons in the future.