Guts and Glory...

Phew....finally am one half-marathon old!

All old doubts, trepidations, and self-debates about possibilities are laid to rest....I did it- ran the entire stretch of 21 kms from VT to Worli and back in under 3 hrs (2hrs 45 mins to be exact). This culmination of efforts is extremely satisfying mainly because of the immense stretch involved in its fulfillment. But far greater than what i did was perhaps a few things that i saw happen on that day. Some i try to describe below.

• I donot know how marathons are like in other cities and countries, but from whatever i'd seen on TV i expected a serious and somber start. Given that we were starting off at 6 in the morning, I'd assumed a few cheerleaders, a few hundred participants, and a guy with a gun to signal the start. In their place, after coming out of the VT subway i was hit by psychedelic dance floor lights, techno and dhol music, and waves of thousands of runners-each runner cheering as loud(if not louder) than the 100'ds of cheerleaders themselves. I jumped into the crowd and immediately panicked as there was no space to run!Here you are trying to regulate your breathing to conserve energy and you suddenly get bumped into by another runner trying to do somersaults to the music!

I immediately knew i was in for a treat that day!

• The course started and ended at VT having passed through Pizzaria, taken a U at Oberoi, all along marine drive in the early morn, a right turn at Babulnath mandir, past Mahalaxmi temple and cheering residents from roof-tops, straight through haji-ali and upto Atria mall and back along the same route. The most scenic part was the combination of dawn breaking over Marine drive and the enthusiastic crowd cheering participants on. This was the stretch during which the chaff started thinning and one had enough space to run comfortably. Also I happened to reach Haji Ali at about the same time as the lead Marathon runners who's efforts were being filmed by two coast guard choppers flying in really low on the water. The picturesque white mosque glistening off the bay, the sight and sound of the two choppers hovering low overhead, and the fresh morning breeze made me forget that i was well near my max stamina stretch.

• When into a long run, it typically helps to get distracted from the pain. During preparations in the park this was accomplished by either music or by measured sprint bursts which lifted thresholds and boosted stamina in the long run. On marathon day this was taken care of by just glancing at the other runners. To say that there were all sorts would perhaps be a big understatement. A 60 yrs+ old couple zipped passed me at a steady pace near the Oberoi turn-dont recollect having seen them later in the circuit so they must have finished before i did; a 40 yr old lady running alongside me struggling to finish-running, walking, bending over with exhaustion and then running some more-but never giving up, later she managed to finish in about the same time i did. Enthusiastic school kids bursting with speed at the start of the course-almost all sitting along the kerbside half an hour into the run; one sweat drenched stinking dude promoting his website on his T-Shirt which said "know me better at harmitsethi.com".

Inspiring people there were plenty. There was this one dude who I crossed near the Intercontinental on my way back. A short guy on walking sticks and clearly in great pain having covered that distance, he still was doing a steady pace. Inspite of the fact that I was half-dead with exhaustion-I realized I was clapping as I crossed him.

This other runner- a villager from Yavatmal I’d met the day before at WTC while collecting my running bib, I saw him at the hospital tent at VT after completing my run. He was on IV drip and to me his knee bone appeared bent. But he was clearly happy and smiling. Went up-to him and he cheerfully boasted that he was second in the veteran category and had completed the race in 2 Hrs 10 mins. I asked if there was someway I could help him? He pointed to the running chip at his ankle and asked me to remove it. When I bent down to lightly touch his ankle he grimaced horribly. While walking out I wondered how would he reach back home in that condition?

• Spectators were obviously not to be left behind. You had a large party standing and doing bhangra at 6 in the morning near the Amex curb with 3-4 dhols and traditional attire, amused grey headed morning walkers at chowpatty smiling at the runners while their labradors furiously barked. One lustily cheering uncle near Wilson college clearly was not used to waking up early cause his T-Shirt message read in bold "TODAY IS NOT YOUR DAY". Enthusiastic? They were clearly much more than that. One Mahalaxmi resident was so keen on making a lady runner drink from his glass jar of electrol that he actually started running alongside her-and he did that for a good 5 mins in his slippers and pyjamas till the irritated runner had to stop, turn around, and vehemently say no!

Run-Mumbai -Run

The excitement has now moved on to the next level with the route map being released. 10 days to go and self doubt seems to grow exponentially every passing day. Perhaps I would be able to squeeze in only 1 or at max 2 practice sessions before the run and really havent moved forward from my limit of 15 Kms.






It sure would be fun to get up early in the morning and reach VT by 5 AM. I am in a dilemma if i should do a test run along the below route or should i leave it to be a virgin territory to be conquered?

The Gentle Game

New year's first post and i was planning to write on some other topic but then Sydney happened!

There are so many ironies to the incident that i find myself doubling over in laughter just thinking about the unlikeliness of the entire bit:

Irony 1 : (perhaps the most obvious and the biggest) Australians pointing fingers at Indian's for being racist.

I mean, WHAT THE! Of the many ills which plague Indian society(and there are many) racism simply does not figure in. Religious extremism, casteism, plagiarism, vandalism, xenophobic, misogynistic etc etc can perhaps be accepted but Australians need to understand that Racism does not exist in India. And no, we are not going to accept your guilt and heightened sensitivities just because your media blows things out of proportion.

Irony 2: In the face of extreme provocation, a sardar bad-mouthing someone by calling him a bander! This morning, Australian media seems to condone this by saying its a cultural issue. Poor Bhajji didnt know what he was talking about.

I'm like.....what the! Of course he knew what he was talking about. Thats precisely why we're giving Bhajji more credit for being a gentleman than due. In all likelihood, like any self-respecting sardar, Bhajji's first word out would have been a BE#$^C*OD! which a smarting Symonds couldnot fathom and chose to hear otherwise.

Irony 3: (actually 2 hidden ironies in 1)Umpire Mr. Benson asking the opposition captain Ricky Ponting if Matthew Clarke had caught Ganguly's catch cleanly.

hidden irony 1 : An experienced Englishman pleading an Australian to be fair.

hidden irony 2: ICC elite panel umpires not being introduced to the concept of 'conflict of interest'. This for me is another WHAT THE! moment of the test match. I mean if the umpire is to get the final say on contentious calls from the captain on the field , what on earth is he supposed to be doing standing there in middle of the ground? He might as well go sit in the shade of stands.

Irony 4 : The Australian media getting into an introspective mood and questioning tactics of their own team. That's not ironic, the fact that it took a single comment from the gentlest of all Indian captains on only one team playing the game in its true spirit to spark this mood, is.