AHHM
On 30th August, I
participated in the Airtel Hyderabad Half Marathon. On the previous day, I met
several runners’ friends at the ITEX Expo where the T shirts and BIB No were
distributed. I had a photo session with Soles of Cochin runners. When I asked them as to who is running half
marathon, they said in a chorus “Nothing less than full marathon”. I liked their spirit and unity. A runner from
soles of Cochin Mr. Mathew Mapram was the veteran champion of last year. I
purchased a book by a passionate runner Parul Sheth under the title “Running
Soul”. My comments on the book will appear in a separate post. Myself and a
full marathon runner Ravi Kumar from Chennai had a nice lunch at NCA (National Construction
Authority) canteen at a nominal cost of Rs 70/=.
In the evening I had a
lavish oil bath with almost one hour massage with “Balaswagandhadi Tailam” medicated
ayurvedic oil. From my experience I found that massaging with ayurvedic oil is
very effective which will help to maintain the flexibility of the body and
prevents small problems like muscle pulling, cramps pain in the body etc. In Delhi I cannot have such a luxurious bath
as in summer after 15- 20 minutes I will be massaging with sweat instead of oil
and in winter it will be possible to stand in that position for one hour. After
the bath, I went to the nearby Ayyappa temple.
Subsequently I had light dinner with idly and Anar juice
and slept at 8.30 PM.
Last year I reached the
venue too early. So this year I started
little late. After boarding the auto, I found that traffic is closed at several
inter junctions as the full marathon had started at 5 AM. . Auto driver wanted to take a long route, but
I asked him to take the same road in the opposite direction. On the way traffic
police stopped us for taking wrong route, but seeing my attire, I was allowed
to proceed. Auto stopped at a distance
from where I had to walk. At last I
reached the venue at 5. 50 AM. As the runners came early had taken position in
the front, I had to catch the last bus of 3. 15
Due to plethora of runners,
there was no space for running initially. Many of them were non- serious or casual
runners. I tried to overtake them by
running on the footbath, but many of them were walking leisurely on the
footpath also blocking the way of others. This continued for 3-4
Kilometers. If I had taken position in
the front row, I could have saved few minutes.
After about 4 KMs I changed the bus to 3. After some time I felt amiss
and uncomfortable. Few minutes later, I checked up what is wrong with my shoes.
To my surprise, I found that one screw had pierced into my shoes. I could take it out without much difficulty. Hyderabad marathon is considered to be the
toughest city marathon with rolling hills and flyovers. Climate was not
conducive as expected. After some time it was hot and humid. The roads were not flat and smooth and at
many places roads were broken. Creation
of a new state and installation of a new Government had its toll on the city. Chandra
Babu Naidu was a good administrator and he nurtured the city very well but the
present Chief Minister is a good agitator. I heard that due to poor
development, property prices are falling in Hyderabad.
After 11 KM I changed the
bus to 2.45 bus. Arrangements were good at water stations and first aid
stations. Fortunately, I was not required to use first aid station. There were
cooling systems also at 2 places. Considering the sultry condition, they could
have increased the cooling stations. Lemon was conspicuous by its absence. Consequently provision of salt was redundant. I think coconut water is an excellent fuel for
runners. Tender coconut water is pure,
unadulterated, hygenic and a great gift of nature. If the organizers cannot provide within the
registration fee, they could have arranged on payment basis. They can instantly fill it in small bottles,
as runners cannot carry coconut. My
assessment is that with the provision of tender coconut, most of the runners
will be able to improve their time by 2 to 10 minutes. Moreover, we should use
our natural resources to the maximum extent.
On the halfway stage, few elite runners overtook us with lightening
speed.
After crossing 16 KMs I
joined the 2.30 bus. I finished the race without much difficulty. A sumptuous
breakfast was waiting. I waited till the
prize giving ceremony and by that time all the buses had left. I along with a runner friend took an auto to
a nearby bus stand and from there we boarded a Volvo bus. After reaching the
place of residence, again I had a lavish bath preceded by an oil massage. By the evening train I left Hyderabad to
Bangalore. In the train I slept at 8.30
PM and woke up only at 5.30 AM. It was a
challenging run worth remembering.
With the best wishes and
support of my friends and relatives, I came second in the Super Veteran
category. I give full credit to my
family, relatives, and friends for their unstinted support and to innumerable
well wishers. For a person who never participated in any sports activities
during his school or college days and who started running at the age of 64, I
with all humility feel that it is a stupendous achievement beyond my
expectations. Thank you my family members, relatives, friends and well wishers
for their unstinted support and best wishes.
However, I would have been
much more happier had the Indian participants at the world athletic
championship O P Jaisha and Sudha Singh who ran on the same day, same time at
Beijing would have finished second and third instead of 18th and 19th..
Nevertheless, it is gratifying that both broke the national record created by
Jaisha and qualified for the Rio Olympics. It is not out of point to mention
that Jaisha broke 20 year old record in the SCMM held during January 2015 on
her debut and this is her second marathon only. Both of them are highly
talented and dedicated athletes and let us hope that they will create history
in the 2016 Olympics and make all of us proud.
The eldest person
participated and completed the half marathon was an 82 year old (young)
athlete. He was specially felicitated at the prize distribution ceremony for
his indomitable spirit. Event manager’s announcement that all the way he was
running, was received by the spellbound audience with thunderous applause. Many youngsters will be wondering as to when a
person of their Grandfather’s (or Great Grand Father) age can run 21 KM nonstop,
why can’t they ?. I exhort the people of all ages to join the running
fraternity and inculcate and expand sporting spirit. Running not only helps in
the physical and mental well being but also contributes to the behavioral
pattern, outlook and attitude, all in the positive direction. If all of us join
together, we can change the sports scenario of the country and can make India a
super power in sports at least in the Asian circuit within a period of a decade
or two. This will help in strengthening national integration in a country
divided by caste, creed, region, religion, and language etc, consequent
promotion of nationality feeling culminating in the accelerated process of all
round development of the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment