Dream running At DreamRunners (DRM Chennai Marathon 2013)

It was a fairy tale in the making. Riding on the impulse wave again I registered for the Chennai marathon in the 21 K category. Now this was serious business, this half marathon. The training needed to improve and this time I had to hit the tarmac unlike the last one.

The chosen training area was Lalbagh, the proverbial “lung” of Bangalore. The outer circle is around 4.2 km and I included the peninsular gneiss in the path to get some hill training. The trail is not all tarmac and one had to negotiate soft, slushy ground especially after the rains. The absence of vehicular traffic and the surrounding trees lent an encouraging hand to the regime.

I started off from the Thandi Sadak avenue, past the gates and the lake, and completing the loop through the peninsular gneiss. The trail around the lake offered some rewarding views of the resident fauna (apart from the birds, I once spotted a snake slither across). A breakfast at MTR after the run completed the experience.

I generally did weekend runs of double or triple loops and on one rare occasion, I did a five loop run. I knew that it was not sufficient but I was at least consistent. I did not have any targets in mind but was hoping that I would finish around the 2 hour mark.

As the race day approached, I ate more and trained less (probably a misunderstanding of the taper concept). Two days before the race I tried a 5K treadmill run and found myself out of breath. This discouraged me to a certain extent, but then the runner’s philosophy kicked in and provided the necessary impetus.

We boarded the Lalbagh Express on 6 July 2013 and headed for Chennai. This was my first visit to Chennai and I had pre-conceived notions about the apparent “heat” and “humidity” of the city. However, as the train dragged itself into the Chennai Central Station, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was cloudy and the temperature was fairly bearable even at mid-day. Our host and good friend, the “dude” Karthik, welcomed us and provided us with an excellent lunch served appropriately on the plantain leaf.

Loaded with food, we headed for the Leela (Besant Nagar), to get a glimpse of the event promotions. The festivities were on and the spirits had hit the crescendo, and we were all set to go.

A visit at the Elliot’s beach was made to soak in some of the Chennai sea breeze, and the team also took this opportunity to let down their hair.

The visit to the “Broken Bridge” allowed for some contemplation and Bollywood-style ‘Patel scope’.

After a nice dinner at Murugan Idly Shop, we headed back for some rest before the run. We could not get to bed early and after tossing around for a couple of hours we were up at 3 am (7 July 2013) to be at the venue by 04:30 am (the race was to start at 5 am).

There was an excellent atmosphere at the starting point, the warm-up routines were very helpful (in sync with the music), and the best thing was that it was drizzling – the Gods had been merciful. It was the perfect setting for the dream run.

The event was flagged off, and we were off into the darkness. As I watched the supportive crowd, a surge of energy went through my veins and I got into the rhythm. The cool breeze was a catalyst as I focused on the wide open road ahead of me. A few minutes into the run, I heard footsteps behind me and somehow I knew he was my pace keeper and for the rest of the run, I kept myself a few yards ahead of him.

It is true that this was my first real attempt at something like a marathon, but the FGF (feel good factor) was enormous. The smiling faces of the volunteers, the fading darkness and the wide open road provided a surreal touch and one could visualize oneself in a slide show with a background score of “Chariots Of Fire.” I met my club mates on the way and after brief exchanges of motivation, we were on our way.

Somewhere around the 17K mark, I experienced the first signs of fatigue, and there were not many runners behind me. I could see the faint silhouette of a distant runner. In the dark it created a tunnel effect (maybe I was hallucinating). As I went past the refill station, there was a spurt for a strong finish and I was on full throttle; the last 150-metre stretch had a couple of false alarm finish lines and I was through.

Before I could recover, I found a medal slipped down my neck. I was grateful. I was not sure about the timings, but I figured it would be around 01:45 mark. My first 21K, complete with a decent performance, was faster than my 10K speed! The final timing was 01:44:45 – a reason to be proud for a rookie like me.

Our runner’s club had made its second run and we are all set for many, many more.