The FIRST 21!!

I ran the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon on 15^th Jan and what an experience it was. I count the 4hr-run as a trip and hence a travelogue is in order!

I remember vividly being so excited that I got up even before the alarm went off. With barely any sleep, we gathered at the holding area. The excitement was contagious; it was as if we had been shot with adrenaline. You could see people bent in strange poses as we began our warm up exercises. We huddled near the start line bobbing up and down to keep warm against the cool breeze. We clicked a hundred pictures on our camera phones. Finally the race started as we began our slow jog towards the sea link. The moonlit bridge came into view and the city rose dark against the black sky. It reminded me of the NYC sky line. Just as we were about 5 kms into the race, we saw few a athletes sprint by on the other side of the bridge in full action. I was told that they were the full marathon participants who had started at our finish line and had made their way across to us! It was amazing to see these athletes as they jogged on effortlessly, our entire batch cheering them on! As we were about half way through the sea link, dawn broke and the sky turned crimson. I sorely missed my camera which I had deemed an unnecessary- extra baggage! At that moment, I swore I would finish this race as opposed to quitting at 10K limit! As we exited the bridge, our first audience came into view and the entire lot of us increased our pace determined to put on a good show. We grinned at the bystanders and took longer swifter strides. As we turned left we met some more ‘full marathon runners’ who continued almost gliding to their half way mark. As the road turned around the “XYZ” the mundane streets dulled our enthusiasm which was only revived when larger groups of people huddled the street sides cheering us on! Then there was a siren and police bikes raced ahead with flags and a cameraman followed them. The astonished lot of us looked around to find the first of ‘full marathon’ runners overtaking us as our paths merged. We cheered harder and felt real inspiration to go on. The organizers had done a spectacular job of setting up ‘water bottle stands’ at every half km ride. There were stalls handing out wet sponges to cool our overheated limbs. We gulped down copious amounts of water and strew the empty bottles at the sides as instructed to ensure their swift collection and disposal. That was the only time I felt terribly guilty of littering the streets of Mumbai. I silently thanked those volunteers who would be cleaning up after us.

By the time we completed the full circle and came back to ‘Bandra sea link’ I could feel the tiredness creeping in. This time I was saved by another ‘U-turn’ as my own team mates who were ahead of us came into view cheering me on. I laughed and gave them thumbs up! We continued ahead with slow jogs that alternated with walks. A fellow team mate to whom I am thoroughly indebted to, motivated me by being my ‘half marathon’ tour guide! He literally listed out all the attractions along the road (right from Babulnath temple, Mahalakshi Temple, Pedhhar Road, Haji Ali, Marine Drive) edging me towards the finish line. After the 11K mark, exhaustion crept in and I yearned for some energy drinks. My sleep deprived mind played tricks on me and I swear I felt I was sleep walking. If that were true I would have entered the Guinness book of world records for longest ‘sleep walk’ EVER!

My monologue and reverie was broken as my blood sugar reached a new low. I was in denial of my fatigue, the pain in my legs as they grew heavier by the minute! My prayers

were soon answered as some bystanders offered ‘Parle G’ biscuits to the lot of us. We broke our stride to grab some biscuits and carried on nibbling. With renewed zeal we moved forward. All was indeed well till about 13km after which my legs started seriously hurting. For the next 5 kms I walked, crawled even. Bystanders cheered us on and that was the only reason why I made it to the finish line. As we turned the last corner onto Marine drive, it was as if we had entered a new world. Groups of people had put up stalls and the loud music got me jogging once again. The final frontier was the jog from 19-20km! It seemed never ending and was the longest stretch by far. The minute we reached the 20K mark, a renewed me was born who jogged ahead. I couldn’t believe I was almost finishing it and my own heart swelled up with pride! I was smiling by the time my ‘bib’ beeped the for the last time at the 21km finish line! FANTASTIC!