2010 Gurgaon Half Marathon - Awesome experience in Chilled weather

5th Dec 2010, Gurgaon Half Marathon, couple of days after Delhi Half Marathon, I was waiting for this eagerly as chilling weather was exciting me to conquer this marathon with personal best.

Finally the day arrived, as the race was to start at 7:00 AM I reached ground zero one hour earlier to get warmed up for the run. Unlike Delhi marathon this event was small with around 200 people running for half marathon and approximately 50 people for full marathon.

Well deserved warm up session and race started on time. As the weather was too cold with temperature of around 15 Degree Celsius,I immediately accelerated my speed and started running at second position. I knew that I lost on speed in Delhi Half Marathon wherein I had to slow down the pace after 7KM, so I ensured that I keep the pace under control which I need to sustain till I finish 21 KM.

All the runners were much behind me till 4 KM and runner running at first position was too ahead, so I was almost running alone for sometime.

Uphill stretch after 4 KM

By the time I finished first 4KM I was well ahead of my target time but I knew that the pace is not sustainable till last mile. Marginal uphill stretch after 4 KM forced me to slowdown my speed little bit and then I could hear some noise behind me. There was a couple (foreigner) behind me and chatting continuously. I was wondering about their stamina, they were really amazing and slowly they overtook me well before 5KM. I tried my level best to match my speed with them, overtook them once but it was not sustainable for me, so they ran much ahead of me.

Cool weather and fantastic route

December month in Northern India becomes quite chilled and the same was experienced on this day in Gurgaon as well. So this was the time to do best in marathon and enjoy the run. The route was on the outskirts of Gurgaon city (which I had never seen before), the road in the middle of fields and villages with marginal steeps and downhill run. The route was completely uncrowded and participants were also scattered everywhere on route.

First half of the run

The route was 5.5 KM and we had to cover this stretch twice to make it 21 KM. By the time I finished first 10KM I was able to sustain a pace and I knew I am going to run at this pace till end. Now more than 5 runners had overtaken me. But  I really enjoyed this marathon as all participants were cheering up each others and motivating people to stretch more.

Marathon Man -Dr Roy running his 107th Marathon at age of 78 years

I met an old man who was running his 107th marathon at the age of 78 years. He was running for full marathon which is 42 KM. His spirit motivated me a lot and I just stopped and said him "Dr Roy You are source of motivation for me". I found him really a jolly and lively man who has immense mental and physical  strength. I really admire him for what he has done at the age of 78 years.

Finished Half Marathon

By the time I was about to complete my half marathon I started feeling pain in feet but I did not let that pain dominate my speed and I finished 21 KM run well within my target and actual time I took was 1 hours 58 minutes. My Delhi Marathon timing was 2 hours 6 minutes and this time I had decided to bring it below 2 hours.

What Next

Running for me has become an integral part of my life. It not only gives immense pleasure but makes one physically and mentally strong. My next marathon target would be to finish the run in 1 hours 40 minutes. Lets wait and watch what comes next.

Airtel Delhi Half Marathon - A Run not to compete with peers but with self

21-Nov-2010, entire Delhi was on run. 35,000 plus participants and Cozy morning of November made it really awesome experience. Its not only young crowd but also senior citizens, middle aged people and a large part would be in their late forties. One can feel the spirit of being healthy, being fit and being united over there.

My passion for running this time brought me to Delhi Half Marathon event, a much awaited event by Delhi every year. My excitement to run and write a beautiful chapter for life time did not allow me to sleep well in the night.

The race was to start at 7:30 AM and I made sure that I hit the ground at least an hour before it. The crowd of people raised my spirits very high ,spent sometime on my warm up and relaxed for a while.

Normally when it comes to Distance Running, one thing comes to mind it physical fitness and youngsters but this event defies all such rules. So many old people take part in it that you would be forced to think whether you will be able to maintain this much of physical fitness and mental strength in later part of your life?

START OF RUN AT 7:30 AM

The run started at 7:30 AM from Central Civil Services Ground at Chankyapuri towards India Gate. And my and run started with a big mistake and that was OVER SPEED. With lot of people running around me, I just lost on my normal pace ran with crowd. It was 5K when I realized that I am running at a pace which I will not be able to sustain for full run and if I continue with the same I will collapse somewhere. For me it was better late than never and I reduced my speed to make it sustainable.

CROSSED 8K DISTANCE

By the time I finished 8K distance of my run, lot of people have started overtaking me and that was the time I found myself lost in crowd but self motivation was needed the most at this time. Sun was heating up and it added more flavor of difficulty into my run.

INDIA GATE

Crossing through India Gate was very interesting with open space and lot of people cheering up there for runners. There were so many English ladies who really had a great speed and ran like crazy.

FINISHED HALF OF THE RUN

10.5km and all the energy was sucked in the heat of sun. But I had to do the equal distance yet. So kept going. Completed another couple of KM by chatting with few people around.

13KM AND AHEAD

Oh God !! This was the stage where I started fighting with my mental strength also. Moreover along with feet and knees now my hands also were paining with cramps. I had never experienced a single KM so long, it was  like a full marathon for me. I managed to reach 16KM without any break.

16KM AND HELL AHEAD

Well, the sun was hot enough to force me to take a small break and stretch ahead was also not so short. I picked up the bottle of water, sipped it, put rest of the water on my head and started running again. I was running out of energy by the time I finished 17KM. From 17KM to 19KM I stopped three times for few seconds to accumulate energy for next 500meters.

19KM AND FINISH

By this time we were very close to the holding area and lot of people were there to cheer up the runners and last 1KM did not pain much. Lots of cameras keeping any eye on you and people acknowledging your achievement really makes one happy.

I had a target to finish 21.09 KM in 110 minutes but due to Sun it took me 125 minutes to complete Half Marathon. Its all about practice, since I never practiced in heat and sun I found it difficult to do this first time.

The entire mood was in high spirits and people were helping each others to make this event the memorable experience for all.

It is not the competition with others but a challenge to ourselves and to prove ourselves that yes we can do it. And this was the only motive I had. What else I need I just proved myself.