Aiming your 1st HM? Watch Sholay!

Bollywood has been a unifying force in this country like no other. And the brightest star in the Bollywood constellation is Sholay. People of my age group (and older) would have watched it umpteen times. And like the three wise men who were guided by the star to Bethlehem, Sholay has inspired us to take life head on. Hence my advice to aspiring half marathoners – watch Sholay if you dream & prepare to run those 21 odd kilometers. Here’s why…

The best things happen in pair (at least in Bollywood) – Dharam-Veer, Ram-Lakhan, Seeta-Geeta and the Jai-Viru of Sholay. In running too, it’s always about the buddy. So, where’s your Jai? He/she is the one who will wake up early with you & egg you on during those tough runs. Pull your leg during the off days but also share the last of his hydration when you have finished yours. If you haven’t got one, try convincing your best friend (even the spouse) to start running & share the pains & pleasures that take you to the finishing line.

Find an objective too, or objectives if you can. Our Jai-Viru simply wanted to get out of prison, execute a few heists maybe. And yes, collect the reward money from Surma Bhopali. What’s the goal that running will help you achieve? Yours could be losing weight, staying fit, avoiding doctors or even the memories of your sporty self while in school.

What’s Sholay without Gabbar Singh? You ultimate target, or Gabbar, is completing the HM. When you first decide to go for a HM, it seems deadlier than Gabbar of Sholay or any of the Chambal dacoits that Bollywood has dished out. For you do not know what all lies between today & race day.

So seek & join some running group in your town/neighbourhood. They will accommodate you in their activities & provide you with your daily dose of advice, encouragement & information. Don’t be scared when you (inevitably) come across intimidating veterans who have seen it & done it all. Remember, the Thakur may not have been very communicative or appear helpful but he was the strongest support Jai-Viru had, even after the villagers had forsaken them. And you will find many maulvis who have never seen you running but always congratulate you when you post your activities on Facebook/Whatsapp.

If you now feel confident enough to take the plunge, let me put in some words of caution here. There will be distractions & hurdles at every step in your journey. Sleeping early & waking up earlier is just one of them. Missing binge drinking sessions with the gang is the toughest. And giving up on those pizza/burger meals will turn you into a villain in the eyes of your kids. There will be times when you feel like “soocide, soocide, soocide”, say, when you see those tempting Gulab Jamuns on the table. Don’t be disheartened for the spouse/host will end up saying “finish your long run this weekend & have the entire bowl of these Gulab Jamuns”. Don’t worry, running also gives you the privilege to hog on your fav sin food.

There will even be days when you beg your friends to postpone that party by a couple of weeks till after the HM. But they don’t. And you are forced to skip it. For you need to sleep early having a long run the next day. Don’t quit. Didn’t Basanti too dance in front of Gabbar & his gang despite Viru’s implorations? As they say, “this too shall pass”.

Yes, it is not an easy task staying the course during this period. But the goal will help overcome all difficulties. Gabbar killed 3 of his men when he was told they were defeated by just 2 guys. You will also come across these 3 – Lethargy, illness/injuries & work/social schedule, which make you go for the snooze option or disrupt the schedule you have planned (okay, downloaded). But if your desire is as powerful as Gabbar, you will overcome these & be back on the roads soon enough.

Knowing that Gabbar was the villain of Sholay, you will wonder why he appears a Good Samaritan in this post. Agreed, but I found Gabbar a very lovable character in the movie. What would Sholay have been, had there been no Gabbar? He was the central character in the film. So is completing the first Half Marathon for any runner. It appears tough & frightening in the beginning, but a few weeks down the line you fall in love with it. It guides each of your activity, each of your days. And when you end up with the medal around your neck at the finish line, you feel on top of the world having vanquished the Gabbar of your nascent running life.

Yes, the sore muscles & the painful joints will hurt. For some hours, or rest of the day, or even a few days. We don’t know how many days Viru took to overcome Jai’s loss. But, we believe it was soon enough & he later settled down in Ramgarh with Basanti & Dhanno. Having attained your maiden (pun unintended) HM, you too will settle down to this life of early morning runs. And looked up in awe by other wannabe HMers.

Well, now that this post is over you can go & watch Sholay.