The Good, The Bad... Before we Round up

Okay, we now know the criteria that will be used to compare the events & how I will rate them. I will now quickly go through these criteria for what was the best (or worst) experience for each.

Start time: Every event that I have been to, has started on time, give or take a couple of minutes. Full points to all. Except Vadodara International Marathon 2016 (VIM-16), though I have still given it a point because it started. With the experience of VIM-16, I was afraid this would be repeated at Gandhinagar too, being a city of babus. But no, they started on time which, I believe, is because the event is organized by runners. Need to point out that VIM-17 started on dot & is expected (hopefully) to do so in the next editions too.

Hydration/Fuel arrangement: This is adequately taken care of by the organisers, but inevitably supplies run out by the time slower runners are finishing their run. Kochi & Rajkot ensured this was not so. However, at Zendurance, Nasik, one found Enerzal was out of stock by the time the 10K runners reached the 5K turnaround. This was not on account of organisers running out of stock but failing to replenish it. Had they kept some bottles of wine there, runners would not have complained!

Traffic management: Toughest task for any organizer, this one is. But Rajkot managed it very well. For three reasons, I think – it was the local administration that was organizing the event, the collector himself was running the HM & also because the people of Rajkot are inherently friendly & patient. SoleFest also did a good job on account of good route selection that avoided early morning traffic. VIM-16 failed badly in this criterion simply because of a delayed start.

Route: Give this one to the tourist destinations. Spice Coast, Kochi, takes us through the beautiful old town areas with the backwaters turning up every now & then. Goa River Marathon (GRM), as the name suggests, courses along the river (and over it too) which is a good thing as Goa is otherwise synonymous with Beaches. Even Zendurance had a beautiful route beginning & ending at the Sula Vineyards. But making the HMers do a double loop makes it a bit boring the second time round. On the other hand, we have RunGandhinagarRun which is unfortunate enough to be held in Gandhinagar whose roads are laid out in a maze. No wonder, the 2-hour Bus itself lost its way (along with its passengers) at Gandhinagar.

Weather: Give this one to Zendurance. Perfect weather for distance running, neither too cold nor warm. Of course, all events are conducted when the weather is best. Except SoleFest, which had the disadvantage of finding a vacant slot in March. Not the best of times to run in Baroda. Having moved to end-November, things should turn out much better next time onwards.

Crowd support: It was a festival out there in Rajkot, maybe because it was the 1^st time such an event was taking place there. The municipal corporation had promoted the event very well & the locals were out in large numbers to witness it. They were not really inconvenienced much because they had to come out anyway to get their morning dose of ganthias. Zendurance is characterized by absence of any bystanders because it is conducted outside the town amidst the vineyards. But why so in Gandhinagar? I think the babus work very hard rest of the week to wake up early on a cold Sunday morning to watch some runners sweating it out.

Post-run refreshment: The spread at Kochi is any foodie’s delight. Steaming hot idlis along with dosas & omelets straight from the pan are what you get at Spice Coast Marathon. If you are planning to go there, I suggest you move out of town after the breakfast to have some fresh toddy. SoleFest scores full points here because of the awesome puri-bhaji it served. When you are a runner, you don’t bother about the calories you intake after a long run! I rank GRM in this bracket though the eatables they provide are not worth a mention, simply because they also give you a complementary can of beer. Shouldn’t Zendurance add a glass of wine to its fare, which is anyway served cold?

Route markers: It shouldn’t really matter but Spice Coast has taken this to stratospheric levels. Others shouldn’t even try to match it. Rajkot tried its best but doesn’t come close, though it leaves the rest far behind. ("Run, blood should circulate" is lifted from one such poster at Rajkot.) At the other end, we had budget-constrained SoleFest pasting KM markers on car windows & parking these along the route. I gave them 1 point for innovativeness! Hope Gandhinagar has directions pointed out next time round, for a zero score is not what you want year after year.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I have also considered another factor – overall experience. But that is for the next post, when I will share how these events have scored. While you are waiting for it, you can share the best & worst experiences you have had for the other readers to benefit.

Sanskar Nagri bares its Soul at SoleFest

This one was different. I was not only running but also a part of planning & organizing it. And this also makes it all the more difficult to write about. I will still have a go at it…

We had been after Dr. Rajesh Chauhan to organize another running event in Baroda, one which would focus solely on the runners. A few days after Vadodara International Marathon, the good Doc messaged our WhatsApp group asking us to come to his hospital to discuss The Marathon. He had gathered the seasoned runners & the utility men to discuss details of the event. The hardest decision we took that day was fixing the date of event, for we had to do it before the temperatures shot up post-Holi. And events had already been announced till then. The contest was between 26^th Feb (Bhavnagar HM) & 5^th March (Mt Abu Trail HM) & Bhavnagar won because we got an extra week to prepare for the event. This was really tough as we knew many running buddies from Baroda had planned to run Mt. Abu (Bhavnagar too, for that matter), but the bullet had to be bitten. That they would get to drown their sorrow of missing this event in freely available beer made us wipe our tears & gird the loins.

Another one was the Route which threw up plenty of options. We were looking for one that would have a lot of visibility, disrupt minimum traffic, be low on traffic junctions & was an out-and-back one. Also, as far as possible, avoid an over bridge to make it all the more alluring. A team soon got formed that would survey the route to measure the distances & identify critical spots. Which they decided for the next morning itself, all being enthusiastic runners! We were all mighty pleased with the route as the memory of VIM route was still fresh & we were sure this one was as good as any other route. Later the bubble was pricked by none other than the wife, when we were returning after the event. I shall come back to this later.

We also decided that there would be no 5K, to avoid needless attention being paid to non-serious runners. Thus, we had men & women running 10K & the HM in 2 categories each – Open & Veteran. As none of us had any political aspirations, nor did anyone desire the record books noting our participation levels, we could focus on a manageable event to promote the cause dear to Dr. Chauhan – Organ Donation. Lest Rakesh be scared, the doc was kind enough to explain the meaning & rationale behind the objective. We targeted & planned for some 500 odd participants. A small, but not an easy number to achieve as we had only about 3 weeks to put on the show. Not forgetting that many of the seasoned runners were going to Mt. Abu & Surat for events announced much earlier. Apart from social media (WhatsApp, Facebook & Twitter), volunteers fanned out to the parks & hot spots where morning walkers & runners usually hang out. In the end, we ended up with 700-plus runners, with over 70 for the HM. We were not stumped by this response as we already had Plan-B, Plan-C & Plan-D in place to cater to any such jump in participation. The tagline "Daudo Dil Se" (coined by Adil) pulled at the heart strings of Baroda's runners.

Doc Chauhan had gathered a very competent set of individuals to execute the plan. We had people like Rakesh, who did a lot of running around. In fact, he ran around so much that he did not run in the event itself (was it the absence of 4 things?), stationing himself at the venue. And Reni, who made his appearance when (and where) it mattered the most. Then we had Dr. Narendra Joshi, Faiz, Mohammed, Narendrabhai, Harjeet, the Smart couple (Dr. Neha & Himanshu), Dr. Akash Singh, RK Menon, Ajay Sharma, Dr. Piyush Doshi and the lot (which included the Spandan & HCG teams). Pardon me for not putting down the entire list. In their own ways, they went about doing the small tasks that made up the whole event.

We used to meet at Spandan Hospital to discuss the event, in late evening hours when we were done with our professional responsibilities. The discussions were cordial & consensus was attained without much friction. But the best thing used to be the dinner at the end. Dr. Chauhan’s hospitality was always been a benchmark! As you know, runners love to eat. You would also know what all these events feed us after the run. After some debate, we all voted for unlimited puri-bhaji with tea/coffee over samosa/kachori with tea/coffee. Nothing like a heavy meal after a long run, if one is a runner. And the guys actually tasted 3 different types before finalizing the bhaji. Didn’t I tell you, this one was organized with the runners in mind?

Spandan Multispeciality Hospital & HCG Cancer Center were the major sponsors. The basic expenses were met, with some help from the nominal participation fees (Rs. 300). While we were not stingy with the runners’ essentials (dry-fit jersey, medal, hydration, ORS, physio), we were not in a position to be lavish either, on account of the short window to collect funds & organize the event. Of course, this called for innovative solutions (or, if you prefer an indianised term, jugaad). Thus, we had a run without timing chips (promising ourselves that we would have it the next time). But we arranged for LED time displays (finish) & video cams (finish & turnaround) to capture the finish time of runners & avoid controversies. Nor did we have standees marking the distance, but vehicles were parked along the route with KM markers.

We did not even need to decide that there would be no celebrity to flag off the race. With even the Vadodara International Marathon starting on time this year, we couldn’t afford failing on this account. We had arranged for Zumba performance to warm up the runners before the start. It so happened that as the start time neared, there were no signs of the performance ending (because the performers arrived late?). With a delay of a couple of minutes, the HM was flagged off. The HM route took one from HCG grounds to Havmor Circle on OP Road & onwards to Nilambar Circle & Priya Cinema up to the intersection with Gotri Road. And all the way back to HCG for the 21K. The 10K runners turned back a little after taking left from Havmor. The HM was flagged off at 5:30 AM (to be precise, 5:32) & the 10K at 6:00 AM, the time lag to avoid any rush at the beginning or the end.

When the 10K was being flagged off, I was there at the front of the pack. No, I wasn’t aiming for a podium finish. I wanted to return earlier for the puri bhaji before the rush began. But I simply can’t run fast enough for a considerable distance. Less than  KM & Dr. Suresh Iyengar (the one who paced me in Gandhinagar & Vadodara earlier) caught up with a “mera partner mil gaya”. And we were joined by Dr. Sejal, who was returning from injury picked at BSafal (and was consequently out of practice) & Ajay Sharma, one of the pacers at VIM (which reminds me, I still haven’t begun the 2^nd post on VIM). This prompted Dr. Iyengar to up his speed as we moved to OP Road & go ahead. And I tagged along (As I have been telling you since the last two posts, there is no better pacer than Dr. Iyengar).

We (Doc Iyengar & I) usually make a guess about who we will come across on the return at what distance. As expected, Fazal came sprinting along at 4K (that was the distance we had covered as well as Fazal’s pace). He loves to run, else we may as well as handed him the 1^st prize even before the race began & no one would have uttered a word in protest. Actually he doesn't even run, he gallops & needs under 40 minutes to cover 10K. Next we came across Vasudev & Sameer Gaikwad, strides in sync. I cannot decide whether Sameer is a fast runner or Vasu a slow one. Yes, they were running at the same speed but Sameer, I believe, is more than twice Vasu’s age. And we make so much noise about the age factor in active sports.

I was feeling thirsty but the 1^st hydration point was still some distance away. Zaheer Khan had arranged his cyclist buddies to provide hydration support to runners along the route. I saw one coming & stopped to get some water. He pulled a bottle & handed it out but a runner zipped past taking the bottle with him!! The kind cyclist went for another one but found he had run out of stock. He went to replenish, while I moved ahead to get some water near Manisha Chokdi & catch up with Dr. Iyengar. I can put it on record there’s nothing like a quenched throat & Dr. Iyengar’s company to make an early morning run, whatever the distance, enjoyable. (It’s another matter, Dr. Iyengar rarely wakes up early & nor do I!)

The police was out in full force, managing the traffic. Unlike the peak traffic hours, this time the people were patient enough to follow the traffic personnel’s instructions & wait for us to pass. At Havmor junction, we turned left. The turnaround wasn’t too far from here. And as has become the practice since the last 2 events, I took off. Nilesh Shah was already doing the return leg here. Nilesh is a colleague who has started running a few months back. He did his 1^st HM at the VIM. Along with a few other colleagues, he was doing the 10K at SoleFest. The music announced the turnaround. It was well stocked with water & ORS as well as the physio. I had a pack of each (but not the physio, stupid!). But where were the bananas? Wasn’t someone supposed to have arranged these? Because of the unlimited puri-bhaji on offer missing a banana here was not such a big deal & the ORS was enough for a 10K. The big deal was not being able to go by Vikram Raval’s suggestion. (On account of the law in force & the prevailing enforcement environment, I cannot share what he said but am sure you would understand.)

There was a pretty large bunch of runners coming from the other side. One of them being Mr. Pandey. The previous night, when we were at the venue overseeing the preparations, two elderly persons walked in. Interacting with them, they informed that they were participants & had come along to see the start point. They stayed nearby & were informed of the event by volunteers who had parked themselves at the park where they went for the morning walk. They participated in all marathons possible, including outstation ones & were happy to have 2 events in Baroda itself. The venue was readied in double quick time. Yes, the plot was vacant & didn’t need much of an effort. But to arrange resources & get it ready for an event was a task in itself. Had you been there the previous morning you would have found a neglected piece of land. By late afternoon, it had been cleared of vegetation & levelled. By evening, stalls had come up & the late night it was all decked up. It was one hell of a task but we wanted the runners to feel heavenly. During the evening itself, Mohammed went & fixed up the car parking at a nearby plot (in a matter of minutes, at that). And while we were wondering what to do about KM markers, we were informed that Faiz was already on the job. Even Narendra Joshi’s Bullet never felt so overworked as it did during that single evening! You know how much men love their bikes? For Narendra Joshi, running some 80-odd KM is a stroll in the park. (He actually did that less than 3 months previously at Kamati Baug.) But considering that his dear Bullet was so exhausted, he skipped the run during SoleFest preferring to run the show from behind the scenes!

Back to the elderly gentlemen, one of them (Mr. Chauhan) was over 60 years, while Mr. Pandey was 71 years young. Here they were again, outrunning those young enough to be their grand kids. One of them, though much older to be a grandkid, was Kamal Saxena. Kamal had seen some of my VIM pics on Facebook & had called saying he wished get into running. I made him register for Sole Fest & here he was running strongly. He had taken this one seriously & had really practiced for the event. I also came across Kishore Talegaonkar, who was on his maiden run, & Dinesh Govinda, who was doing the 10k for the 2^nd time in a month. The previous occasion was at VIM where the organisers mistakenly registered Dinesh for 10K (instead of 5K) & he sincerely completed it. Both of them (colleagues at work) are now wedded to running as a regular activity. In this respect, SoleFest achieved what it intended to.

Coming back to OP Road, I reached Manisha Chokdi to hear music being played out. The speakers had been mounted on a Thar (another jugaad). (Did I miss it when I first went past?) We also had arranged 2 groups of Punjabi dancers/musicians with dhols who were positioned along the HM route but I missed it because I ran only 10K. Another water bottle & ORS gave me energy enough to pick my pace. Which brought me to the last leg, below the Kalali overbridge & then to the Sun Pharma Road. Where a cyclist had parked himself with a bottle of water in his outstretched hand. I wasn’t really thirsty & moved along but admired his thoughtfulness. For, this is the point where one needs all support & minor gestures such as this one made SoleFest a runners’ event.

I saw Sameer coming along at a brisk pace. Was he doing a double 10K? No, this thought never occurred to me. All I asked him was whether the puri-bhaji had been prepared (it was too far for the aroma to reach) & receiving an affirmative answer quickened my pace. Abdul was there & he escorted me to the finish, egging me on. His encouraging words (and the puri-bhaji) made me almost sprint (technically, the fastest I can run) to the finish. And I had finished in under 1:10 (1:06, is what the Garmin told me), the fastest 10K (actually, 9.5K as per the Garmin) I have ever done. Whenever Dr. Iyengar paces me, I run faster than I have ever done. This happened on the previous two occasions & this one too!!

I took out my phone & found missed calls, including a few from the wife (made quite some time earlier). Upon calling her, I was told that it being dark, she wasn’t sure of the route after Nilamber circle. She actually went along a wrong route till some runner called & corrected her. Weren’t their volunteers around, I asked & but she hadn’t seen any. They had either not turned up or left for some other alluring activity.

Then, she came across a pack of quarrelling dogs & took refuge at a tea stall. Upon seeing the missed calls, I had feared only an injury but dogs on the road (like cockroaches & lizards inside the house) are far more serious! Fortunately, they minded their own business. She had crossed the turning point & was now in familiar territory, with the darkness gone. We missed out this aspect of the route. The route was good in terms of low traffic, green cover, etc., but our recce team ran along the route post-dawn. Thus they may have missed out absence of streetlights on this stretch. Also, they (like most male runners) would not have considered the canine presence as a nuisance (or, should it be danger?).

Anyway, relieved that I was, I attended the other number that had tried contacting me. It was from Ms. Razia Shaikh (she has at least 3 ph nos.!). We had decided that we shall not have any celebrities to flag off the run or give away the prizes. We zeroed down to Ms. Shaikh & Imran Sheikh to do the honours at the end. To those unacquainted with her (which means those not from Baroda or those born much later than I), this lady was the undisputed national champ in her sport – Javelin Throw, for around 15 long years. In her long career, she won more than twice as many gold medals as silver. And Imran Sheikh has been the captain of the Indian blind & deaf cricket team. (When we first contacted him for the event, he was playing the world cup.) Sportspersons with impeccable credentials but largely unknown for not being involved in men’s cricket.

Ms. Razia Shaikh had reached the venue & I had the tough task on my hand to locate her in this crowd. Though I had last seen her in person some 25 years back, there were recent pics on her Facebook page. Being a small venue & her precise directions, I found her but she had already made herself comfortable by then. We fell short here too. We should have nominated someone exclusively to attend to the invitees. Next time, definitely. Some time later I found I had missed a call from the wife, this time looking for directions at Havmor crossroad. Again, a case of missing volunteers. I was late in responding but she had managed to take the correct turn this time.

So off I went to extend last stretch support to Kamal Saxena & Dinesh Govinda as they finished their run. Having done my duty, I returned back to the venue & managed to get Kishore Talegaonkar’s company for the unlimited puri-bhaji. After all, that was the prime motivation. And I was not disappointed at all. Of all the post-run snacks/meals, I will rate SoleFest as joint-best with Spice CoastMarathon!!  Having finished the puri-bhaji (won’t reveal how many helpings I had), I discovered another call from the wife that I had missed. I had missed too many calls today, and despite a valid excuse I was really scared of the fate that awaited me once we were back home. This time, she had been smart. She had called me from Reliance mall for directions. By the time I called her back, she was at Akshar Chowk, the very point she wanted directions from, which I provided.

To make amends I went off to catch her on the route. As I came out, I saw Anita Rawat on the verge of finishing. The wife should be close behind. Well, not really, but she was also not too far either. And I chaperoned her to the finish. Just in time for the prize distribution to begin. (If this appears very hectic, it was.) Reni was on stage now and, by his performance, upstaged RJ Roshan. But for the absence of a pen to take down notes, he would have gone back to Radio City as a far better RJ. The known suspects walked away with the prizes, but there were enough surprises. 

The winner of men’s HM was a Mr. Kareem (did I spell it correctly?) from France. Without even attempting to be one, SoleFest, in the first edition itself, had turned International!! We have always known Rajesh Tiwari as a speedster of distance running. At SoleFest, his sister-in-law announced herself as one too by getting a podium finish. The Dr’s Kamat kept things predictable by each winning a prize. Dr. Nagesh K revealed that this was the first ever podium finish for him. He would finally have looked the Mrs. (an "Ironwoman") in the eye after an event!! Rajinder Singh, who missed out the podium at VIM by one position, got one here. And when they announced the 3^rd place in women’s HM, I wondered who this Anita Rawat was. This one was a new name, till the wife exclaimed & I realized who it was. The two ladies began running less than 3 months back & had finished 3^rd & 4^th at SoleFest!! (But I am too modest to take credit for initiating them into running & guiding them through the course.)

But, as they say, Drama abhi baaki hai mere dost. It turned out that Shital Pawar should have been on stage receiving the prize. This was conveyed to the concerned & upon checking the data, the mistake was graciously (& publicly) accepted. Same thing happened in one of the women’s categories too. With timing chips & mats the next edition onward, this was the last time such an error was taking place. 

We had also arranged a couple of Fine Arts students to sketch portraits of the winners after the event. Though not all availed this, I am sure this will be another reason (apart from the unlimited puri-bhaji) for they coming back to the next edition of SoleFest.

Bringing this post to a close, I would sum up the first edition of SoleFest as one where a lot of things went right & a few that could have been better. “Comrade” Vandana Parekh (was this really the 1^st event she has run in Baroda?), while accepting her prize, was all praise for the manner the event was conducted. Coming from someone who has run all over the world, one would obviously not disagree with her, including the one suggestion she had. I am sure, Himanshu & Dr. Neha would find a trophy featuring a female runner next time. 

Considering the cause being promoted by the event (Organ Donation) & that the event itself was promoted by two hospitals (HCG & Spandan), the medal paid its due homage to this noble profession. (Thanks to Sameer for the suggestion.) SoleFest will return & get much more than the over 100 organ donation pledges we received this time.

And the Vadodara Marathon surprised us with all those Positives

This is one event where everything that can go wrong, usually does. But this time, it was the other way round. Which made for a memorable one & VIM should leapfrog places on the “must attend runs” list.

Let’s begin from the beginning, when it appeared that VIM will be its usual mismanaged self. I received an email from the organizers with a long list of participants. I managed to dig out my details & found that I had been registered in the HM Relay category. Inox group being one of the sponsors, our HR team was coordinating the registration of employees & they immediately intervened to bring this to the notice of the organisers. But VIM relishes giving nasty surprises to the participants & the SMS I received a few days prior to the event again referred to me as one of the relay participants. It was finally all sorted out satisfactorily which I may take up in another post on VIM. (As you know VIM always gets more than one post on this blog!)

The morning of 5^th Feb was cool & pleasant. Maybe, a delayed start will not feel so bad. Yes, one doesn’t expect VIM to start on time. Last year (2016) it was delayed by almost 45 minutes because the CM arrived late & then gave a long speech. I would have dropped out but Suresh Iyer, who had come all the way from Mumbai, didn’t let me. The previous occasion (2013) was even worse. Not only did the CM arrive late, he gave an even longer speech as if this was the last time he would get to practice addressing election rallies. That time, HS (name withheld as he is an active member of the party) & I went back as soon as we were out on the road! It was previously announced that the current CM would be flagging off the VIM. Later news came in that he would be flagging off the HM at Rajkot, being organized on the same day. The confusion turned to bewilderment when someone in the know let out that the CM would first flag off Rajkot HM & come to Baroda to flag off VIM. This year seemed to be turning out worse than the previous years!

But I was adequately prepared. 5:30 AM being the flag off time, we left home at 5:00 AM. It was around 5:20 when we reached the holding area. I was astonished to hear the full marathoners (yes, we had the FM this time) being called out to the start line. Even the HM should now start on time which was not something I had planned for. Some anxious minutes & I located Nikki Joshi to hand over the daughter who was running with his group, where I also bumped into Dr. Suresh Nayak with his daughter. Coming to the HM enclosure, it was time to catch up with the known faces of which there were many. Some of them were playing the bus this time, but more on them in the other post.

I am not much into pre-run stretching & the routine, but some warm up is needed. This timely start left me no time for that even. So, I walked for almost 2 KM to make up. It was up to this point only that the plan did not work. With the experience of Gandhinagar, I had planned to run the 1^st half at Dr. Suresh Iyengar’s pace. If it worked once, it should work again too. In fact, this time it was very well planned keeping the whole distance in mind. For instance, I always need to take a pee break soon after beginning. Knowing the route like the back of my hand, I had pre-decided that it would be near the tea stalls opposite SSG. With a relieved bladder, I would rush to catch up Dr. Iyengar & carry on along with him. But the initial walk & the break had taken him farther ahead than I expected. I overtook Mukti Shah, carrying the 3-hour bus & came to the Fatehganj Flyover underneath which Reni was positioned with his camera & other essentials. Moving on to Nizampura, I soon overtook the sister & then the wife & her friend (more of them too in the other post) who were on their maiden run. And saw Rakesh Rawat leading the 2:45 bus a little ahead with Dr. Iyengar for company. For some distance, I boarded his bus but it seemed slower than what Dr. Iyengar can do & we left Rakesh with our good wishes.

As I told you in my previous post on the Gandhinagar Half Marathon (http://runfunetc.blogspot.com/2017/02/getting-lost-in-babuland.html), it’s a pleasure to run with Dr. Iyengar. He runs at an even, leisurely pace which looks so easy that one feels he can easily finish a FM of he only so desires. And he doesn’t mind chatting during the run which helps in diverting the mind from any physical discomforts. He also spotted Dr. Piyush Doshi standing under the Chhani overbridge with his camera. And I got my 1^st photo clicked! The likes of him & Reni are the good Samaritans that make running long distances so much sought after! And Zaheer Khan too. I usually feel famished around 8K which happened this time too. That was when Zaheer came from behind & greeted us. He was one of the volunteer cyclists who were riding the route to assist the runners. He didn’t have any bananas but offered us water which we didn’t need. He moved ahead but stopped to offer us oranges, which we accepted. Something is always better than nothing.

As we neared the toll plaza, we saw water dripping down on the road. I would have blamed VMSS for the poor condition of the water pipe (hoping it wasn’t sewage!), but for two things. One, even VMSS will not take a water line overhead above a toll plaza & two, it was pouring (and not dripping) over only a part of the road. Coming close to it, we realized VIM had put up showers. Wow, this was beyond expectations. This time, the organisers had ticked all the right boxes. I haven’t seen a shower in any of the places where I have run. In fact, I have seen it only at Rio 2016. Getting drenched underneath was a luxury that I also availed when I returned.

As usually happens on an out & back route, we started coming across the faster ones on their return. The half way mark was approaching & leaving Dr. Iyengar behind I moved ahead. Sheetal Griglani, carrying her busload of 2:30 hour aspirants along, informed that the turnaround was not too far off. Which also meant that I was not too much behind the 2:30 barrier that I missed the previous weekend at Gandhinagar. The half way mark was very well provided for. Enough volunteers, hydration, fuel & medical aid too. I think this time there were fewer medical facilities than last year. Or maybe, I missed observing most of them.

A little beyond & I saw Smriti (wife) & Anita (wife’s friend & running buddy) coming along. Their faces did not show any signs of having run almost 10 KM on the trot. This did not surprise me despite the fact that they started running barely one & a half months back. Because I was sure they had been chatting all the way from the start. And if they continue to chat till the end they would not even know when they come to the finish point. Hopefully, the organisers would have positioned volunteers to guide runners to the finish point, else these ladies may very well chat & run all the way home (some 7K beyond the finish) missing out on the finisher medals & post-run selfies! Keeping these fears to myself, I gave them the good news of the half way mark being very close & carried along.

The 10.5 KM point starts playing with one’s head. Up till here it all seems easy & effortless. You cross it & the thoughts turn to the remaining part, especially the end when it becomes a task to carry oneself forward. This is also the time when the sun would be up & it starts getting warm. But the weather held good. The cloud cover shielded the morning sun. As a result it was still pleasantly cold, good enough for a long run. Except that we had to go over a bridge near the half-way point. Being a lazy sort, I always walk up a bridge for I see no point in tiring oneself by running all the way. And I did this twice, cursing the organisers both times for making us climb the bridges within such a short span. The route selection could have been much better, more so for the FM. The poor guys had to go right inside the fertilizer-petrochemical complex which is always much warmer than rest of the town. Add the pollution level which would have been even higher than normal owing to the cloud cover. I will pass this on as Siddharth Katju has left nothing unsaid in his facebook post. Yes, those of us doing the HM were lucky in this aspect.

Descending the bridge, I passed Nilesh Shah on the other side running strongly despite this being his maiden HM. Even I ran up the bridge during my 1^st HM, I don’t know how but the first one always draws extra energy that one has never been aware of. But in all my subsequent ones, including VIM 2017, I have always walked up. I am so lazy that I avoid the bridges even during my routine runs. Another reason for this aversion to bridges is that most bridges in Baroda have not been built for runners/pedestrians or cyclists. Which reminds me that I have long been thinking about doing a blogpost on the bridges of Baroda from the eyes of a runner/cyclist. I hope the coming months would see me doing it.

Dr. Iyengar not besides me, I missed Dr. Piyush under the bridge with his camera this time & he missed me too as I have seen only one photo of mine clicked by him. Actually, I realize this only now as I write this. But I did not miss the group of sardars at the Chhani gurudwara. The day being a Sunday, it was inevitable that the sight of a gurudwara would make one think of a Langar & I tried to smell the familiar aroma but it was too early. The Langar’s at gurudwaras, for those who have been to one, dishes out the best Punjabi food the taste of which cannot be matched by even the highway dhabas. But this time, they had brought out the water for us. Which was better because it was on the return leg that the hydration points had gone missing. Perhaps, I didn’t miss them in the first half.

Last time, many schools had put up support stations along the route with adequate stock of water. I particularly remember the one at Mehsana Nagar crossroads, Nizampura, put up by Jumbo Kids which had a young kid stuffed inside an elephant outfit on that hot day (hotter owing to a delayed start). It seems they opted out this year owing to the route that took us to the outskirts of the city. Or, they may have been asked to participate in the run to shore up the numbers. This was more important because Rajkot was competing with VIM this time for the world record for highest participation. Anyway, the last two hydration points I found were at Nizampura & Kamati Baug. Why can’t the organisers understand that runners need hydration & fuel when they are nearing the finishing point? I had anticipated this to some extent & asked Reni to keep some bananas when I would be returning.

Coming to the Fatehganj flyover, one saw Reni holding the fort with his camera reminding one of the BSF jawans at a border post. The runners of Baroda find as much joy in the run & the finisher medal as in Reni’s photographs & his comments when he posts them on facebook. After he clicked me running, he went over to hand me a couple of bananas. Most welcome as I was feeling so famished, but only one. He didn’t take the other one back insisting that I could give it to someone. He knew what lay ahead of us. Later, nearing the end I needed water & not having any, I had the other one just to get something inside. As Shakespeare once said, blessings come in all shapes & sizes.

I had been trying to catch up with the 2:30 hrs bus, something I just missed at Gandhinagar the previous week. But there was no sign of her ahead & I hurried up. The last 2-3 KM are the toughest as the legs start giving up. With a particular time in target the mind has also been overworked & starts feeling the strain. Pushing the mind & body one last time, I gave it all I had & the Garmin told me I had finished it under 2:30. But it said the same at Gandhinagar too while the official time showed I had just missed the mark. But Sheetal, who appeared to have reached a little while earlier, was of the same opinion as Garmin & I went about looking for the daughter. I found her with Nikki & both of them told me that she had run 10K. A few hours earlier I won’t have believed she could do this but here she was, though very tired which doesn’t happen in the case of a 5K.

The two of us waited at the finish line for rest of the gang to turn up. Gauri was the first to arrive, followed later by Smriti & Anita. Leaving Aanya with them, I moved on to join Harjeet, Nishant & Ajay Sharma at the food court. The food not being enticing enough, we decided to go to Shastri Bridge for some eggs/omelet, picking up Reni from his post.

But not only was he nowhere to be found, even the larri’s near Shastri Bridge were closed. We came back to Reni’s spot & he returned soon to click the full marathoners on their way back. It was late in the morning & the commuters were getting restless. The police personnel at the junction were not enough to manage the crowd & we joined in. There was some exam/test on the day & the parents ferrying their children were getting restless being made to wait for the runners to pass. It was a tough task, deciding who gets the priority. Is it the runners who have done over 37 KM or the students going for an exam? With the help of the traffic police, we managed to keep both the groups from getting too annoyed. As the last of the full marathoners passed us, we also moved to Kirti Stambh to hog on eggs. Where we came to know that VIM had run out of medals to hand over to FM finishers. Somehow, some things need to go wrong at VIM!! But overall, this was far better organized than any of the previous ones & I believe VIM can only get better in the years to come.

I had received my medal & was happy with it but the medal was not, going by this picture. Poor thing, this was the best it could get in a dry state.

Lessons from The Godfather for the Vadodara Marathon

The 2016 edition of Vadodara International Half Marathon (VIHM) was not different than the previous one. The sole reason why I would like the organizers to watch The Godfather! Some nuggets from the movie for the VIHM guys...

The previous time (2013), the event started much after the scheduled time because the chief guest arrived late & proceeded to give a long speech. This time, the participants had the same fears but the organizers were smart. Firstly, they did not announce any start time (thus, technically, the start was not delayed!). Those who queried (including me) were assured that the 15K & HM would be flagged off before the chief guest's arrival. What happens? The same old story... Reminds one of The Godfather, though I am not aware whether the organizers even apologized (but runners are not gods).

Once upon a time, Vadodara International Marathon (as it was then called) was acclaimed as "Smallest City, Biggest Marathon". I believe, this made the organizers strive for a massive participation every time the event was held. Of course, political compulsions also played a major part in this (let us not dwell on these). But does a large crowd translate into a great event? If one goes by the previous two editions of VIM/VIHM, it’s a big NO! The organizers should realize the runners don’t care for the no. of participants (even if it is a world record) but how the event is conducted (in every respect). And it is the feedback of the runners that makes (or mars) an event's reputation.

The politicians who come to flag off the event may appreciate the large gathering & would be all praise for the organizers for the efforts put in. But are they aware that the crowd put in place are mostly school kids who have been forced to participate by the schools? I doubt it. But the serious runners, who are the heart of such events, who come in at 5:30 AM to find kids in school uniforms are not taken in by such gimmicks. And quite vocal about it too. Especially the outstation ones who compare this with events in their home towns or other places. I will not be surprised if it comes out that there are very few repeat outstation participants at VIHM/VIM.

Had the organizers had along the route while the event was in progress they would have witnessed people waiting at intersections to let the runners pass. The waiting crowds increased with time at practically all intersections. Did someone miss a train? Was someone late for work? Who cares? But people have a life beyond a marathon too, and an equal right to civic infrastructure. You simply can’t inconvenience so many people at a time. One person arriving late & thousands were troubled. For this realization to take place, the organizers have to get off the stage & on the streets. While many runners felt guilty about this, did the organizers also feel so? I don't think so, for this was a repeat of the last edition.

An event organizer’s 1st priority should always be runners. If the runners feel good after an event, they will generate enough positive feedback to bring in more runners the next time round. And once the runners come in, the sponsors are sure to follow (not to speak about the politicians). Somehow, the VIHM organizers work the other way round. They first bring the politicians on board to grace the event flag off, which helps them pull in the sponsors. They get so busy caring for the guests & sponsors that they forget the essence of an event - the runner. Maybe, runners are simply the performing artists in this circus called VIHM.

Many events are filled up even before the 1st posters are put up. Forget about the biggies (SCMM, etc.), some smaller events like Zendurance Nashik (http://runfunetc.blogspot.com/) & Daman Wind Marathon (http://runfunetc.blogspot.in/) have their own set of devoted runners who return religiously year after year. Zendurance doesn't even put up posters in Nasik town about the event, yet the event receives plenty of positive feedback. VIHM makes up for this absence of fan-base by compelling school students to participate in large nos to create records. Well, the records do last!! Which makes one wonder whether the organizers are themselves confident about how the actual event will play out. Least likely, if you ask me.

An event of this magnitude which uses civic infrastructure is not expected to be perfect. There will always be some issues, major or minor, as it is difficult to envisage everything that can go wrong. But to repeat the same old mistakes makes one feel that the organizers are simply not bothered about it. Had the organizers considered the goof ups as a personal insult, they would have ensured the flag off took place as scheduled. Couldn't they have asked the chief guest to give away the prizes which was also a photo-op that the politicians long for? With so many prizes on offer, they could have accommodated more politicians as well as speeches. Alas, the event was just a side show to the flagging off ceremony.

This one is for me (and other runners as well). Here was an event in my hometown, which helped me avoid the hassles of managing logistics for an outstation event. Despite being a small town, here are some people who have worked hard to make this event happen. Shouldn't this event in itself be an occasion to celebrate, rather than cribbing about all that could have been better? Rather than complain about what wasn't, I will enjoy what is, next time the event takes place. Bring on the next edition of VIHM/VIM, I will be there!! (Hope it’s not on 11th December 2016, as that would clash with the Goa River Marathon.)

Picture Credits: SM addicts on Facebook & WhatsApp

Disclaimer: Maybe, not all the above quotes are from The Godfather (but still relevant for VIHM team)

After a Long Wait, the HM returned to Baroda!

This one has to be special, being the hometown run. Also, because this one is so infrequent. The last one was held in 2013, when I did not run (that’s another long story). Suresh Iyer, the conqueror of Mumbai & New York full marathons & umpteen half’s, was specially coming down for this one. Yes, the nostalgia bug is very potent.

This time, they called it the Vadodara International Half Marathon (VIHM). It has always been international, but “Half” was added to the name this time round. They had good advisers this time! I believe they were the Baroda Road Runners (BRR) guys. And as always, this one was also planned to be a big event. The registrations were through either Book My Show (BMS) or the Khel Mahakumbh (KMK) website, the latter offering registrations for free. This is where the story starts… The KMK data wasn’t transferred to the organisers till very late. As a result, many of those who had registered through it did not get their bib nos. even when the bib collection had begun.

I was spared the anxiety as I shelled out the registration fee at BMS, as had Suresh. Early in the morning, I went to collect our bibs to avoid the late rush. They had planned it well. Limited persons were being allowed inside, so that it was a breeze getting the stuff. Going through the contents, I got to really appreciate the thoughtfulness of the organisers. They had packed in a pair of toothbrushes for the participants. This would remind us to brush our teeth while getting ready so that we could flash the whitest of smiles while running!! And adequately compensate the absence of a race jersey. Still, Rs. 750 plus taxes looked a bit on the higher side.

The previous edition had disappointed many city runners & quite a few were not sure whether they wished to participate this time round. The sole reason being a delayed start, because of the late arrival of the chief guest, and the welcome ceremony & series of speeches that followed. This time the event brochure informed the gate closure time of 5:45 AM but was silent on the start time! I admired this professional approach, for it makes no sense to needlessly raise expectations & not deliver. When asked, the volunteers were also non-committal on this aspect. Though, one did assure us (now, this was so unprofessional) that the 21-K & 15-K events will be flagged off even before the Chief Minister arrives. He knew, she would arrive late (or should it be later?).

Taking this seriously, Suresh & I were at the venue by 5:30 AM. Arriving early helps one park easily, as I have said earlier too. Entering the venue, one found a group of school kids (in uniform) already seated. They would have woken up pretty early. Now, a seasoned runner like Suresh takes his pre-run routine seriously. This involves complete stretching & warming up as well as taking a leak twice, the 2^nd time immediately before the start. An empty bladder is a runner’s best friend (see, you learn so much when you go through my posts!). After the warm ups, my routine involves strolling about & catching up with known faces. This is also the selfie time.

I also came across a walking billboard who was pasted all over with sponsors’ logos. Time for a chat with Adil Marawala. He was raising funds for his initiative, wherein the sponsors were donating or rendering services for every km that he completed. The beneficiaries included street kids, homeless & stray animals. You can read more about his work on www.walkawalka.in.

A little after 6:00 AM (whoever said this was the scheduled start time?) we were allowed out of our enclosure. The run is about to begin & we were excited for a start happening so close to schedule. The buses were also ready. We had planned to latch on to the 2:30 bus being chauffeured by Piyush Doshi. But you know what Robert Burns said about the best laid plans of mice & men? That apart, one needs to admire the buses. To actually time your run to the last minute, while following a plan for the entire distance, is something that seems out of this world, at least to me. For them, it appears to be a stroll in the park.

This is what distance running is all about. It helps one to stay focused on the objective. While a bus would aim for perfect execution of the run plan, for someone like Adil, the run is only the vehicle for achieving another objective. Then, there are people like Dina Patel who are clear about what they want. See, she is not even afraid to tell the whole world what it is! Durgesh Merchant also agrees totally with her, as do most of the rest of us. I am sure, Dina was the most cheered runner on the streets. I hope her message reached the right destination.

It was a long wait, because the organisers had decided for a formal flag off by the CM. We should have expected this. One of the organisers is said to be angling for a ticket to contest elections for quite some time now & cannot afford to miss any opportunity to showcase her crowd gathering skills. So what, if this involves forcing school kids to wake up so early on a Sunday & wait for hours to hear boring speeches by politicians? The regular runners did not like it one bit. I met runners who had come from Pune and Bangalore who were not at all pleased with this long wait. In a way, the HM runners were lucky, being the first ones to be flagged off. Which happened a little later than 6:40 AM. In a way, this late start has its good points too. Imagine a big bunch of runners out on the streets when it is still dark. We would unnecessarily wake up the stray dogs & cows & other animals from their well-deserved sleep. Isn’t the Indian philosophy all about respecting all living beings, whatever physical form they have acquired? And what if one of these got annoyed at being so disturbed? I am told that the 5K runners were let off at 7:30. Did they have to endure those netas & wannabe netas for so long?

One fallout of this late start was the need to take a pee break shortly after we began. I did so under the conveniently designed & located Lalbaug bridge. I am beginning to like the route for the run, with such amenities on the way. I was not alone & the organisers seemed to have duly deliberated on the route. Suresh Iyer had moved much ahead during this break, but I did not have much to regret. I came across Suresh Iyengar. Now, here is a guy who was running his 1^st HM, but already had an ultra under his belt!! He also runs at a slow, leisurely pace, which is more to my liking.

Another fallout was the time between warmup & start – over an hour. The body had already cooled down by the time we began. I noticed beginning of cramps. Now, this was trouble with an upper case T. I eased it out while deciding whether to continue or drop out. Ample no. of medical aid stations along the route made it easier. Hydration & medical aid were very well spread out along the route & commend the organisers for this. Reaching Manisha Chokdi, came across the BRR cheer gang of Reni George, Ajay Sharma & Shalini Sharma. Reni also doubled up as the photographer. Later, they took over the traffic handling responsibilities too, as this is a major traffic intersection.

Then came the shocker, near the Bird Circle. A cyclist volunteer went past with a placard informing the date & distances for the next edition. Here is an event that doesn’t take place regularly & which has a record of announced dates being shuffled around. To commit a date for the next edition was unbelievable. Which would also make it two editions in a single calendar year. Aren’t the orgsanisers more than a little overambitious? Moreover, the date clashes with the Goa River Marathon which is a favourite of many local runners too. To top it all, the next edition will have the Full Marathon on offer too. I have reasons to differ with these grand plans. 2017 will be the year elections will be held for the state assembly. While this presents an opportunity for aspiring contestants to lobby for a ticket, I am doubtful whether there will be enough sponsors for the event. The potential sponsors would have shelled out the spare cash to major political parties & I doubt whether they will have something left for a running event. Still, good luck to the organisers!!

The sun was, by now, all over. So were the people. Running past the Fatehganj flyover near Drug Laboratory, I found a stream of taffic coming the other way. This happened at a lot of places. The worst being the stretch between Pandya Hotel & Chhani and the Kala Ghoda Circle. As I was running across a T-junction, a garbage truck suddenly appeared from the side street. It had no intention of slowing down or stopping (there was a traffic cop on duty there) & I did the next best thing. Of course, this helps one to rest & regain some strength, howsoever little it may be. At another junction, the traffic cop actually stopped the runners to let the vehicles cross the road! Different runners react differently to this. While I took it as a time to rest, some actually run faster to avoid incoming traffic. They also end up with a faster timing! The photograph below was widely circulated on whatsapp & facebook & proved that the autorickshaws do not consider anyone on foot as an elite.

As one turned around Chhani into Nizampura main road, it was getting very hot. I had seen many runners wearing the Rajkot HM race jersey. I got chatting with Mansukhbhai Dabhi, who informed that there a sizeable contingent from Rajkot here. He was extremely critical of the late start, bad traffic management & extremely low crowd support. Of course, he was comparing VIHM with the HM held at Rajkot a couple of weeks back & couldn’t have reacted differently. I felt the same way too.

The Poddar Jumbo Kids was managing a hydration point near Mehsana Nagar junction. They also had a kid dressed in a jumbo outfit. It looked so cute, but I felt really sorry for the poor little guy inside. He was inside a thick hide, which would be now quite hot under the sun. He could have been out of that outfit 45 minutes earlier, if the event had started on time. he would have felt so proud on being selected for this task. Little did he know what would come on race day. And we runners want all the facilities & conveniences for ourselves. The least we can do is appreciate these supporters who also spend their time & energy to support & encourage us.

There was a huge crowd at Kala Ghoda circle. Reni & Ajay were here too, to cheer us on the last leg! Rest of the crowd was not there to cheer the runners but those stopped by the traffic cops to let the runners pass this junction. Hope, none of them missed their train. The organisers also had placed bananas for the runners. Water & energy drinks are fine, but the stomach needs something solid too during this long time spent on foot. Wonder, why they couldn’t have this at other locations too? Maybe, this was a good deed of some volunteer. One was enough for the last stretch to the finish.

Hot, tired & famished, I reached home. And immediately realized that I had missed my ritual with the medal. Off I went to my Kitli & let the medal have its moment under the sun!!