Puri-Chhole & a Noble Cause

SoleFest is closest to one’s heart. Not just because it is held in Baroda, but also for self being an integral part of the team that puts it together. An event of the runners, for the runners & by the runners, it very aptly calls all runners to Daudo Dil Se for the noble cause of Organ Donation. But unlike other posts, this one is devoted to how I run a HM (in essentially 4 parts). Because, on account of a very bad throat I aborted some distance into the run & later joined the daughter on the return leg of her 10K. To what SoleFest is best loved for – the post-run brunch!! This time too we had puri’s, along with chhole, boiled eggs & gulab jamuns. One couldn’t have asked for anything else (in a dry state)!!

It all starts with putting together the ingredients. Of course, flour, water & some oil is all that suffices. This is what one does in the beginning, and earlier. A good, long sleep the previous night. A nice warm up before the run. A good chat with friends before the race. And, when the race actually starts, take stock of the physical. Have the niggles & pains that surfaced during the run-up to the event disappeared? Good feel is a motivation that lasts the distance. But the little things matter too – a bit of salt, some black pepper, ajwain or jeera or whatever else you like. Not to forget the weather, as the temperature & humidity can make or mar the later stages of the run. This is the period one goes through the mental checklist & takes a call on whether its Plan-A or Plan-B today's conditions.

Once all is in place, the kneading starts. You keep on adding the ingredients, till the mix (i.e. flour + water) is perfect. The 2^nd quarter of the HM is as tricky. As you settle into a steady pace, you also need to ensure that you will have enough strength left for the latter stages of the run. This is a tough task physically, but very critical. For, only a well kneaded flour results in well-made puri’s. This is not too technical an accomplishment, but the rewards are physical. And will help you finish strong even as the energy is sapping & the strength depleting. If you have been wondering about the power behind those flying Belans in the house, well, it comes from years of kneading the flour for puri’s, paratha’s, roti’s & what not!!

But kneading is only half the job done. Now, the half way mark is a critical milestone. Of course, there’s the elation of reaching this point. But, does one have enough in the tank for the remaining half when the conditions will be tougher? Remember, it only gets warmer during a race unless its conducted in the evening/night. The reason why the next part, the rolling, is as critical. Roll it too hard & you will get a poor cousin of papad. Roll it too soft & you will end up chewing half cooked, wet dough. We all like negative splits but running all out should left till the end. But rolling is not pure skill either. It’s art in equal measure too, if you like them circular. So, ramp it up gradually. And also stock up on hydration for the sun is only going to get brighter & hotter. And some fuel too. But don’t overstuff, it is still a long way to go.

The last part is the easiest, for it is now only about finishing. The result, however, depends upon how you have done the earlier parts. Of course, one no longer worries about it. It’s all about getting the job done & relishing the puri’s (if one's doing the SoleFest). At SoleFest 2.0, we also had Gulab Jamuns as an added incentive! You put the rolled dough from one side of the frying pan. And watch it go in as bubbles rise up to the surface. And then it pops up in the middle, like a runner recharged after a few sips of water. No amount of sweat trickling down the face can now stop one from going all out. And it stays there as it puffs up, gaining colour & size. Yes, one is dead tired & the tank is empty but the sight of the finish line helps one draw the last bits from the reservoir.

You take it out, keeping it above the pan to drain out the oil, and putting it on the plate. A medal round the neck, the delicious puri-chhole-gulab jamun on the dish & friends all around, there was only one question that bugged. When is the next edition of SoleFest?

Image source (puri): https://www.indianasapplepie.com/blogs/indian-as-apple-pie/8790773-puri-fried-deliciously-airy-indian-puffed-bread

How The Events Stack Up (Rounding Up)

Continuing where I left off in the previous post, I will briefly touch upon the “Overall Experience”. This covers the intangibles of an event, you may as well call it the X-Factor. It is what will make you come back again to the event. Like the beer which GRM so thoughtfully offers at the end of the run. On the other end of the scale we have RunGandhinagarRun. The route was quite flat most of the distance. The weather was pretty cool. There was no traffic whatsoever. And it was the fastest I had ever run over this distance. Add the company of Dr. Suresh Iyengar & I should have felt top of the world. But they forgot to identify the route for the benefit of (outstation) participants. Coming to the finish arena, this was the story all around. The memory remains & I don’t think I will run in Gandhinagar again.

Getting to business of this post, here are the scores of the events being considered:

   

	Start Time	Hydration / Fuel	Traffic Mgmt	Route	Weather	Crowds	Post-run Meal	Route Markers	X-Factor	Wtd Score
Rajkot	5	5	5	3	5	4	3	4	4	4.42
GRM	5	5	4	5	3	3	5	1	5	4.35
Spice Coast	5	5	4	4	3	3	5	4	5	4.33
SoleFest-1	5	4	5	4	2	2	5	1	5	4.03
Daman ’15	5	5	4	4	4	2	2	3	4	4.00
VIM ’17	5	4	4	3	4	4	2	1	5	3.94
Daman ’16	5	5	4	4	4	2	2	2	3	3.87
Zendurance	5	3	3	3	5	0	3	1	4	3.33
Gandhinagar	5	4	4	2	5	0	2	0	2	3.24
VIM ’16	1	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2.44
Weight	18	17	15	11	10	9	7	3	10

Let’s begin with the laggards. Zendurance is potentially a great event & not simply because they bundle a wine-tasting session with the registration fees. Only if they identify another route for the HM. Else this won’t be an event for repeat participation, as one can anyway visit Sula without paying those high registration fees. Die-hard runners can run to the vineyard for free & top it up with wine straight out of the casks. Again, Gandhinagar is an event that I will not recommend unless they have enough volunteers & clear markers to ensure the runners don’t stray off the route. They can learn a lot from VIM that has put in a much improved show in just one year.

Now to those placed #4 to #7, which form a pack. The last Daman Wind Marathon (2016) was much inferior to the year earlier. The goof up began with Bib distribution & one could feel something missing through the event. Though it will always gather a crowd as people in South Gujarat miss no opportunity to visit Daman! The others in this group are most promising. VIM 2017 surprised me beyond expectations. Firstly, by starting on time (they didn’t wait for the CM to arrive). Though the route took one out of the city, they ensured that the experience was worth it. Like putting the water shower at the toll plaza! Moving it to Jan 1^st week is another step that is expected to enhance the experience. Hope they again push the CM’s itinerary after the timed events are flagged off. And SoleFest did a good job in the 1^st edition itself despite less than a month of planning & execution. With more time to prepare & better weather, expect a far better event this time round (26^th Nov., mark the date in your calendars). And another round of sumptuous post-run brunch.

There’s not much separating the top-3 in the list. GRM has many loyal fans who religiously attend this event. I believe, Spice Coast also has its own set of regular out-station participants. Being tourist destinations & the events scheduled during peak tourist season, these will never be short of enthusiastic participants. Though one is surprised at Rajkot getting to the top of the table. Full credit to the organisers (Rajkot Municipal Corporation) who did a splendid job & ticked all the right boxes. More so because it was the 1^st time they were conducting this event. And to the Collector, who led by example & ran the full 21K himself. I will return to Rajkot, for a HM there is part of the unfinished agenda.

What is your takeaway from this post? Nothing, except pointers to what to expect at which event. Which need to be the deciding factor. For Spice Coast, though a good run in itself, is too distant to visit year after year. And despite not being (presently) in the top half, VIM is one place where I will always be found. 

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.