Sunfeast 10K open

At the beginning of this year, I had listed out my most outstanding memories on this blog. A reader then had suggested in the comments that I try out a marathon. At first I thought she was being sarcastic or at best greatly overestimating my fitness level. At any rate I had refused to consider it seriously.

A little more than a month ago I saw the hoardings for a 10km race in the city I live in and decided to give it a shot.

Today 31st of May 2009 I ran 10,000 meters without pausing for a single second. And I did it in 1 hour 14 mins. That may be a lot slower than the Ethiopian who won the race but I am as happy as any Ethiopian runner.

While few things can match the elation of reaching the finish line, there were definitely a few other moments in the race which will be etched in my memory for a long time to come. The most exciting one of these happened near the RBANMS ground. As I was running there was a large bunch of about 40-50 kids standing by the side of the road with their hands outstretched to greet the runners. As I was running by them I reached out so that my fingers touched theirs for one brief moment as I passed. There were a lot of other people cheering the runners but this group of kids were loud and raucous and made me feel like Sachin.

Now that I feel like a star it is only appropriate that I thank the persons who were part of this victory. I would like to thank my friend and roommate Rishabh Gupta who got our running bibs and goody bags yesterday after much effort and therefore made this run possible. Gowtham for running with me on the day of the race and once before. Nandhi Varman S. for running with me everyday in the preparation phase and introducing me to my optimal pace. Devranjan Mishra for the immortal phrase "running is as much psychological as it is physical". All the people who cheered for me from the side of the road as I ran by (Especially the Kingfisher cheerleaders ;) ) All the others who wished me luck.