Run Mumbai Run

They say mumbai is always on the run. It never stops. Not when its day and not even when it is night. Not during the weekdays, not during the weekends. Not when it rains nor when it shines. The running is an integral part of a mumbaiker's life. Mumbai is timebound. Almost everything happens by the clock. And that keeps mumbaikers on their toes. Then comes one day when mumbai runs for a cause. Mumbaikers run together. Some have a reason to and some run for the sake of running. Its the Mumbai marathon that happend on 18Jan for the year 2009.

For any stranger in the city, the very first thing that strikes when he steps out of Dadar/CST/Mumbai Central, is this large wave of people, half of them talking into their handsfrees. If one looks at the footbridges, it looks like a can of sand opened and the fine sand pouring out of the can. I define mumbai as a place with an ocean of water besides an ocean of people inside. And it comes as no surpirse to me when I came to know that the Mumbai marathon is the 7th largest in the world. I expected it to be even larger.

This year, even I decided to run. It came as a very casual thought sometime in the Aug08 when a freind mentioned about the event. I consider myself to be a person with a better than average fitness. And so I chose to run the half marathon, a distance of 21.097km. It did seem to be an impossible task, yet, it was telling me i'm possible. And considering that I had roughly 4 months to prepare, I registered and immediately started practicing.

Registration to Dday -1:
I moved to Mumbai in the last week of June to join Lehman Brothers. You don't have to try too hard to remember this name. Yes, this is perhaps one of the oldest institutions which was unlucky to be not rescued but the US govt and succumbed to the deathly blows of the financial recession. Till Sept15, the day when Lehman filed bankruptcy, my focus was on work and few hrs in the gym for my marathon preperation. When the news broke everything became secondary. I diverted my energies to secure a job. I managed to move into a company that is percieved to be safer. But during this transition I lost precious 2 months, as far as the practice for marathon is concerned.

After settling down in my new company, I started gradually from 2kms on the treadmill to 9kms. I was careful not to push myself any more than I can take. For one, my new job has been demanding. And another reason, being my soon to arrive kid. I am eagerly looking forward to my wife's due date, to take the baby in my hands and experience the joy of being a parent. The last thing I want to see happening is a ligament tear or any injury preventing me from doing so. Of course I was mindful of the fact that 9km isn’t even half the journey.

What worked out for me is that I kept myself away from any expectation. I was practical all the time, to not to push too far. I had my priorities clear. I had no time goals. No promises made. I would have been happy even if did not complete the marathon, if I came uninjured. I would have been happy for giving a honest try. As long as I did give it my best shot, the result did not matter.

Then the attacks on Oberai/Taj/CST/leopold... happened. On the 27/11 Mumbai did not run. Mumbai came to stand still. The BSE closed. After the attack on CST, the local train had an abandoned sight. The suburbs did see some activity, but it wasn't what Mumbai otherwise was. The television made a fruitless effort to showcase the Mumbai spirit. Not taking anything from the heroes who bravely fought, the spirit was brutally attacked up on. Fear, for a brief moment, took centre stage. By the time Mumbai woke up from the nightmare, over 160 lives were lost.

As for me, I was angry over being helpless about the situation. I wished I could do something. I wished, I was in the centre of the action. Sometimes I wished I was a well trained commando. Sometimes I wished I was a smart ass to talk to terrorists and do something. Thought ran over why this is happening. Why should humans hate humans in the name of God. I was afraid of the way human relations are deteriorating. I was afraid to imagine that my kid will have to live in this bad world. I was concerned that the things only seem to worsen. How will he/she manage? Will I be able to protect my daughter/son?

At the end of it, I came to a conclusion that no matter what, I have to fit and strong. One doesn’t know when a situation that demands a person to be strong physically and mentally. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I should be able fight. I should at least be fit to survive. I should be able to protect my family if not more people. I have to be confident about my physical abilities. That is what kept me going in the marathon practice. I would stare in to the eyes of my reflection in the mirror while running on the treadmill. When I hear about heroic stories that happened during the attacks, I felt that it is courage, hope and belief above the fear of death that made the survivors. Thus went my practice.

A day before the final run, I went to check the route. To my satisfaction there was water and energy powders available at frequent intervals. The route did not seem as long as I thought it to be. This brought more confidence. Although I planned to sleep for 8-9 hrs. I could barely sleep for 6hrs. The excitement of running a marathon kept me waking up after every 2hrs.

The run
The final day came. I had breakfast, bananas and a liter of water before I set for the start point. At Azad Maidan, from where we would start, seeing the participants, I experienced a rush of adrenaline. There were roughly 3000 participants in the half marathon category everyone had their own reasons to run. Some for promoting Car Pool. Some for environment. Some for child education. Some with their corporate T-shirts on.

I ran for CRY. Let me make a confession here. I had tagged along with CRY because the direct entries for the half marathon were closed. I am a firm supporter of two causes. Education and Environment. But this time it was not a social cause that I ran for. I was more selfish. Ok, that relieves me from the guilt of being not very honest about my association. However, let me make a quick point here. What we teach to childern is a preview of how we will see the humanity tomorrow. That is why the importance on right education for all. That way organizations like CRY do an impressive job.

The event started exactly at 6:45am. On time. Like a mumbai local train that leaves, on time , from Churchgate every single day. Participats shouted slogans in the praise of the country. Some carried the Indian flag. Some condemned the terrorists. Some hailed the NSG and Commandos. It was electric. I felt a surge of energy. Goose bumps were only the external signs of the excitement. For a breif moment, I forgot how far I have to run. All that I could think of was how exciting the journey is going to be. When such emotion takes charge, physical constraints take a back seat. It wont matter if you are built for a marathon, or bearing the burden of pounds of unwanted fat. It doesn’t matter if you are 25 or 52. And this charge stayed with me initial 3 kms of the run. The music that was being played had a catalytic effect.

By the end of the 4th km, slowly the body started complaining. I was consoling my body by telling how 9km on a treadmill was a piece of cake. But then I knew the difference between the actual run and a practice run on a treadmill. So I took my first dose of hydration and energy powder. From 4km to about 8 km I kept dragging. sometimes I walked and sometimes I ran. Things were getting tougher and the destination seemed elusive. By this time I was on Peddar road.

All the while I kept noticing the spectators who have come to cheer the runners. Morning walkers, residents near by, friends or family members of the participants. A little girl was standing with a poster that said "I love papa". I could picture my child a few years after. An old couple were waiting with energy drink. A group of old gentlemen who perhaps are in their late 50s were cheering their friend, an energitic grey haired gentleman running beside me. A south-east asian runner kept thanking those who were taking her photograph. A couple, perhaph a westerners, wore T-shirt that said "I love mumbai". On looker rubbing their eyes and cheering "run India run". Beautiful young females giggling. Small kids helping the volunteers distribute the water bottles. Some kids from the slums(judging purely by their appearance), were having fun picking up runners and teasing them, but not missing a chance to say Jai hind. Policemen minding the spectators to stop them from walking on the track. And some policemen with a pot belly, still cheering the runner to do what they themselves seemed to be incapable of doing.

I reached Haji-Ali and that is when I got the most beautiful sight of the run. The road from Haji-Ali's junction to the Nehru centre, roughly 2km, runs along the coast. The road is little elevated at the Haji-ali's junction. One can see the entire road from there. When I saw it, I could only see heads of the runners. Some walking and some trying hard to run. It was a true sight of a sea of humans. The movement almost mocking the waves of the ocean which was next to the road. It was a if a "sangam" of oceans of two different kinds. The ocean seemed to be trying to pat the back of the runners and wishing them the best. This my friend, is Mumbai.

That was another high point. Lost in this thought I comfortably completed the next 4-5 kms of the run. That brought me to the last elevated part of the run. Having come this far I felt more confident about completing the run. So the mind said I can do it and body said I will try. Through the elevation I had an unexpected companion. A street dog, seemed very excited about seeing thousands of runners, was also running with us. It was limping sometimes on 3 legs and switched to 4 legs after giving the leg ample rest. I ran with this dog for about a km. I am not an animal lover. I do not think I can ever have a pet in my house. But it was very heartening to see the canine run and am thankful that it diverted my thoughts from the burning sensation in my feet. It was probably a wrong choice of socks and I could feel them rubbing against my toes.

During the run I realized that I wasn’t even among the better runners in the marathon. Initially I fared well. In the later half I realized I was getting slower. I noticed a good number of women comfortably running past me. But then, hello, remember equality of sex? I am living up to it :).

In the final phase, an elderly gentleman struck a conversation with me. We were walking at that time. I came to know that he is 59. This time due to a knee injury he couldn’t do well otherwise his timing was around 2hrs 20mins. The next year, he will be a senior citizen. The marathon for senior citizen is for 3km. I told him, that for his age and his state he is doing an amazing job. Till the day before the marathon, I felt that it is such a task. And achieving will be a pinnacle in my fitness. But after talking to him, I was humbled. I knew I can do better the next time.

Finish
No amount of words can describe my happiness at the finishline. About 1.5km from the finishline, I told my self "I can 'run' this extra mile". The pain kicked in after about 200mts. Then I told myslef, "Ok, no issues, I will 'walk' the extra mile". The anticipation to reach the finish line got the better of me and by the end I was talking to my self "I will somehow 'go' the extra mile". But just before 200mts from the finish line, when it was in sight my feet started taking pace. I ran. I ran like I just started the marathon. Of course, I did not want to be captured in the photograph 'walking' across the finish line.

My fists got tight. Goose bumps... Just about 2hrs 43mins before I was at this point going the other way all charged up. It was a similar feeling. I felt like running few more kms just for the sake of it. Though I was a little upset that it was all over. I could see the finishers lying on the road. Most of them going through a similar emotion. The brain ignored the signals from the aching body. It was only listening to the elated crys of joy from the mind.

Ending Note
The media largely projected the Mumbai marathon as mumbai's response to the terrorist attack, by turning in such large numbers. Again the spirit of Mumbai was talked about. Without denying this, let me present a different perspective to it. The registrations were closed more than 3 months before the event due to huge response for participation. This shows that the mumbaikers as a whole were very enthusiastic about the event. The terrorist attack had got nothing to do with the participation. However post the attacks, it was possible that the event might have been cancelled. Or if the fear continued, not all the registered would have turned up for the final event. But they did and Mumbai ran once again. Mumbaikars ran for the cause they believed in. While they did, they also said they aren’t deterred by the evil plans of the terrorists.

One final observation before I end this rather long post. While mumbaikers ran, so did many other guests, people from the west, south-east asian, african origins. I heard Gujrati, Marathi, Hindi and few other languages while I ran, it was either the crowd cheering the participants or participants conversing between one another. I have seen kids from slums cheering runners with ipods. I have seen spectators distributing biscuits, candies, filter water to everyone. So it perhaps doesnt capture the entire emotion if you call it the spirit of Mumbai. It was the spirit of humanity. I can only pray that this spirit is preserved and spread across.