Marathon Mania - 17/01/2010

“Marathon means heroic”. He who has ever run Marathon is a hero in true sense. It was my dream to run the full Marathon at least once which was half fulfilled this year since I had run half marathon. Even though there is a half marathon mark still left in my leg, I am determined to run full marathon next year. This is what we call Marathon Mania. There were about 40,000 people who were determined to run; some for a cause, others to improve their stamina. The motives were different but the goal was one – to cover the Marathon spread. This was my first Marathon and I was very excited at the prospect of running for a cause. I was running for an NGO named “Make a Wish Foundation” which is working towards fulfilling the wishes of children who are suffering from life threatening diseases.

2 days prior to the race I received a Marathon kit which had the participant’s running number, timing chip and other accessories. The kit further added to my fervor – the race for which I had been waiting for so long was just a day ahead. I read all the instructions about marathon in the marathon site. The timing chip took my attention. It had to be tied to the shoe laces and if one covers all the checkpoints including the start and finish line before 12.40 p.m. with the timing chip on, he is eligible for a timing certificate. I liked this technological advancement and fancied to complete the race at the earliest. I had pre-plans about the winning prize money that I would get if I win the half-marathon. I wanted to use it all for charity – some for make-a-wish foundation and remaining for the education of under privileged children. Although I was aware of the fact that I was physically not prepared to run 21 km (half marathon distance) due to lack of practice, the mania to do it for the needy made me cover the 21 km stretch in 4 hours 12 minutes 32 seconds. The race commenced at 6:45 in the morning and for me it ended at 11.04 a.m. My marathon morning started with the song ‘All is well’ - I woke up with this song as my neighbor had forgotten to switch off his music player the night before marathon and I heard that song several times during the race as well. It was later that I realized that this song helped me to keep moving. The route for half-marathon was Bandra MMRDA ground-Bandra Worli Sea Link-Chowpatty-Marine Lines-Churchgate-CST.

The race commenced with the gun shots fired into the air. It took about 10 minutes to reach to the road walking through thousands of people and shutter-bugs. I had some hopes to come in the idiot box but unfortunately I couldn’t make it. It was the first time that I saw the Bandra-Worli sea link and running through it was a wonderful experience. The cool breeze touched our faces while running through the sea-link and was very supportive in effectively covering a stretch of 11 km. Throughout the half-marathon journey, we got a lot of support from the volunteers. They provided us with water, energy drinks and snacks in intervals. There were also arrangements for medical camps amid to take care of the injured. A lot of people suffered from low to severe cramps and sprains in legs. At one point of time there was shortage of pain relieving sprays. Thousands of people withdrew from the race due to injuries. But there were thousands who were determined to complete the Marathon spread and kept going despite of the injuries and I am proud to be one of them. I had suffered severe cramp in my leg by the time I reached Chowpatty and was unable to walk properly due to that. There were some kids standing by the road side motivating the runners. They saw me crippling and started yelling by the name of the NGO that was written on my T-shirt.
This made me forget my pain and reminded me of the cause that I was running for. The last 1 km stretch felt like a thousand miles. All the time I was making plans of repose on reaching the finish line. I wanted someone to come for my rescue. At that point of time, even if God would have come in front of me, I was not in a position to pay attention. Finally, I touched the finishing line and my joy knew no bounds but if that was not enough, the snacks counter was ahead by 1 more km. But the satisfaction that I had reached the finishing line kept me dragging through the final lap. As soon as I reached the snacks counter, my legs were finding a place to sit and they gave up at a place near a table fan. I sat there for about an hour, rejuvenated myself and then started for the final journey to my home.

Finally, I would say - Hats off to all the Marathon runners!!! Winning a Marathon is a life time achievement, but by participating in it one can exhibit one’s endurance limit and the humility that one possesses. It is truly a heroic deed.