2009 Year End musings..

This post is about the usual year end activity : looking back at what was probably one of the best years running wise and also looking ahead to the plans for 2010.

Highs of 2009

1. Completion of the 12th full marathon in 12 months – the day was made special with the company of so many fellow runners specially from the BHUKMP and Red Dragon gang. The achievement of the goal that I set in May 2008 gave immense satisfaction – the T-shirt and plaque given by fellow runners made it truly memorable!

2. Cracking the sub 4 hr marathon at the Suntrust National marathon in Washington DC in March 2009

3. PB timings in 50K, HM and 10K distances at the Bangalore Ultra, Bangalore Midnight marathon and Sunfeast World 10K respectively

4. Being able to clock 2000Km of running during the year - up from 1800Km in 2008

5. Numerous new running mates specially in the BHUKMP group

Lows of 2009

1. Not being able to hit my PB in 5K distance at the 2nd Urban Stampede
2. Missing out on the 2nd Hyderabad marathon due to sickness - my first ever DNS

2010 Goals

1. Run at least 5 Full marathons/Ultras

• Mumbai Marathon  - 17th Jan 2010
• Auroville Marathon  - 14th Feb 2010
• Hyderabad Marathon - August 2010
• Athens Marathon - 31st October 2010
• Bangalore Ultra - 14th November 2010 

2. Sub 4:05 finish at Mumbai marathon 2010 in 2 weeks from now
3. Sub 4 Hr at Hyderabad marathon 2010
4. 75K at Bangalore Ultra? - it is tempting to go beyond 50K
5. Invest in a better cycle and do a few trail rides with Tandem Trails

I intend to start the year with a 12K-15K  run on January 1 - I have been   running on January 1 pretty much every year since 2003.  A good run on the 1st day of the year is a fantastic way to start the year.  And I intend to follow this up with a 32K - 35K  run on January 3rd - the last long run before the Mumbai marathon on 17th Jan .

Here is wishing everyone a Great Year ahead personally, professionally and of course running wise!!!

Countdown to Mumbai 2010

With just about 20 days to go for the 2010 edition of Mumbai marathon most runners registered to run either the HM or FM there are in the final stages of their preparation. They would have done their last long run either the alst weekend(26th/27th Dec) or would be planning to do so the coming weekend ie 1st, 2nd or 3rd of January 2010. I fall into the latter category. I was away from Bangalore(at Jungle Lodges and resorts in BR hills) for 4 days and have done little runnig sicne Wednesday 23rd December.  Rather I have been pigging out with 3 heavy meals a day with some deep fried snacks thrown in between lunch and dinner.  Fortunately, for me I have not added too much weight due to this.(I guess by now my metabolism helps me burn off high calorie intake quite efficiently!)  I hope to do a fair amount of running this week: a 9-10K tomorrow, followed by a 12-15K run on 1st of January and then a 32K+ run on Sunday 3rd Jan exactly 2 weeks before the big day in Mumbai.

To hit my target of a sub 4:05 finish and shave 8 minutes from my last year's timing I need to maintain an averge pace of 5:48. Based on my experience of recent training runs in Bangalore this should be quite possible; however I know the weather in Mumbai will be quite a challenge. Also, this year's change in route will bring in a new unknown. While running over the recently opened sealink should be fun I am a bit apprehensive of the effect of the wind on my pace. I am hoping to do the first half in under 2 hours and then push for the second half in about 2:05. This week's runs are crucial to build and maintain the confidence to achieve this.

HM at Bengaluru Midnight Marathon 2009

The 3rd edition of Bengaluru Midnight marathon on 12th/13th December 2009 was definitely much better organised than the last two editions.However, the participation seemed to be lower. Though I did not reach the venue in time to see the 5K run happen I heard that it had far fewer runners compared to last year when a couple of thousand people ran. I rode to the venue with Vinay Chaurasia and Shumit Vatsal after having an ‘early’ dinner around 8PM -we got there by 1030 PM. The bib and timing chip pick up process was quick and smooth. Inside the Sigma Tech Park RFL had setup a stall manned by Arvind Bharati and Nikhil. In that area I met up with a number of RFL runners – several of whom were running the Half.There was a baggage counter conveniently located in the holding area. About 15 minutes to midnight, runners moved over from the holding area to the start line on the road outside the Tech Park. After a couple of announcements including one regarding the run lap having reduced from 2.64K to 2.1xK the run started off exactly at midnight.

About 400 runners must have started the race. While I started with Shumit and Chandra , who like me were planning to do a fast HM, within a few minutes they pulled ahead. I ran a steady pace with the goal of keeping my average pace around 5 mins per Km. Traffic was completely blocked on one side of the road.There were 3 aid stations in the 2.1K stretch which had water and juice.There were adequate volunteers and cops patrolling the area. The route itself had a couple of slight gradients. The chilly night made it a perfect weather for running. I was able to able to keep my target pace in the first half and completed 10.5 Km in about 52 minutes. One had to necessarily slow down at the turn around point. At the far point some volunteers wanted to mark the bib for each loop for which one had to almost stop – this was a bit frustrating and after the second loop I refused as this was upsetting my rhythm. One big advantage of the up and down route was one was able to see and cheer other runners quite often. This resulted in more than usual comraderie amongst the runners energizing them further. I stayed pretty focused on the run and my target time – talking very little with other runners. I managed to sprint the last 500 meters and finish in 1:46:03 as per my Garmin. Though I feel I could have pushed a little bit more and done a sub 1:45 I am quite satisfied that I shaved 3 minutes off my previous PB set over 3 years ago. Official chip timings are still awaited. It should be available here.

The single biggest contingent of runners was from RFL and they all did very well in the race with many of them clocking their PB HM or FM times. Like last year Arvind and Nikhil cheered the runners, took photographs and setup an additional aid station with electral which was definitely helpful for the FM runners. Shumit did an amazing 1:38 Half while Chandra clocked 1:42. Among the FM runners Ashok and Honda San led the pack with Ashok clocking a very impressive 3:13. Several RFL runners had podium finishes including RGI team in the women’s relay, Meher in women’s HM and Amrita in Women’s FM! We left the venue at about 3am just as Ashok and Honda San were on their last lap of the FM. Everyone seems to have had a good run and also lots of fun at this year’s Midnight marathon. So hopefully this event will go from strength to strength as the premier long distance road race in Bangalore!

The next event is...Bengaluru Midnight Marathon

I have registered to run the HM at the Bengaluru Midnight marathon on 12th December 2009. This is the third edition of this event. I ran the FM in the first event in May 2007 , finishing in 4:44 - my third slowest FM finish. It was a tough run and got very lonely towards the end. Last year I did the 5K with my son as the event was postponed from Dec 2008 to January 2009 due to the Mumbai terrorist attacks and was held exactly one week before Mumbai marathon. I am hoping to run a fast HM this year and try and beat my best ever time of 1:49 that I did in Hyderabad HM in November 2006. If I get into a good rhythm I might even attempt a sub 1:45. While the weather should be nice for running it will still be a challenge for the body as it is not used to running in the night.

There are a couple of other events leading up to the main event on 12th December. A power mile for CXOs mainly to create some publicity about the event amongst senior professionals in Bangalore was held on 22nd November. I ran this  and managed to complete the 'power mile' in just under 6 minutes finishing second amongst about 100 runners. The second pre-event is the 'pet-a-thon' on 6th December wherein onwers are supposed to run with their pets!

Due to the experiences of the last two years ,serious runners in Bangalore have a very poor opinion of this event. In the past there have been issues like lack of traffic control, aid stations running out of water/electral, chaos with timings/certificates etc. Feedback has been given to the organisers, namely, Crossover and I sincerely hope these issues are taken care of this year. I would like this event to improve and attract more and more serious runners - after all this is the only long distance(>10Km) road  race that Bangalore has. Being a midnight run it is quite unique. Also, this is a good race for those  runners who are not able to or do not want to run the ultra distance in November or travel to Mumbai in January. Nevertheless, unless its reputation improves I suspect that a majority of serious runners will do the HM and the FM will have much fewer takers!

'Marathon streakers' and 'Mega-marathoners'

A lot of people(read non long distance runners) think I am crazy because I have been running  50K at the Bangalore Ultra  the last 3 years. Moreover, people are amazed that people actually run 75K and 100K! As I have said before running is addictive and has its fair share of crazies. The  articles below that  I came across the last few weeks talk about two kinds of running lunatics.

Marathon Streakers: 33 and Counting

“streaker,” as it relates to the running world, is  someone who has run a certain number of consecutive races. This article talks about runners who have done over 20 or even 30 straight marathons at Boston, NY or Chicago.  I am hoping to be a streaker at Mumbai marathon - having participated in all the 7 editions(2 HM, 5FMs) so far. Similary with the Bangalore ultra as I have run all the 3 editions todate.

For 'Mega Marathoners,' the Race Is On -- to Run More Races
 

Mega marathoners as this article explains are people who have run hundreds of marathons. Three Germans, a Finn and a Japanese woman are known to have clocked more than 1,000 marathons apiece -- that is 26,200 miles, about 1,300 miles more than the circumference of the earth. The record holder, 74-year-old Horst Preisler, has run 1,636 marathons. Living in India where marathon events are just picking up and having started running after the age of 40 I would be fortunate if I can touch a century of marathons. That would require me to run another 76 marathons(the Bangalore ultra on 15th November was my 24rth!) - an average of 4 per year(Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ultra, Auroville..) for the next 20 years should get me there! hmm..

Kicking off Fund raising for Dream A Dream

For the fourth year in a row I am  raising funds for Dream A Dream - an NGO that I have been personally involved with since 2007. Founded in 1999, Dream A Dream empowers children from vulnerable backgrounds by developing life skills while at the same time sensitizing the community through active volunteering leading to a non-discriminatory society where unique differences are appreciated.  

Dream A Dream provides children from vulnerable backgrounds with non-traditional educational opportunities designed to allow them to explore, innovate and build important life skills. These life skills are fundamental to child/youth development and to the successful transition into adulthood and becoming fully functioning and productive members of our society. Dream A Dream programs allow children to develop:

· Interpersonal skills including teamwork, communications, negotiation and coping skills
· Cognitive skills such as decision-making, problem solving and critical thinking
· Creativity, confidence, self-awareness and a passion for learning

As a volunteer in the IT program and as a mentor I  have experienced the tremendous impact of Dream A Dream's programs on vulnerable children. I am extremely impressed with the work done by them and the passion and sincerity of the employees and the co-founder Vishal. So when I got an opportunity in August 2009 to engage with them more deeply as a trustee on the board of directors I took it up gladly.

Like the past three years, I am raising funds for Dream A Dream via my runs and between the Ultra in November 2009, Mumbai marathon in January 2010 and Auroville marathon in February 2010 my target is  to better the Rs 2 Lakhs that I raised last year. For this I am banking on the goodwill and support of friends and family around the world.  Contributions can be made either via check or online(currently only for overseas contributors;  online payment gateway for contributions in INR is coming soon) - see the Right Hand Side of this blog for specific details. Go ahead and make a contribution and help make a difference to our society!!

More on Bangalore Ultra 2009..

Had a pretty nervous and restless week leading up to the Ultra on 15th November 2009 - sensing a few aches and pains and a mild sore throat. The gloomy weather also added to the lethargy. However, the weather became a bit better toward the end of the week and the excitement of participating in the 3rd Bangalore Ultra became palpable as I interacted with a number of fellow runners while collecting the running bib on 14th afternoon.

As has now become the norm for any long run I woke up on 15th November a few minutes before my alarm rang. Partha and Sridharan reached the Domlur signal as planned at 4:20 after picking up Rohit from Diamond district. Due to the discussions we were having while driving and the construction work happening in the area we missed the right turn to Hesaraghatta and had to drive up 3-4 Kms before we could make a U-turn and return. We were fortunate that we decided on Saturday evening to advance our departure time by 15-20 minutes - else we may not have reached the venue on time. We managed to get there barely  20  minutes before the start time. The direction banners with the ultra logo enroute were quite helpful .  We crossed a few runners runnign with torches - these runners had started their race at 5am. The energy and the comraderie at the holding area was amazing - lots of familiar runners and many new ones too!

The race started bang on time at 6am after a few announcements from A1, A2 and Atul of Runners For Life. I started at a moderate pace - my goal was to do the first 25K(2 loops) in about 2 and a half hours and then do the remaining 25K in as close to 3 hours as possible. It was perfect weather for distance running and stayed that way through out the day - partly cloudy, breezy at times and intermittent ligt drizzle - what more can one ask for of the weather gods? The route is 6.25K out and back - the number of loops varies depending on the distance one is running. This provides a great opportunity to see and cheer other runners multiple times during the run - a unique characteristic of the Bangalore Ultra.    At about the 2Km mark I sighted Honda San  and other 100K/75K runners on their way back. And what an incredible race Honda had - completing 100Km in 10:23 in what seemed to many of us effortlessly.

I completed the first loop in under 1:15 and the second one in just about 2:30. In the second loop I ate my energy bar.  I ran a bit with Saptagirish and also with Rohit. I  met Amit from Delhi runners and Masao Nakayama who had come over from Singapore to run the Ultra. A stretch of the route in the forest route was wet due to overnight rain and one had to be careful. Also, once the 25K and 12.5K runners hit the trail the route was cramped for space in sections. Though it was great to see so many runners coming all the way to run these different distances and it is great for promoting running and also for RFL's business, opening up the 12.5K distance at the ultra is a subject of debate and diasgreement among distance runners.  I started to slow down a bit in the third round as my stomache was hurting. Nevertheless, I pushed on the cheering from other runners helping me quite a lot. Unlike the last two Ultras I was more focused on timing this time and did not stop for too long at any of the aid stations - which were as usual well stocked. However, apart from the 3 bananas before the start and the energy bar during the run I did not eat anything else. I mostly drank only water - only in  the 4rth loop I had some electral. By the time I started my 4rth round I was quite confident of comfortably bettering my previous year's time of 5:50. And felt that the target of  sub 5:30 was achievable.  I managed to push my tiring legs and wavering mind to finish in 5:22:29 - 2nd in the senior men's and 7th overall. I had to immediately dash off to the loo - as A1 said when I crossed him towards finishing the 4rth loop- a price well worth paying for sahving 28 minutes off my last years time! Rohit finished shortly thereafter completing his first run beyond 35K in an excellent time of 5:40:30.  I was quite happy with the race and the event overall. Not having digital clocks at the start point was disappointing and the food was a huge let down again.

The Ultra is by far the best race in India for any runner to run their longest distance ever. And this is testified by the number of runners who ran 75K and 100K this year. And the numerous runners who did their first 25K, 37.5K and 50K!  It was truly amazing to see runners like Jugy, Rahul Verghese and Leona complete 75K and then Athreya, Melvin and Sunil Chainani completing 100K! And what about the ever smiling Chandra who ran a strong 75K for a second year in a row in 9:23! Overall all the runners from BHUKMP had a great outing at this year's ultra. Click here for RFL's fortnightly newsletter covering this year's ultra and a couple of the standout runners.  And here for complete results. The winners of the 50K,75K and 100K events are listed here in a friend's blog. Pictures from Monica's album and Ramesh's album on Facebook.

Bangalore Ultra 2009

As expected the event was enjoyable. The fabulous Bangalore weather, the wonderful trail, good race organization and the enthusiastic runners all contributed to this. Despite some dampness in parts of the trail and an upset stomach which caused me to slow down in the 3rd and 4rth laps I completed in 5Hrs 22 Minutes - shaving off nearly 28 minutes from the timings of the last two years! More details in a bit...

Athens classic marathon 2010..marking the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon

One of the numerous marathons that I would like to run in this lifetime is the Athens classic marathon.It is the one race that offers the experience of running the original Marathon course, starting from the Marathon Town and finishing in the Panathinaikon Stadium. It is the Marathon Race that uniquely combines the past with the present; the myth with history.In 490 BC Battle of Marathon,the Greek army, although outnumbered six to one, defeated the Persians on the plain two miles beyond Marathon. Legend has it that Phaedippides, a Greek soldier, was ordered to convey news of the victory to the elders in Athens. He ran all the way, uttered the immortal words, “Rejoice, we conquer!”....and then dropped dead .(Many modern marathon runners know exactly how he must have felt).

Although the battle of Marathon certainly took place, Phaedippides’feat has no factual basis whatsoever. No matter, it gave rise to the “invention” of the marathon as a race over a distance chosen for no good reason, among runners who are mostly incapable of winning it, to commemorate an event, which almost certainly never happened! The first modern marathon was run between Marathon & Athens in 1896, a distance of 25 miles and was won by Spiridon Louis from Amaroussion, near Athens, in 2h.58m.50s.

It seems likely that the Greeks will lay on special celebrations for the 2010 Athens Marathon to commemorate the 2500the year of the Battle of Marathon. There might even be a special commemorative, and therefore sought after, medal. The race is most likely to be on 31st October 2010. I am seriously tempted to run this event and have put myself on the mailing list to be informed when the registration opens. It is expected that the event will be highly in demand and will get sold out early.

The 2009 edition of the event was held the past weekend on 8th November.More than 3600 athletes participated. The winner of the 27th Marathon is KIPKURUI JOSEPHAT of Kenya in 2:13:44. First Greek athlete to cross the finish line was THEODORAKAKOS DIMITRIOS in 2:26:27. The weather was rainy, especially at the first half of the race, which was the main reason that times where not so fast. First woman is OZAKI AKEMI of Japan in 2:39:56. First Greek woman athlete is AMPATZIDOU GEORGIA in 2:44:23. Another reason  the winning times are not very fast as the course is supposed to be quite tough with a steady uphill climb for about 35Km.

Dean Karnazes does a double marathon in Chicago!!

Dean Karnazes is one of  the several distance runners that I look up to. His early  exploits are well documented in the  book Ultramarathon man.  I picked up this book in 2006 and find it a good motivational read before a long or a tough run. Now he also has a website by the same name. His achievement of running 50 marathons in 50 US states on 50 consecutive days is documented in 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days -- and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance! - it is on my list of running related books to buy. I had the privilege of running with Dean in NJ in November 2006 when he was doing his 49th of the 50 marathons. I ran the HM at that time and managed to run with him for a few minutes and also get my copy of his book autographed! This is what I wrote to the RFL mailing list on 5th November 2006.

 I had one of the most memorable half marathon runs of my life today. I was a little apprehensive about  having a good run within 36 hours of landing in the US - plus it was quite cold - about 6 degrees Celcius and windy at 9am. The good thing was it was bright and sunny. Dean arrived at about 10 past 9am and spoke to the 200+ runners for a few minutes. The race started at about 920am . This was a non-timed, non-competitive run with all the runners running together at an average speed of about 10.5 minutes per mile. There was a cop car in front of the entourage and cops on bikes ensuring that the runners got priority at  traffic intersections. 

Dean came across as a very unassuming, friendly guy talking to everyone. In fact, it was amazing to see  him talk almost non-stop considering that today was his 49th consecutive marathon. People running with  him, including myself, asked a lot of questions (which he must have been asked in each one of his runs) and  he happily responded. He also had a great sense of humour. Some one asked him whether he gave any inputs in the selection of the courses in each of the 50 states. Yes, I asked them to pick the shortest courses  was the answer. What will you do on the 51st day? Well, get up in the morning and go for a long run was  the response. In fact, it looks like he's thinking of continuing to run marathons even after the 50th one  tomorrow. Apparently, the most difficult part of the runs was the 1 hour media interaction and autographing 100-200 books after the run and then sitting in the bus for several hours going from one state to another. The idea of running in each of the 50 states apparently came to him 4 years ago and took about 2 years of planning and organisation. 

When I told Dean that I was running with a copy of his book he immediately asked whether I was carrying a en. When I gave him the pen and the book he autographed it 'on the run'. Dean now wants to run  500+ miles non stop. I met several runners who had run the previous day with Dean in Philadelphia and many more who planned to do the NYC marathon the next day. Also, met a few ultra marathon runners. Completed the half marathon in about 2 hours 10 minutes – felt quite good and strong at the end of it. Was in fact tempted to continue on and do the full but decided against it - had a 2.5 hours drive to do after the  run and also a very hectic work week ahead. 

All in all it was a great experience!!

And now to the main topic of this post. On Sunday 11th October 2009 Dean Karnazes accepted the challenge to run two marathon distances on the same day, back-to-back at the  2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon as part of a promotion for Volkswagen the official automative sponsor of the event.  He took off at 7:30 a.m. with the masses for is first marathon and he finished in 3:52:17. He then turned around and ran another 26.2 miles which he completed in 3:57:28. That is a total of over 80Kms in less than 8 hours!! Some more pictures of the event are here. On Saturday afternoon, prior to the marathon, Karnazes spoke at the Expo Main Stage to a large audience and concluded with a future goal: In 2012, he wants to run a marathon in every country in the world----including North Korea and Afghanistan. It’s a lofty goal that will involve an incredible amount of logistical planning not to mention diplomatic cooperation, but given what he has accomplished, it’s one he’s capable of tackling.

A century of Sub-2:07 marathons !

I found this interesting post at IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) :

Sub-2:07 marathons reach historic point

Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot may have lost the race and the course record at the Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon on 26th October, but when he crossed the finish line behind Gilbert Kirwa he still made some history. His finishing time of 2:06:23 was the one-hundredth sub-2:07 marathon ever run.

After Belayneh Densimo's historic 2:06:50 breakthrough at Rotterdam in 1988, it took almost ten and half-years for the next man to go under 2:07, Ronaldo da Costa's startling 2:06:05 world record at Berlin, 1998. While there was uneven progress over the next nine years, the pace of production since then has been breath-taking.

Forty percent of the 100 sub-2:07s have been run after the beginning of 2008. And since the Fukuoka Marathon, less than 11 months ago, there have been 25 marathon times under 2:07.

The all-time progression of sub 2:07 races

1988 – 1
1998 – 2
1999 – 9
2000 – 2
2001 – 1
2002 – 12
2003 – 10
2004 – 7
2005 – 1
2006 – 9
2007 – 6
2008 – 16
2009 – 24

With aggressive pacing, generally good weather and courses designed for speed, a select group of marathons have contributed to the lion's share of these fast times. The top tier are evenly divided between spring and fall events.

Races with the most sub-2:07s:

London – 20
Berlin – 17
Chicago – 14
Amsterdam – 12
Paris – 12
Rotterdam – 12

The 100 sub-2:07s have been run by 64 different men. Haile Gebrselassie, as at so many other distances, is the King of the Clock here, with a lifetime total of nine. But the man who may be the heir apparent, Samuel Wanjiru, already has produced five before his 23rd birthday. Felix Limo, with four, is the only other man with more than three lifetime sub-2:07s.

Certainly the least surprising aspect has to be the country that has accounted for the largest number of sub-2:07s: Kenya. Their 61 is more than three times that of the next closest country (Ethiopia, 19). In fact African runners as a whole are responsible for 89 of the total (or 92 considering Moroccan-born runners who later changed nationalities).

Sub-2:07s by country:
Kenya – 61
Ethiopia – 19
Morocco – 7
United States – 3
Japan – 3
France – 2
South Africa – 2
Brazil – 1
Portugal – 1
Spain – 1

Marty Post for the IAAF

Countdown to Bangalore Ultra 2009

It is just about a week left for  the 3rd edition of Bangalore Ultra. I did a reasonably OK 38Km run in just under 4 hours at GKVK on 31st October - my longest run since the marathon in July. It was not a great run as I struggled a bit in the last 2Kms. Today I ran a 1:56 20Km at EGL. Will do two short runs probably on Tuesday and Thursday this week leading up to the Ultra on 15th November. With close to 600 runners slated to participate,  this year's event is going to much bigger compared to last year. Though a bulk of the runners are going to be running 25K or less it is amazing that over 20 are doing the 100K!  The 50Km event that I am running has over 100 runners this year. The last two years I have clocked 5:51 at this event. This year I am targeting to do closer to 5:30 which I should be able to achieve barring any last minute injury or sickness. I hope the weather is as perfect as it was last year. Of course, like the last two years I am not going to worry too much about the timing - I am looking forward to enjoying the comraderie of fellow runners and the wonderful ambience of the route and the race!

The Nike+ Human Race 10K

After some dilly-dallying I decided to go ahead and run the Nike Human race 10K on 24rth October with the goal of trying to complete it under 50 minutes and if possible under my  Sunfeast 10K 2009  time of  48:24. We ( myself and 3 others : Parminder, Shahid and Rajeev) left Domlur a little after 2:30PM - reaching Clarke's Exotica at just about 4PM - the traffic was a little more than we expected. There seemed to be a over 1000 runners in the starting area. Since everyone was wearing the red Nike race T-shirt the holding area was a complete sea of red.  Though at the time of picking up the race kit we were given a colour band based on estimated completion time this was not strictly enforced. I sneaked through the crowd and positioned myself towards the front. The race was flagged off a little before 430 PM by cricketer Sreesanth. Mahesh Bhupathi and Anju Bobby George were two other sports celebrities who were part of the event. I took off at a pace of about 4:35 per Km and ran the first Km in about 4:45. After that my pace started to drop. My stomach started cramping and I felt quite dehydrated. It was sunny and warm when the race started and I had lunch a little later than planned. Also, it probably was the side effect of indulging in a couple of drinks of  single malt on Friday night in the company of some relatives who had come over for dinner. Unlike at Sunfeast 10K I felt so thirsty that had to stop at each of the water stations which was every 2Km. Nevertheless I managed to get to the 5Km point in just over 25 minutes. The route was quite nice - completely within the resort property. At a couple of points enroute there was live music.The weather cooled off in the second half - this definitely helped me sustain my pace. Then with a little over 1 Km left I managed to accelerate a notch  to finish in 49:32 overtaking 'veteran' RFL runners Sunil and Jugy. Though a minute slower than at the Sunfeast 10K I was quite satisfied. For most runners like me who normally train in the mornings running in the afternoon has its challenges.  As per the results on the Nike website I finished 63rd among the Bangalore runners and 11644th globally among all the runners across the different cities where the race was held!

The men's winners in Bangalore were all from the army and clocked a little over 35 minutes. Among the runners I recognize,  ANS who is also from my age group, clocked an amazing 42:13 and finished 10th among Bangalore runners.Globally the fastest time clocked was 28:42 by a runner in Berlin - extremely impressive considering the world record for a 10Km is 26:17:53 set by Kennesa Bekele of Ethiopia in Brussels in 2005. Post the run we had some snacks and beverages and a foot massage before heading back around 630PM. We did not stay back for the live music and the dinner. That evening I felt quite fatigued even more so than I do after a long run. I crashed early and even skipped my Sunday morning run/cycling. This is probably due to pushing myself that too during an afternoon run- I do not seem to have the muscle strength and stamina to sustain a high pace for a period of time. Overall, I enjoyed the experience but now I need to focus on the Ultra on 15th November. My long runs have gone for a toss due to the cyclothon, sickness and now the 10K race - my last 30K run was on 27th September. I hope to get in a good 35K+/4hour  run this Saturday before tapering off!.

To run or not to run Nike+ Human Race on 24rth October?

The Nike 10K Human race is not an ideal one for long distance runners training for the Bangalore ultra on November 15th. Plus the race is on a Saturday afternoon and at Clark’s Exotica located quite far from the city. Therefore, it is not surprising that many RFL runners have decided to give it a miss. Nevertheless I decided to go ahead and register for it mainly because the NGO partner for the race is Dream A Dream and also a few others from my apartment community were interested in participating. The thinking was if I did a 10K in around 48 minutes , the same time as I took in Sunfeast 10K 2009, then it could serve as a good tempo run. Also I had planned my long runs in such a way that I could take it easy the weekend of 24th/25th October . The intent was to do a 4 hour/35K+ run on October 18th with a bunch of BHUKMP runners after gorging on Diwali sweets and savories on 17th. And follow this up with a 30K run on 31st October. Unfortunately, due to a massive stomach upset I could neither hog nor do my long run this weekend. For the 2nd time in less than 8 weeks I fell sick(does exercise increase or decrease immunity – a topic that needs to be researched further!). Due to this I am now in two minds about participating in this race. I am thinking maybe I will skip the 10K race and get in the 4hour/35K+ run instead. Will need to decide latest by Thursday. The irony is that I felt well enough by Sunday night to do a solo 21K/2:01 run this morning!.

Bangalore cyclothon 2009

The BSA Hercules Bengaluru Cyclothon 2009 was organized on 11th October by Sport18, a division of Network 18. As per the event website over 6000 cyclists took part across the 7 event categories ranging from 65 Km for the elite to 2Km for kids. Though I am not much of a cyclist I have been cycling 2-3 days a week for the last 3 years or so as cross-training and have found it quite enjoyable. I have done long distance cycling only once - in December 2006 a bunch of us rode from Hebbal flyover to Nandi hills - a distance of about 50Kms. It was a great experience. So I enthusiastically registered for the 50Km amateur ride at the cyclothon. My son Rahul registered for the 5Km teen ride.

I did not research at all about the cycling route on the NICE corridor but based on my previous experience of cycling long distance I decided I need to get a geared cycle. A geared cycle enables one to cycle longer at a constant pace with lesser efforts. After talking to a couple of people including A2 from RFL and Deepak I decided that I will not buy a geared cycle in a hurry. So I borrowed a couple of them including Deepak's Firefox Target. I finally used a Raleigh trail bike on which I practiced a couple of times. Compared to my ungeared bicycle in which I had to work hard to sustain an average speed of 17Kmph I found that I could do this much more easily and even hit 20-22Kmph with the geared cycles. A couple of more people from my apartment community were also participating in the event - so we arranged for a tempo to cart 5 bicycles from Domlur Layout to the starting point at BIEC.

A mailer from the organisers couple of days before the event informed the participants that the amateur ride distance had been changed from 50Km to 36Km due to traffic control reasons. This was disappointing news for many of us who wanted to do a longish ride. The so called expo at the Koramangla Indoor stadium was quite sad - there were hardly any stalls. Moreover there was only 1 counter giving Bibs for the amateur ride even on the Saturday before the event resulting in a long queue. Then they ran out of helmets which was part of the goodie bag and I understand thereafter they ran out of the bags themselves. Given that registrations were closed several days before the event I fail to understand how this can happen. Not surpisingly a few RFL runners who also cycle decided not to participate in the event after their experience at the expo.

Satish, Vani, Rahul, Venu and myself loaded our cycles in the temp around 630am and left from Domlur layout at 645am. We reached BIEC comfortably around 745am enjoying cheese sandwiches and boiled eggs thoughtfully brought by Vani enroute. Though I had feared that the tempo might be drive slowly and take longer to reach there(this was one of those mini-tempos) he actually reached there before us. We unloaded our bicycles and wheeled them to hangar 3 - the holding area for all the events. The infra in the holding area was decent - large and spacious, ample and clean restrooms, lot of stalls with water etc. There was also a lot of activity with people moving or even cycling around in their cycles. Satish, Venu and I moved to the area marked amatuer ride. I met up with several RFL runners : Manoj, Aswin, Amit etc . The event was supposed to start at 8:45am but there were absolutely no announcements as the time passed by. Finally, around 9:05am we were let out from the hangar to the starting point in 'waves' or batches. The start of the race was quite unimpressive. As soon as we started we went over a steep flyover and I thanked myself for riding a geared cycle. In general the route had quite a few gradients. It was great experience going down the NICE corridor with zero traffic. Our event probably had a thousand cyclists. The variety and colour of bicycles was quite amazing. I was mostly able to keep the speed slightly above 20Kmph at times touching 30Kmph.There were a large number of participants from MEG riding ungeared BSA bikes and most of them were faster than me!. Contrary to what was stated in the event booklet there were NO distance markers enroute. There were also no real aid stations - just saw one thinly equipped water station around the 10Km mark. Soon thereafter, when my Garmin showed that we had done about 13Km , we reached a point where lot of cyclists in front were turning around. The rider in front of me argued with someone standing on the road that we needed to go further ahead but he was directed to turn saying no one was going ahead. I followed suit and I think so did many other cyclists. I thought to myself that maybe the return leg has a slightly different route with some kind of a diversion of the main road or somethin. But that was not to be - it seems they had closed the 18K loop early. I ended up doing 26.7Km as per my Garmin in about 1 hour 20 minutes at an average pace of 3:02. There was also no clear finish line - apparently it was on the bridge that crossed Tumkur road.

It was very disappointing for all of us who had registered for the 50Km and eventually ended up doing a little over half that distance. It was not really worthwhile to go all that distance for this though the ride was quite enjoyable. In summary, it was an OK first attempt at a mass cycling event and it was nice to see so many cyclists come out a Sunday morning but for those of us looking for a sporting challenge it was disappointing! Rahul did his 5Km comfortably in under 20 minutes - though he had to rent a BSA cycle as he discovered a puncture in his cycle just before his event.

PB 5K solo run..

Like in many things in life when one has a rhythm or flow going then one can usually take one's performance to the next level. This is what happened during one of my training runs last week. I started off to do my usual 9K to 10K run in the EGL route with a average target pace of between 5:15 and 5:30. I got off the block quite fast (which by the way is not recommended by the experts) and covered the 1st Km in about 4 and a half minutes. I felt very  good and realised that I might be able to sustain a sub 5 minutes per Km pace for a while. I managed to do  that and hit the 5Km mark in 23 minutes 39 seconds - almost a minute faster than my previous best at last year's Urban Stampede which was 24 minutes 34 seconds. This helped me erase the disappointment of a slower finish(25:33)  in this year's Urban Stampede. I eventually did 10K in 49 minutes 30 seconds and 11K in just under 55 minutes - a great tempo run!

Importance of average pace to achieve target time

As I have posted before I am  addicted to my Garmin Forerunner 305 since I started using it 2 years ago and feel quite irritated if  either it runs out of battery charge during a run or worse if I forget to wear it for a run. Of all the different display fields available on the device, right from the beginning, I have been relying on the average pace reading to try and adjust my pace(usually to speed up) to hit the target time. And now as I focus on improving my FM timing  I am completely hooked onto the average pace field on the device.  I have recently changed the display settings on my device to have just 3 fields on one page: Average Pace, Current Pace and distance so that the Average Pace appears in large font size. In my recent training runs I look at this field on the device every few seconds! I put together the following table to keep in perspective the average pace at which I need to run marathons to achieve my target of 3:45 finish to qualify for Boston over the next few years.

Target FM Time	Average Pace	Target time 1st Half	Target time 2nd Half
4:15	6:02	2:05	2:10
4:10	5:55	2:00	2:10
4:05	5:48	2:00	2:05
4:00	5:41	1:55	2:05
3:55	5:34	1:55	2:00
3:50	5:27	1:50	2:00
3:45	5:19	1:50	1:55

Topically for me Active.com recently published Your Guide to Perfect Pacing recently which has a number of articles by people like Jeff Galloway and Matt Fitzgerald on how to pace one's run to achieve specific time targets. One of them Why you should run negative splits says that one should run 20 to 50% slower than target pace initially. Though this is in line with what books on runnng and experts say, it is  challenging to achieve. Personally I am looking to do a second half that is not too much slower than the first half - just a difference of 5 to 10 minutes. This is not going to be easy . In my only sub 4 hr FM I did the 1st half in about 1:55 and the 2nd half in a little over 2 hours. However, I have started working towards this and the average pace in my daily training runs has gone up. I now classify my training runs by average pace as follows:

Run type	Average Pace(Mins/Km)
Tempo Run	5:05 to 5:15
Fast Run	5:15 to 5:30
Easy Run	5:30 to 5:45
Slow Run	5:45 to 6:15

The above is a shift by about 15 seconds per Km in each band from what I was doing last season. I am hoping to do below 4:05 in Mumbai in Janaury 2010. And between the Bangalore ultra and Mumbai marathon , that is in December 2009, I plan to do at least one progressive run of 30K. That is, the first 10K at easy pace, the second 10K at 10 seconds per Km faster than target pace , that is at 5:38 per Km pace and the last 10K at 5:48 per Km pace.

Indian Long distance running season 2009-10

At the onset of the new Indian running season in August 2009, the thought that came to my mind is how the landscape of distance running has changed(for the better of course) during the last few years. In 2002 when  I started training for my first Full marathon I searched hard to locate an event to participate in. The only one I could find was the Pune International Marathon held in December of every year. It is not that we are spoilt for choice in India today. We lag considerably compared to other countries around the globe in terms of quantity and quality of marathon events eg US has over 400 marathon races a year; even a tiny country like Taiwan with a population of just 23 million people has seven marathons per year.

Nevertheless, long distance runners today have a choice of number of events that they can participate in during the running season spanning between August 2009 and February 2010. The table below lists the events of the 2009-10 running season that I am aware of and have been held at least once before. This list covers events which have at least a 21K distance. All except the Idea Chennai International Half marathon, Airtel Delhi Half marathon and Hyderabad 10K and Half marathon have a full marathon event and of course at the Bangalore ultra marathon one can run longer distances than a marathon. This note is based on personal experience through participation in all except three of these events and feedback from experienced runners on the remaining events. This year I plan to run 50Km at the Bangalore ultra marathon, HM at the Bangalore midnight marathon and FMs at Standard Chartered Mumbai marathon and Auroville marathon.

Event	Website	Date
Hyderabad Full and Half Marathon	http://www.hyderabad10k.com	30th Aug 2009
Kaveri Trail Marathon	http://www.kaveritrailmarathon.com/	13th Sept 2009
Idea Chennai International Half marathon	http://www.givelife-chennaimarathon.com/	27th Sept 2009
Airtel Delhi Half Marathon	http://adhm.indiatimes.com/	1st Nov 2009
Bangalore Ultra Marathon	http://www.bangaloreultra.com/	15th Nov 2009
Hyderabad 10K and Half marathon	http://www.hyderabad10k.com/	22nd Nov 2009
Running and Living marathon	http://runningandliving.com/marathonandahalf.html	6th Dec 2009
Pune International Marathon	http://www.marathonpune.com/	6th Dec 2009
Bangalore Midnight Marathon	http://www.toimidnightmarathon.in/	12th Dec 2009
Standard Chartered Mumbai marathon	http://mumbaimarathon.indiatimes.com/	17th Jan 2010
Auroville marathon	http://www.42k195.com/marathon/auroville_marathon	14th February 2010

Hyderabad Full and Half Marathon :

The 2nd edition of this event held on 30th August 2009 surpassed the high expectations that the participants had based the extremely positive feedback of the 1st edition in August 2008. Once again it was a runner friendly, point to point to road race with well marked route and amply stocked aid stations. The route took runners through two wonderful campuses: ISB and University of Hyderabad. The runners were taken care of very well with a pre-race pasta dinner, dormitory accommodation at the games village in Gachibowli, bus transport to the starting point and a decent breakfast and medal for finishers. The bonanza was cash prizes for the top 10 amateur finishers. With the feedback from the two editions of the race this event is surely a road race that should be on the calendar of every serious long distance runner in the country.

Kaveri Trail Marathon:

KTM is organised jointly by Runners For Life and Bangalor Hash house Harriers and is the only run in India that is close to 100% trail route. The route is a very scenic 10.5 Km out and back path going all along the Cauvery canal a few Kms from the historic town of Srirangapatnam. Full marathon runners therefore need to do two loops. The uneven terrain compounded by warm weather results in this being a challenging race for even seasoned runners. Though a great race to run in preparation for the Bangalore ultra marathon , its certainly not one to aim for a personal best in! The 2009 edition of this run held on 13th September saw record number of over 700 participants go through the gruelling run.

Idea Chennai International Half Marathon:

This is a 7K and Half marathon event. Chennai has had marathons in Jan/Feb in the past and in 2008 the first edition of this Half marathon was in August. This year’s edition was postponed from August 30th to September 27th. The reports posted on Chennai Runners group about the 2008 edition of the event were not very positive. Even then it is the only organized road race in Chennai and Chennai based runners are expected to participate in large numbers with the hope that the organizers will take better care of the details this year to ensure an event that is friendlier to amateur runners.

Airtel Delhi Half Marathon:

This is a professionally organised road race touted as the world’s richest half marathon. The event is managed by Procam the entity that manages the Stanchart Mumbai marathon and Sunfeast 10K in Bangalore, The HM starts opposite Nehru Park and takes the runners through historic parts of New Delhi such as Janpath, India Gate, Rajghat etc. Feedback from runners who have participated in this event is that this is an enjoyable race though it could get quite warm and large parts of the route does not have shade. This year's event is on 1st November.

Bangalore Ultra Marathon:

The only ultra marathon in India providing an opportunity for runners to test their endurance by running distances beyond the full marathon(42.2K) distance. The 2007 and 2008 editions organised in the Hesarghatta area outside Bangalore, with a mostly trail and part road route, were extremely well received by the participants. In November 2008 runners ran multiple loops of 12.5Km each - running between 2 loops(25Km) and over 8 loops(100Km+). Over 150 runners ran 50Km in 2008. The run course is kept open for 12 hours and the aid stations are well stocked with peanut sandwiches being a big hot among the participants. Definitely a MUST DO event for serious long distance runners in India. In the 2009 edition of the race, scheduled for 15th November 2009,  runners can do a 12.5K distance – this is expected to result in over 500 participants. Have been privileged to have been part of the first two editions this is an event I hope to do every year.

Hyderabad 10K and Half Marathon:

Organised by the Hyderabad 10K Foundation in November this event is growing in popularity and size. With inputs from the growing breed of Hyderabad runners this event is expected to pay attention to details and be friendly for amateur runners. I did this in 2006 and found it quite enjoyable though there should be have been a few more water stations in the route.

Running and Living Marathon :

Organized by Running and Living – another popular and passionate organization promoting running in the country the February 2009 edition was the first one. The overall feedback was very positive as is expected of an event by runners for runners. This year’s event, consisting of a full marathon and a half marathon, is on 6th December. The FM runners will do 3 loops of 14K. Like the 1st edition this year also runners can expect great support from volunteers and well stocked aid stations. Any serious long distance runner living in the North should definitely check this out.

Pune International Marathon:

This is probably the oldest organised marathon event in India– the 1st edition was  in 1983. At least in the early years this race was primarily used as a national marathon championship to rank Indian professional  runners. Therefore the organization was not friendly towards amateur slower runners in terms of traffic control, aid station support etc. Runners were expected to reach the half way point in 1 hour 30 minutes and complete the race in 3 hours. Experience of runners who have participated in this event in the last 6 years suggests that this race is avoidable for amateur runners. I attempted this in December 2002 - my first full marathon event. I had to give up at 33rd Km due to lack of water stations and traffic control. I for one would not recommend this to any amateur runner.

Bangalore Midnight marathon:

This event has so far been held twice : the first one wasMay 2007 and again in Janaury 2009(postponed from December 2008 due to the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008). As the only non-morning race in India this event is unique. Since most of us run in the mornings during our training runs running at night specially starting at midnight is a tremendous challenge. Due to the event being held at night and being a route with multiple loops traffic control and aid station support has been reasonable compared to the other Full marathon road race held in Bangalore a couple of times. The 2nd edition of the event was a definite improvement from the first one. The most popular part of this event is the 7K IT-city run which usually has several thousand participants. The Half marathon also has a large number of participants. The 2007 edition of the event in which I ran the FM had less than 80 FM runners. The 3rd edition is scheduled for 12th December as per the website. However, this event has been prone to last minute date changes in the past.

Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon:

By far the biggest and best organised road marathon in India it has been growing in popularity since the 1st edition in 2004. The race date is now fixed for the 3rd Sunday of January every year. This road race that starts from VT station and goes along the Marine drive in South Mumbai also sees the city of Mumbai coming out in huge numbers to cheer and support the participants. In terms of spectator support this event is akin to the large marathons in Europe and USA. No wonder that this attracts runners from all over India with over 50 runners from Bangalore going over to do the FM last year  despite the challenge of a warmer and more humid weather. Another sign of this event’s popularity is that registration starts over 6 months in advance and gets sold out within a few weeks. This year the registrations opened in mid July and by August end both HM and FM registrations were closed Runners who are unable to register in time often get disappointed to be turned away. I have participated in every edition of this event and have seen it grow in size and quality. I hope to participate in this one for years to come.

Auroville Marathon:

This is definitely the most scenic marathon in the country organised very passionately by volunteers within Auroville. The 2nd edition held in February 2009 was mostly trail and consisted of 2 loops of 21.1Km. Both the editions of this race have received such an overwhelming positive feedback that many runners have added this to their annual race calendar and are already looking forward to the 2010 event on February 14th. The magnificent beauty of the course and the wonderful hospitality of the Aurovillans certainly makes this a must do event.

Momentum lost..and regained

The flu that hit me around the Urban Stampede event had a major impact on my running momentum. For the first time in a long time I did just one run (of 6.5Km) in a space of 8 days between 23rd and 30th August. I cannot recollect the last time this happened in the last 5 years. As with any addiction when one is forced to stay away from the object of addiction there are side-effects not often very pleasant. In my case it was general depression, lack of motivation and considerable reduction in irritation threshold making life miserable for those around me. Though I have gone through such patches before, albeit, shorter ones and have always come out and regained my running form fairly quickly nevertheless during this period I kept having self-doubt. The feeling of misery was compounded by the fact that I was forced to give the Hyderabad marathon a miss and had also decided not to run KTM on 13th September. Maybe I had got so used to focusing on the goal of completing a marathon every month that once the goal went away there was a feeling of emptiness and lack of focus to achieve anything in any sphere.

Here are a few articles that talk about running and addiction:

Over the edge exercise addiction

Exercise addiction - When more Is less

The Running Addiction - this article talks about the five criteria for addiction and a long distance runner will typcially meet all five!

Mercifully, this phase did not last too long.

I was able to run 3 days during the week of 31st August including a 16K at an average pace of 5:33/Km and the momentum was completely back the week of 7th September. I ran a total of 41Km including a 22Km solo run in 2 hours on 12th September. I was quite pleased with this run as I had to dodge puddles and muck as well as stray dogs on the route and was still able to maintain decent pace. Besides I was able to do this without drinking any water during the 22K run. Had I carried water I should have been able to run faster. With this my momentum in running is back and so is my focus on other things – I am hoping to continue doing 40K+ weeks till the ultra on 15th November with a couple of weeks of 50K+ in October.

Hyderabad Marathon 2009

The 2nd edition of Hyderabad Half and Full marathon held on 30th August 2009 seems to have lived upto the high expectations and was a smashing success. Of course, with passionate and experienced runners like Rajesh Vetcha spearheading the organization this was not surprising. It looks like this event will now be the one to mark the beginning of the distance running season in India. Unfortunately, I missed it this year due to bein down with flu the week prior to the event. However, I definitely hope to run it next year. Runners from Bangalore did very well in the race with AKS finishing first among amateurs with timing of 3:32 and Deepak Mhasvade following suit with his personal best of 3:43. Manoj Bhat also did his personal best in 3:51 narrowly missing the 3rd position. Click here for the full results of the event.

Unfortunately, I missed the event this year due to being down with flu the week prior to the event. However, I definitely plan to run it next year and am hoping to do my first sub-4 finish in India in that event.

Following are email comments from a couple fo participants in this year's race:

Mail from ANS – a Bangalore based runner who came 1st in the full marathon among amateur runners:

Thanks everyone for a wonderful weekend.It doesn't get better than this..To the organisers for staging an event that was remarkable in many ways:

- great course with never a dull moment

- rollicking initial stretch in cool weather, barren stretches under harsh sun, some cool campuses, a university maze that didn't seem to have an exit and a grand finish in an international stadium. - course well marked with freshly painted arrows almost every 10m (curious to know how this was done. It would have taken an awful lot of effort to manually paint more than 4000 arrows for the FM course)

- well stacked aid stations every 2km with km marker and additional km markers where it is most needed - towards the end.

- greeting finishers with medal and certificate immediately on finishing.- to Ganesh in particular for the great hospitality and making outstation runners like us feel 'elite'.

- finally for recognizing the growing category of fun runners and surprising us with prizes

Mail from Rishikesh – a Bangalore based runner who co-ordinated accommodation at Hyderabad for a number of Bangalore runners

We will like to thank you for hosting us with so much of personal touch. We had an absolutely rocking weekend in Hyderabad. That was possible due to the fact that we didn't have to bother about our stay and most of the commute. The dorm was very comfortable and we were at home.The bus which took us to KBR park for the start gave us the feel of international atheletes. The route was beautiful and the aid station and volunteers were great. The finish line was well managed where every finisher was made to feel like a winner with a 100 mt dash on the Olympic style track amongst cheer from the crowd and medal with Camera and Video time for each.

First ever DNS...

I had the dubious distinction of a firstever DNS – 'Did Not Showup' of my running career this weekend. I had registered for the Hyderabad marathon on 30th August hoping to finish my FM streak with a 13th consecutive one in the city where I started it over a year ago. Unfortunately the flu that struck me the day before the Urban stampede 2009 on 21st August 2009 turned out to be quite severe. I do not quite remember the last time I was down with high fever like this. With temperature staying more than 102F for over 3 days and severe cold I had one of my worst weeks runningwise since mid 2003. While I was still wanting to go for the run in Hyderabad the family and several friends advised against it. On Thursday 24rth August after I had recovered form the fever I did a 6.5K run to test my stamina. It was a struggle and took me over 40 minutes and left me quite exhausted at the end of the run. That is when I made the hard decision to bail out of Hyderabad . It was not an easy call to make. There are not too many well organised road races in this part of the world. So one hand I thought it might still be worth going for the race to enjoy the atmosphere and comraderie of fellow runners and trying to do a slow finish. However, on the other hand I felt apprehensive about doing my slowest marathon finish in the very city where I did my best ever finish in India last year. I felt quite miserable throughout the day and for the next couple of days. I was missing a good marathon event and on top of that had a complete washout of a week with just one poor run in the last 8 days! Just goes to show what an equalizer life is and the role that luck plays in it. I was extremely extremely lucky to have managed 12 months of injury and illness free running and now perhaps this is a divine message that I should slow down for a while. I was anyway planning to take it easy for a couple of months from marathon running after Hyderabad . I have also decided to take a couple of months off from the strength conditioning training at Manipal Hospital. While my next 35K+ run will probably be in the second half of October in preparation for the ultra on 15th November I do hope to get back to running 3-4 days of running starting tomorrow.

Urban Stampede 2009

The 2nd edition of Urban Stampede organised by Runners For Life at Olde Bangalore resort on 22nd August 2009 was a huge success! With 139 teams from 56 companies and 10 non-corporate teams this was by far the largest ever RFL event. Three teams from Mformation participated in the event - 2 in the mens/open categaory and 1 all women team. I was part of Mformation team B. Though I was feeling perfectly fine when I left work on Friday 21st August evening I got hit with severe cold and sore throat later that evening. I did not sleep well at all that night. I left home around 520am and after picking up a couple of colleagues reached Olde Bangalore resort just before 630am. The place was buzzing with activity with runners everywhere. With overnight rains the weather was very pleasant. I volunteered to run 4rth in my team instead of 2nd. My goal this year was to better my last year's timing of 24:34 and if possible try and run below 24 minutes. However, with the cold and body ache picking up even before my turn to run came I knew this was going to be very tough. The run started punctually at 7am with the first set of runners taking off to huge cheering from their fellow runners. I walked around for some time chatting with lots of runners including a few that I did not recognize by name. Waiting for your turn to come in a relay specially when you ar enot feeling well can be quite challenging. By the time I started my run just before 8:40am the first three teams in the open category had completed the race. These were two teams from Toyota Motors and a team from Hindustan Unilever. Deepak Mhasvade ,a great RFL runner,finished his 5K in 22:09 to lead HUL to 3rd place.

I took off very fast and covered the first half Km quickly but had to slow down considerably soon thereafter. Even then I managed to get to the turn around point just after 12 minutes. However, I started to tire quite quickly and managed only a 25:33 finish - almost a minute slower than last year. I was quite disappointed with my timing - it was also one of those few runs that I did not enjoy too much. Considering that I am in much better running form now compared to last year and also managed a sub-49 minutes in Sunfeast 10K I can only blame the flu for the sub par run! Also, I guess I am more cut out for long distance running wherein I am able to sustain a certain average pace for a longer period of time rather than a fast pace for a short period of time. Overall most of the Mformation runners did well specially a few of them who were doing their first ever 5K. The Mfomation women's team finished second. The overall rank and timings of the 3 mformation teams:

• Mformation Team B: Ashish- 26:18; Ravi- 37:14;Sridhar- 36:39;Bhasker-25:33; 2:05:44 finishing 60th in the open category


• Mformation Team A: Sharan-41:44;Sanjay- 38:53;Dwarka- 33:43;Gaurav- 33:43; 2:28:40 finishing 81st in the open category


• Mformation Team C: Kalai- 36:32;Navya - 35:52;Ranu-45:22; Shilpa-41:14 2:39 finishing 2nd in the women's category

Click here for complete results and here for the pictures of the event.

A High 'Runners High' at Southbury, Connecticut

I made the choice to move back from the US to Bangalore over 15 years ago.And from a professional and family perspective I have never regreted the decision. One of the few times that I feel that perhaps I should have lived in the US is when I race in an event here or do an outdoor long run in this country. Today was one such day. I am visiting my Edison office in NJ for a few days. And during the trip I spent this weekend(8th/9th August) at my sister's place in Southbury Connecticut. I had intended to do a 20K training run this morning . I ended up doing 26.5Km in 2hours 35 minutes running solo and I enjoyed the run thoroughly. I started off from my sister's place just before 7am. Though there was hardly any shoulder space in the road that I took there was virtually zero traffic. At about 19 degrees Celsius and partly cloudy the weather was very much like Bangalore weather. I ran about 5Km to reach the Kettletown State Park - did not encounter a single car or human being on the way. On the way I was jolted by a loudly barking dog in front of one of the houses. However, there seemed to be an electronic fence and the dog did not venture onto the road. I ran multiple criss-crossed loops totalling 16Km in about 90 minutes inside the park. There was hardly anyone in the park even at 8am. I thoroughly enjoyed the greenery and the pollution free environment. The air was so fresh and energising - it was extremely enjoyable. I probably hit a High 'Runners High'. I heard lots of chirpy birds and observed a number of large squirrels going across the orad and up and down trees. The route itself was quite tough with several steep gradients. However, I was able to manage a decent pace throughout. On the way back I saw quite a few cars. I was running on a single lane highway - the car drivers kept a good distance from me and did not honk even once. I wish runners in India could get treated with similar respect - it often does not happen even in a road race leave alone during a training run. As I was not carrying any water with me I got quite tired and slowed down in the last 2Kms. However, had I carried water I could have gone on for a few more Kms. Overall I enjoyed the run tremendously - did not feel bored at all running alone.. The fact that it is much easier to do long training runs in this country and that there is encouragement and coaching at school level is probably why there are so many naturally faster runners in this country!

What Next?

After completing 12 marathons in 12 months I have registered to run the 13th one. This is the Hyderabad marathon on 30th August where I started the series in August 2008. It was a wonderfully organised road race last year and this year's edition is expected to be even better. After this I plan to take a couple of months off from marathon running till the Bangalore ultra in November 2009. My focus is then going to shift from quantity of marathons to quality that is do fewer marathons and look at steadily improving my timings. I intend to run maximum of 4 FMs per year and focus on being able to do sub 4 FMs consistently – I have done only one so far and never in India. I see this as a much bigger challenge than running 12 FMs than 12 months – it is far easier to do more number of slower long runs than to do faster and faster runs. Running faster also increases the chances of injury, especially at my age. My goal is to do a sub 4:10 in Mumbai 2010 , sub 4 in Hyderabad 2010 and Mumbai 2011. And then shave 5 minutes each year in 2012 an 2013 to get to 3:45 for Boston qualification!!

Looking back at 12 in 12..

A week after completing the 12th marathon on 12 months I thought it was time to look back at the past year and then look at ‘What Next’ in a subsequent post.

Inspiration :
The inspiration for doing 12 marathon in 12 months came while reading Bob Fletcher’s book in April 2008. Here’s the mail that I sent to a few of my fellow runners on 2nd May 2008 and some responses from them.

Have been wanting to mail this to the group ever since I finishedreading the book "Spaghetti Every Friday: The Story of Running 50Marathons in 50 Weeks, by Bob Fletcher. 2002, 2nd Ed., " a few weeksago. checkout the review at :http://www.michiganrunner.net/other/spaghetti1102.htmlThe book does not have too many tips on running but is a greatdiary/log of guy who went from no excecise to doing this within 3years. This was in 1981-82 when he ahd to write to the race organisersby post , get the entry forms and send them across!! And he did not runto finish - his goal was to finish first in his age group in all theraces- he did that in most of them with finish times between 2:45 and3:15. He was extremely disappointed when he finished around 3:25 in acouple of races!!This book is inspiring me to plan my running as I approach the age ofbig Five O myself ! While there is no way I can do something as crazyas 50 marathons in 50 weeks (even if there were events available inIndia to run in0 I am looking at doing(and in my case finishing under5 hours in all of them would be great) 12 marathons in 12 monthsbetween August 2008 and July 2009 which is probably crazy enough!!. Inthe months that there is no event I was thinking of doing a trainingrun of 42K. Still in thinking/planning stage - have not shared thiswith the wife yet :) but following are the events I am looking at so far:

Aug 2008 Hyderabad trail marathon

Sept 2008 Bangalore intl marathon?

October 2008 KTM

Nov 2008 Ultra

Jan 2009 Mumbai

Feb 2009 Pondy

July 2009 Tibet or thane varsha marathon

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Regards

Bhasker

Response from Rajesh Vetcha:
Dear Bhaskar,

No wonder it is inspiring.
As for your 12 marathons,12 months, it is doable for you considering your endurance level, planning and commitment.

My only issue is that you should take your wife's consent to begin with. If that comes through, we will all support you.

Response from Partha Roy:
BhaskerI am on it with you. I also need to get off my behind and do something. It's bit easier and if we have a long term goal like this. I totally concur with Rajesh, that get your wife's consent and make sure kids know this. There could not be better way to discuss this but over a slow long run. Cheers

Partha
Of course it would have been impossible to achieve this goal without the understanding and support of my wife and children. While the initial reaction was that it would be too much effort and that I was carrying the running stuff a bit too far they were accommodative and flexible to enable me to make the time for the long runs and the marathons. Being an ardent supporter of Dream A Dream I also decided to do extended fund raising for the organization. It was Vishal Talreja - the co-founder of Dream A Dream who suggested that I track my runs and the associated fund raising progress via a Blog – I took the idea one step further and decided to start writing a running related blog.

In the beginning of May I went to the Manipal hospital Department of Sports and exercise medicine for consultation and discussed my goal of 12 in 12 with Doc Rajat Chauhan with some apprehension. Doc very positively reassured me that I would be able to accomplish this. He also suggested that I do some strength conditioning. I am very happy that I followed his suggestion. The strength training has played a very significant role in enabling me to achieve my goal and stay injury free during this period. Click here to know more about my take on strength conditioning.

Summary of the 12 runs:
Six of the twelve runs were official events with five of them in India(of which one was the Bangalore ultra marathon) and the sixth in Washington DC. The other six runs were done as part of RFL organised runs. Click here to see a summary of all the twelve runs – in fact all the runs I have done to date in nearly seven years of long distance running. I was able to finish 3 of them below 4:15 including a PB of 3:56:49, had 3 finishes between 4:15 and 4:30 and kept all of the full marathons below 4:45. In doing so I certainly surpassed my own expectations. Of these runs I found the RFL Hennur run the toughest due to the uneven terrain and the warm weather. The RFL Kanakpura road course was the most challenging one I ran on ,I struggled the most at KTM and I had the most fun at Auorville. Though I spent a few nervous Saturdays on the eve of many runs , I stayed highly motivated during the run itself. Not once did I think of giving up without finishing.

Overall I lost 2Kgs during the 12 months going from 65Kgs to 63 Kgs. In the period between August 2008 and July 2009 I clocked a little over 1900 Kms at an average of 160 Kms per month consuming two pairs of Addidas Supernova cushion shoes. My training pattern between two marathons was typically FM, 12K , 25K, 15K , FM or FM,12K, 20K, 30K,15K, FM depending on whether the interval between two FMs was 4 or 5 weeks. I raised nearly 2.5 Lakhs for Dream A Dream with spurt in contributions around the Mumbai marathon and the Sunfeast World 10K.

Note of thanks:

Here's the note I sent out to a few fellow runners on 27th July morning the day after completing the 12th marathon.

Hi All

Please accept my heartfelt acknowledgement and appreciation of the moral and physical support provided by you all that helped me achieve the goal of running 12 marathons in 12 months. The T-shirt and the plaque at the end of yesterday's run are mementos that I shall cherish for a long time! These were unexpected and left me quite overwhelmed and speechless! Thanx very much for this wonderful gesture. 6 of my 12 runs were done in RFL organised runs. Manoj and Deepak did the FM with me at Kanakpura road in Sept 2008, Deepak and I ran the Bellandur in Dec 2008. Dharam, Manoj and Uday ensured that I was almost never running alone during the Hennur road run in April 2009. And then Rishi and gang helped make the last 3 runs (EGL May 2009, Bellandur June 2009 and Olde Bangalore July 2009) a breeze! And numerous other runners cheered me on in all of these runs. Last but not least kudos to Nikhil and A2 and the RFL support staff - who kept the course and water stations open till well past 10am in these RFL runs.

Thanx once again.

Bhasker

Meanwhile life has moved on:

During the 12 months one has survived the downturn caused by the drastic change in the world economy. We moved home from CV Raman Nagar to Domlur Layout and my duaghter has joined St Josephs College of Commerce and started her CA course.