After a Long Wait, the HM returned to Baroda!

This one has to be special, being the hometown run. Also, because this one is so infrequent. The last one was held in 2013, when I did not run (that’s another long story). Suresh Iyer, the conqueror of Mumbai & New York full marathons & umpteen half’s, was specially coming down for this one. Yes, the nostalgia bug is very potent.

This time, they called it the Vadodara International Half Marathon (VIHM). It has always been international, but “Half” was added to the name this time round. They had good advisers this time! I believe they were the Baroda Road Runners (BRR) guys. And as always, this one was also planned to be a big event. The registrations were through either Book My Show (BMS) or the Khel Mahakumbh (KMK) website, the latter offering registrations for free. This is where the story starts… The KMK data wasn’t transferred to the organisers till very late. As a result, many of those who had registered through it did not get their bib nos. even when the bib collection had begun.

I was spared the anxiety as I shelled out the registration fee at BMS, as had Suresh. Early in the morning, I went to collect our bibs to avoid the late rush. They had planned it well. Limited persons were being allowed inside, so that it was a breeze getting the stuff. Going through the contents, I got to really appreciate the thoughtfulness of the organisers. They had packed in a pair of toothbrushes for the participants. This would remind us to brush our teeth while getting ready so that we could flash the whitest of smiles while running!! And adequately compensate the absence of a race jersey. Still, Rs. 750 plus taxes looked a bit on the higher side.

The previous edition had disappointed many city runners & quite a few were not sure whether they wished to participate this time round. The sole reason being a delayed start, because of the late arrival of the chief guest, and the welcome ceremony & series of speeches that followed. This time the event brochure informed the gate closure time of 5:45 AM but was silent on the start time! I admired this professional approach, for it makes no sense to needlessly raise expectations & not deliver. When asked, the volunteers were also non-committal on this aspect. Though, one did assure us (now, this was so unprofessional) that the 21-K & 15-K events will be flagged off even before the Chief Minister arrives. He knew, she would arrive late (or should it be later?).

Taking this seriously, Suresh & I were at the venue by 5:30 AM. Arriving early helps one park easily, as I have said earlier too. Entering the venue, one found a group of school kids (in uniform) already seated. They would have woken up pretty early. Now, a seasoned runner like Suresh takes his pre-run routine seriously. This involves complete stretching & warming up as well as taking a leak twice, the 2^nd time immediately before the start. An empty bladder is a runner’s best friend (see, you learn so much when you go through my posts!). After the warm ups, my routine involves strolling about & catching up with known faces. This is also the selfie time.

I also came across a walking billboard who was pasted all over with sponsors’ logos. Time for a chat with Adil Marawala. He was raising funds for his initiative, wherein the sponsors were donating or rendering services for every km that he completed. The beneficiaries included street kids, homeless & stray animals. You can read more about his work on www.walkawalka.in.

A little after 6:00 AM (whoever said this was the scheduled start time?) we were allowed out of our enclosure. The run is about to begin & we were excited for a start happening so close to schedule. The buses were also ready. We had planned to latch on to the 2:30 bus being chauffeured by Piyush Doshi. But you know what Robert Burns said about the best laid plans of mice & men? That apart, one needs to admire the buses. To actually time your run to the last minute, while following a plan for the entire distance, is something that seems out of this world, at least to me. For them, it appears to be a stroll in the park.

This is what distance running is all about. It helps one to stay focused on the objective. While a bus would aim for perfect execution of the run plan, for someone like Adil, the run is only the vehicle for achieving another objective. Then, there are people like Dina Patel who are clear about what they want. See, she is not even afraid to tell the whole world what it is! Durgesh Merchant also agrees totally with her, as do most of the rest of us. I am sure, Dina was the most cheered runner on the streets. I hope her message reached the right destination.

It was a long wait, because the organisers had decided for a formal flag off by the CM. We should have expected this. One of the organisers is said to be angling for a ticket to contest elections for quite some time now & cannot afford to miss any opportunity to showcase her crowd gathering skills. So what, if this involves forcing school kids to wake up so early on a Sunday & wait for hours to hear boring speeches by politicians? The regular runners did not like it one bit. I met runners who had come from Pune and Bangalore who were not at all pleased with this long wait. In a way, the HM runners were lucky, being the first ones to be flagged off. Which happened a little later than 6:40 AM. In a way, this late start has its good points too. Imagine a big bunch of runners out on the streets when it is still dark. We would unnecessarily wake up the stray dogs & cows & other animals from their well-deserved sleep. Isn’t the Indian philosophy all about respecting all living beings, whatever physical form they have acquired? And what if one of these got annoyed at being so disturbed? I am told that the 5K runners were let off at 7:30. Did they have to endure those netas & wannabe netas for so long?

One fallout of this late start was the need to take a pee break shortly after we began. I did so under the conveniently designed & located Lalbaug bridge. I am beginning to like the route for the run, with such amenities on the way. I was not alone & the organisers seemed to have duly deliberated on the route. Suresh Iyer had moved much ahead during this break, but I did not have much to regret. I came across Suresh Iyengar. Now, here is a guy who was running his 1^st HM, but already had an ultra under his belt!! He also runs at a slow, leisurely pace, which is more to my liking.

Another fallout was the time between warmup & start – over an hour. The body had already cooled down by the time we began. I noticed beginning of cramps. Now, this was trouble with an upper case T. I eased it out while deciding whether to continue or drop out. Ample no. of medical aid stations along the route made it easier. Hydration & medical aid were very well spread out along the route & commend the organisers for this. Reaching Manisha Chokdi, came across the BRR cheer gang of Reni George, Ajay Sharma & Shalini Sharma. Reni also doubled up as the photographer. Later, they took over the traffic handling responsibilities too, as this is a major traffic intersection.

Then came the shocker, near the Bird Circle. A cyclist volunteer went past with a placard informing the date & distances for the next edition. Here is an event that doesn’t take place regularly & which has a record of announced dates being shuffled around. To commit a date for the next edition was unbelievable. Which would also make it two editions in a single calendar year. Aren’t the orgsanisers more than a little overambitious? Moreover, the date clashes with the Goa River Marathon which is a favourite of many local runners too. To top it all, the next edition will have the Full Marathon on offer too. I have reasons to differ with these grand plans. 2017 will be the year elections will be held for the state assembly. While this presents an opportunity for aspiring contestants to lobby for a ticket, I am doubtful whether there will be enough sponsors for the event. The potential sponsors would have shelled out the spare cash to major political parties & I doubt whether they will have something left for a running event. Still, good luck to the organisers!!

The sun was, by now, all over. So were the people. Running past the Fatehganj flyover near Drug Laboratory, I found a stream of taffic coming the other way. This happened at a lot of places. The worst being the stretch between Pandya Hotel & Chhani and the Kala Ghoda Circle. As I was running across a T-junction, a garbage truck suddenly appeared from the side street. It had no intention of slowing down or stopping (there was a traffic cop on duty there) & I did the next best thing. Of course, this helps one to rest & regain some strength, howsoever little it may be. At another junction, the traffic cop actually stopped the runners to let the vehicles cross the road! Different runners react differently to this. While I took it as a time to rest, some actually run faster to avoid incoming traffic. They also end up with a faster timing! The photograph below was widely circulated on whatsapp & facebook & proved that the autorickshaws do not consider anyone on foot as an elite.

As one turned around Chhani into Nizampura main road, it was getting very hot. I had seen many runners wearing the Rajkot HM race jersey. I got chatting with Mansukhbhai Dabhi, who informed that there a sizeable contingent from Rajkot here. He was extremely critical of the late start, bad traffic management & extremely low crowd support. Of course, he was comparing VIHM with the HM held at Rajkot a couple of weeks back & couldn’t have reacted differently. I felt the same way too.

The Poddar Jumbo Kids was managing a hydration point near Mehsana Nagar junction. They also had a kid dressed in a jumbo outfit. It looked so cute, but I felt really sorry for the poor little guy inside. He was inside a thick hide, which would be now quite hot under the sun. He could have been out of that outfit 45 minutes earlier, if the event had started on time. he would have felt so proud on being selected for this task. Little did he know what would come on race day. And we runners want all the facilities & conveniences for ourselves. The least we can do is appreciate these supporters who also spend their time & energy to support & encourage us.

There was a huge crowd at Kala Ghoda circle. Reni & Ajay were here too, to cheer us on the last leg! Rest of the crowd was not there to cheer the runners but those stopped by the traffic cops to let the runners pass this junction. Hope, none of them missed their train. The organisers also had placed bananas for the runners. Water & energy drinks are fine, but the stomach needs something solid too during this long time spent on foot. Wonder, why they couldn’t have this at other locations too? Maybe, this was a good deed of some volunteer. One was enough for the last stretch to the finish.

Hot, tired & famished, I reached home. And immediately realized that I had missed my ritual with the medal. Off I went to my Kitli & let the medal have its moment under the sun!!