Who says marathon is all about running. It’s
all bloody mind games buddy, there is no physical activity involved in it, at
least after 30 kms, But that is for everybody, for me it is the 22 to 30 kms
that plays havoc with my brain. Post 30 kms i get stronger and more determined
like a demon, well not exactly like Ravana but more like Ram possessed!!
Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2013
was my fourth full marathon and the 2013 edition was the 9th year in
succession that i was participating in. A journey which started in 2004 with a
bludgeoning, bedraggled 3.45 hours in the first ever half marathon with barely
any practise and not having any concept of what a distance of 21 kms entails.
Well 21 kms was daunting those days.
2012 was a relatively quiet year for me in
terms of the number of events that i took part in, Auroville was more fun and
adventure, while Ladakh was challenging in brutally tough conditions. A couple
of smaller distances like 5K, 10K took place in between and there was a training
run of 42 kms while Mumtaz Qureshi was attempting his first 100 kilometers and
the first Ultra distance of 50 kms along with the Navi Mumbai runners but that
was again spaced out throughout the day and not a continuous effort. But Vasai
Virar Marathon was the game changer during the year. Last minute entry with
barely any preparation for a full marathon to speak about, i still managed to
carve out a huge 27 minutes slice off my previous best from SCMM 2012 to return
in 5.07 hours when the conditions on the return leg of the marathon was brutal
with sun beating down hard and massive traffic snarls along the route. It was a
tough marathon to conquer.
Training for the SCMM 2013 was going as
per schedule with the last long run of 31.74 kms on the last Sunday of December
followed by a fast 21 kms on the first Sunday of the new year and a PB fast 10
kms on the second Saturday followed by a ferocious 5km on the Tuesday of the
week before the marathon. All i had to do was another fast 4kms or so on
Thursday but a debilitating back ache on Tuesday morning almost put paid my
hopes of even starting the marathon. This had happened earlier also during the
week before the Bangalore Ultra 2010 and i had recovered by Sunday morning, but
there i had almost collapsed after doing 25 kms of the scheduled 37.5 kms. So
there was apprehension in the mind and therefore i consulted a couple of my
friends urgently soliciting their advice. Reema Agarwal and Raj Vadgama were
the saviours as they immediately texted a few stretches to be done which i
immediately set upon doing for the remaining days. But not much relief upto
Thursday morning had me worried. The back was getting better but there were
doubts in the mind as to whether i could survive the entire 42 kms without it
giving away. Friday and Saturday were supposed to be complete rest days but i
was out on my feet both days and standing for a couple of hours and more. The
back was straining all the time. So the hydrating and carbo loading plan also
went out of the window. But meeting friends especially upcountry runners on
both days was a cathartic relief from the anxiety so i decided to start the
marathon and see how the back holds as the kilometres unfolds before me.
So there we were, i.e. Bhasker, Raj,
Aishorjyo and myself in the cab from Goregaon to Azad maidan, to meet and greet
a few more thousands of like minded insane persons daring to run 42 kms in an
unusually cold Sunday morning. The atmosphere at Azad Maidan was electric as
usual with runners nervous with anticipation. All set we trotted to the holding
area meeting more runners on the way and waiting impatiently for the gates to
open. When the gates opened and we started proceeding towards the starting mat,
Amar Sundar met me and we started discussing the music concerts in India.
Imagine on a marathon morning with a few seconds to go for the start, we were
talking about GunsNRoses, Deep Purple and all that rock bands.
It was 5.42 when i crossed the start mat
and gingerly proceeded towards Flora Fountain. While it was cold before the
start it took only a few kilometres for the body to get warmed up and i started
feeling the sweat around my neck. On the way to NCPA i saw the 4.30 hour bus
and thought of sticking with them but a few minutes later impatiently left the
bus because i thought their pace was too slow. I wanted to put maximum miles in
the bank before my back gave away or cramps started affecting me which was on
the back of my brain based on previous year’s experience. On the marine drive i
again chatted with a few runners while observing that only a couple of music
bands were up and playing. There was one music band which was just setting up
and to them i hollered “c’mon start the music”. Overall i thought the crowd
mobilisation in the early hours and at the start was very poor compared to what
we observed during the Vasai Virar Marathon which of course started late at
7.00 a.m. Probably the bitter cold was making marathon friendly Mumbaikars
sleep a wee bit longer. The return leg of the Mumbai Marathon was reverberating
with the multitude of Mumbaikars out in large numbers, wildly cheering,
applauding, shouting, giving various things in neat order. People were out not
only in tony Pedder road but also beside the slums of Worli and the bylanes of
Mahim. It was a magnificent display of affection that Mumbaikars have for the
marathoners in their maximum city.
Kemps Corner flyover and Pedder road
incline was the first test for my back but thankfully it held together so i
started ripping through to Haji ali but slowed down towards Worli by which time
the half marathoners started appearing on the opposite side of the road. This
year as compared to last year i decided to focus only on the road and not to
look out for my friends mainly because most of my friends had graduated to the
full marathon and also to conserve my energy. Reaching the Worli sea link, i
went into a zone with pure adrenaline coasting me through. Srivatsan crossed me
at the beginning of sea link and gently inquired whether i was on schedule to
which i replied that i was ahead of schedule because the 4.30 hour bus was
still behind me.
A couple of toilet breaks at the Sea Link
behind the hoardings looking out into the Arabian Sea gave the much needed
relief to the bladder because i knew there was no toilet until Worli sea face
on the return leg. The sun was rising on my right under a mask of mist with the
high rises on the background and the lolling fishing boats in the foreground.
It was surreal Mumbai which we don’t see often. But running on the Sea Link is
also boring because there was no crowd to cheer us and the photographers looked
completely bored and were interested more in taking photographs of the sun
rather than of us. There was one photographer who had lined up his tripod and
to which i had beautifully balanced in the centre hoping to get clicked when at
the last moment, he swerved the tripod in the opposite direction to catch a
departing runner. Damn!!
20 kms done in 2.00 hours compared to 21
done in 1.59.32 at Vasai Virar marathon. At the Mahim Causeway i met Dr. Sharma
whom i had met exactly at the same spot last year also when he had quit the
race but this day he was looking strong. My weak zone begins from 21 kms
onwards, but the back was holding good so i decided to take it kilometre by
kilometre from there onwards. Upto 26 kms i did not realise that i was carrying
three sachets of G.U. gel in my pocket and therefore immediately gulped one
sachet. Last year the elite marathoners streamed past me by 25 kilometres and
this day i had gone past 28 kilometres before they arrived and were gone in a
few seconds. I could catch only a few names Kiprop, Kemboi, Ramaala, Tota and
the women winner arrived in an absolutely fast pace followed by the others. In
between Binning arrived with his Indian contingent. Their drinks station was
separately arranged with their water bottles numbered containing their
favourite drinks but unfortunately one volunteer fell badly while delivering
the bottle to the elite runner. Fortunately the elite runner was not in the
lead pack, otherwise it would have been Breaking News of the Day.
On the return leg of the Worli Sea Face i
espied the 5.00 hour bus and was completely determined to not allow them to
overtake me. From there it was a tough run with the back giving jolts of pain
once in a while but i took only a few seconds’ break each time and started
again on my journey. On reaching Haji Ali i saw Anand who should have finished
the race by then, but he had pain in his right leg. He urged me not to stop and
carry on to beat the 5 hour mark which gave me a much needed impetus to give it
a mighty push to the finish!!
Pedder Road was conquered in a better shape
than last year and so was the rest of the route. Another gel at 32 kms and at
35 kms the cramps started slowly on my right and left calf muscles. But a quick
check on my garmin showed that if i did not take much walking breaks i was in
with a chance to break the 5 hour barrier. So despite the cramps getting
stronger and the calves pulsating more often, I started getting stronger and
determined. By the time i turned into M.K. Road the cramps were badly taking a
toll. At 41 kms i still had 11 minutes to reach the finish line so i said to
myself, damn, come what may, i am going to succeed. At 500 metres to go banner,
the right leg was twisting inside even as the left calf muscle was twitching in
pain. Fortunately the back was okay and so was the upper body with no pain in
the shoulders and arms. At 300 metres i again checked the watch and was sure to
reach before 5 hours and in fact predicted would reach by 4.58 and it was
4.58.39 hours when i crossed the finish mat to be hugged by my oldest runner
dear friend Veera. It was such a joy to see him at the finish line. So i
completed my first sub- 5 hour marathon in another Personal Best time. Year on
year i had carved out 36 minutes which co-incidently was the same margin last
year as well.
Few observations – the cramping is getting
delayed every year and hopefully in a few years’ time i should not cramp until
the 45th kms mark. So there ends another edition of Mumbai marathon
and every year i think this will be my last full marathon, but you bet i shall
be back next year as well!!
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