In our 3.5 months in India to date, our exercise has been almost exclusively in the gym or swimming pool. This is a change of lifestyle for us; in the UK we walked, ran (Phil more than me) and cycled outside, but that just isn't a practical option in Mumbai. The traffic, lack of open spaces and air quality makes running outdoors much less straightforward. It's not impossible, but we've stuck to indoor environments during the monsoon season.
A few weeks ago, we signed up for an event called Footsteps4Good. This is a 10k charity race (or walk if you prefer) for which the entry fee is a minimum 2000 rupee donation to an NGO of your choice. The race is held in the Bandra Kurla Complex which is close to our apartment and is run early in the morning on 2 October, an Indian Public Holiday (for Gandhi's birthday) when traffic is at a minimum.
Phil and I both entered and ran for the charities Magic Bus and Nanhi Kali respectively. Magic Bus supports child education through sport, whilst Nanhi Kali provides education for girls from poor backgrounds who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend school. A 2400 rupee donation to Nanhi Kali provides the support required for one girl to attend school for a year. Girls are often removed from school early to help at home in certain communities; this NGO is working for a very worthwhile cause that I was keen to support.
Phil has had a dodgy leg (pulled a hamstring) for the last few weeks so was apprehensive about his ability to complete a race but decided to give it a go. The meeting time for the race was 6am (yes, 6am, on a Bank Holiday) so we were up very early to travel to the starting point.
There were over 1200 participants in total for both the 10k race (starting at 7am) and 10k walk (starting at 730am). We arrived at the starting area in the dark when it was relatively cool and watched the sunrise (and felt the temperature soar) as we approached the start of the race. In typical Indian style, we set off late as there was a child choir working though its repertoire (which was admittedly very cute) followed by the National Anthem before the runners lined up to start at 715am.
Several random events followed; the starter "test" fired his gun prompting a false start and recall into the running pen, which has turned into a muddy bog owing to late monsoon rain. Whereas you would usually expect your fastest runners to stand at the front, a whole class of children from an orphanage were determined to set off first. They did admittedly have a great sprint start but unfortunately flaked out after 200m or so!
Once we finally got going, I thoroughly enjoyed the race and managed a pretty steady 5 minutes per kilometre from the start, with a little slowing up at the end when I was melting. In terms of the race itself, I knew that the first three women would win a cash prize for their NGO in advance, but I couldn't see any women ahead or behind me for the whole thing! As it turns out, I was in 3rd place throughout with 2nd a long way ahead and 4th a long way behind. The race was really well organised and signposted, and a nice marshall on a motorbike came to tell me I was third 1km from the finish and rode next to me with "distance to go" updates. I found the distance and speed fine but the temperature made running a lot more difficult than in the cool of the UK. There were water stops every 1km which was necessary and I was extremely hot by the end of it. Running in Indian conditions is not trivial and not to be taken lightly.
One extra quirk was that the distance was close to 10.5km. There were no official times, but I reckon my 10k time was a bit over 50 minutes and the whole thing about 53 minutes. I'm keen to improve - more time on the treadmill is required! Phil was very pleased that his leg held up and he came in as the 4th man in 47 minutes approx, though found the temperature extremely tough.
I did a few Parkruns before leaving the UK where, in general, the people running around me are fairly experienced at pacing themselves. The race today was much more bizarre. On minute, someone would sprint past you only to start walking a few minutes later! Saying that, the male and female winners were both really speedy and very impressive under the conditions.
Once we'd finished the run, we spent a while cooling down and chatting to other participants before the presentation ceremony where I received a medal and some lovely flowers. I was also given a free breakfast in the 5* Trident hotel afterwards. We went along there after the presentation. It's the first time I've eaten breakfast in a smart hotel dressed in soaking wet running gear including short shorts with legs covered in mud! They were expecting us and didn't seem to mind too much.
The presentation ceremony was a little eventful because the man who had come 2nd had been taken off to hospital (eek!), presumably with heat exhaustion. An NGO representative dressed as a clown collected the flowers and medal on his behalf. Phil was keen to get bumped up to 3rd as he'd completed the race without requiring hospital treatment, but it wasn't to be. Here are a few post-race pics:
The prize for coming 3rd is 30,000 rupees (£300) for my NGO. I'm really chuffed about this. That's enough for 12 girls to go to school for a year.
Aside from this NGO money, the best bit about the morning was meeting several friendly people and learning about the activity of the NGOs and running opportunities in Mumbai. We hope to continue to meet people and get involved in running circles soon.
A few weeks ago, we signed up for an event called Footsteps4Good. This is a 10k charity race (or walk if you prefer) for which the entry fee is a minimum 2000 rupee donation to an NGO of your choice. The race is held in the Bandra Kurla Complex which is close to our apartment and is run early in the morning on 2 October, an Indian Public Holiday (for Gandhi's birthday) when traffic is at a minimum.
Phil and I both entered and ran for the charities Magic Bus and Nanhi Kali respectively. Magic Bus supports child education through sport, whilst Nanhi Kali provides education for girls from poor backgrounds who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend school. A 2400 rupee donation to Nanhi Kali provides the support required for one girl to attend school for a year. Girls are often removed from school early to help at home in certain communities; this NGO is working for a very worthwhile cause that I was keen to support.
Phil has had a dodgy leg (pulled a hamstring) for the last few weeks so was apprehensive about his ability to complete a race but decided to give it a go. The meeting time for the race was 6am (yes, 6am, on a Bank Holiday) so we were up very early to travel to the starting point.
There were over 1200 participants in total for both the 10k race (starting at 7am) and 10k walk (starting at 730am). We arrived at the starting area in the dark when it was relatively cool and watched the sunrise (and felt the temperature soar) as we approached the start of the race. In typical Indian style, we set off late as there was a child choir working though its repertoire (which was admittedly very cute) followed by the National Anthem before the runners lined up to start at 715am.
Several random events followed; the starter "test" fired his gun prompting a false start and recall into the running pen, which has turned into a muddy bog owing to late monsoon rain. Whereas you would usually expect your fastest runners to stand at the front, a whole class of children from an orphanage were determined to set off first. They did admittedly have a great sprint start but unfortunately flaked out after 200m or so!
Once we finally got going, I thoroughly enjoyed the race and managed a pretty steady 5 minutes per kilometre from the start, with a little slowing up at the end when I was melting. In terms of the race itself, I knew that the first three women would win a cash prize for their NGO in advance, but I couldn't see any women ahead or behind me for the whole thing! As it turns out, I was in 3rd place throughout with 2nd a long way ahead and 4th a long way behind. The race was really well organised and signposted, and a nice marshall on a motorbike came to tell me I was third 1km from the finish and rode next to me with "distance to go" updates. I found the distance and speed fine but the temperature made running a lot more difficult than in the cool of the UK. There were water stops every 1km which was necessary and I was extremely hot by the end of it. Running in Indian conditions is not trivial and not to be taken lightly.
One extra quirk was that the distance was close to 10.5km. There were no official times, but I reckon my 10k time was a bit over 50 minutes and the whole thing about 53 minutes. I'm keen to improve - more time on the treadmill is required! Phil was very pleased that his leg held up and he came in as the 4th man in 47 minutes approx, though found the temperature extremely tough.
I did a few Parkruns before leaving the UK where, in general, the people running around me are fairly experienced at pacing themselves. The race today was much more bizarre. On minute, someone would sprint past you only to start walking a few minutes later! Saying that, the male and female winners were both really speedy and very impressive under the conditions.
Once we'd finished the run, we spent a while cooling down and chatting to other participants before the presentation ceremony where I received a medal and some lovely flowers. I was also given a free breakfast in the 5* Trident hotel afterwards. We went along there after the presentation. It's the first time I've eaten breakfast in a smart hotel dressed in soaking wet running gear including short shorts with legs covered in mud! They were expecting us and didn't seem to mind too much.
The presentation ceremony was a little eventful because the man who had come 2nd had been taken off to hospital (eek!), presumably with heat exhaustion. An NGO representative dressed as a clown collected the flowers and medal on his behalf. Phil was keen to get bumped up to 3rd as he'd completed the race without requiring hospital treatment, but it wasn't to be. Here are a few post-race pics:
My first ever podium experience!
Post-race after initial cooling period
With medal and flowers
Two male runners plus clown
Post-run breakfast
The prize for coming 3rd is 30,000 rupees (£300) for my NGO. I'm really chuffed about this. That's enough for 12 girls to go to school for a year.
Aside from this NGO money, the best bit about the morning was meeting several friendly people and learning about the activity of the NGOs and running opportunities in Mumbai. We hope to continue to meet people and get involved in running circles soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment