The History
..the first battle for democracy was fought at the Greek village of Marathon. Though overwhelmingly out numbered by an invading Persian Army, the citizen-soldiers of Athens prevailed and in so doing allowed the first democracy to be established and preserved the classical Greek way of life that became the foundation of western civilization.
Legend has it that, when the battle was won, the Athenian messenger Phidippides ran twenty-four miles to Athens, carrying news of that stunning victory. The modern marathon commemorates this feat.
The Present
About 2512 years later, a man called Patrick Pitchappa (PP) ran his first Marathon in Mumbai, India. This is his brief story. Let's hear it from the horse's mouth now....
I don't even remember how and when I took interest in the Mumbai Marathon sponsored by Standard Chartered (SCMM). In mid 2011, I registered for SCMM 2012 and did a Half Marathon with a personal best of 02:07 hours on Jan 15, 2012. That inspired me to do 11 other Half Marathons in 2012.
I have to mention an interesting incident that happened on Jan 14, 2012. It was that day I landed in Mumbai for SCMM 2012 and went to the World Trade Center at Cuffe Parade in Mumbai to collect my bib. I ran into Bib Bala that day and he teased me about not attempting a Full Marathon (FM) yet in my life. I paid no attention to him and replied firmly that I'll only run Half Marathons in my life. Bala's reaction was - "Don't get stuck in 1st grade forever, it is important to move on to higher grades in life"! I laughed and we went our own ways.
In July 2012, right on the heels of my father's death, when the registrations for SCMM 2013 opened, I quickly registered again for the Half Marathon (HM) without giving much thought. But in October 2012, I realized that Half Marathons were not challenging any more. So, I sent an email to the SCMM organizers requesting them to switch my registration to a Full Marathon and they obliged.
My training for the Full went well till November 2012. I reached 30 km in training by the end of that month. I wanted to do up to 40 km, if possible, in December 2012. I attempted a 30+ run twice in Dec 2012, but couldn't go past 27 km at all. Once, I had to stop due to a blood stained shirt and the other time, I ran with Alifiya and just didn't have the fuel to go on.
But the Rock n' Run Half Marathon in Coimbatore on Jan 6, 2013 provided me the much needed confidence to finish my maiden Full Marathon at Mumbai 2 weeks later. Still, I was nervous and my friends kept cheering me all the time.
Saturday, Jan 19, 2013 dawned and I boarded my flight to Mumbai. There were many runners from Bangalore on that flight and we motivated each other to do the best the next day. After I landed in Mumbai, I went to collect my bib and lo & behold, I ran into Bib Bala once again. This time I told him with confidence that I was going to do a Full Marathon the next day! Bala patted my back and gave me his best wishes.
Alifiya and I had planned to stay the night at her sister's apartment in Mumbai. Alifiya's sister Arwa and her husband Husain were wonderful hosts and very nice people. After a relaxing Saturday, Jan 19th, it was time to face the challenge of the Full Marathon on Jan 20th. We all woke up at 4 am. While Alifiya and I were gearing up for our maiden FM, Arwa was ready for her second FM. Her husband Husain was doing a HM. We reached CST and after leaving our bags at the holding area, we rushed to the start line. I saw Rekha Sudarsan on our way to the start line and wished her the best. I also met my close Dailymile friend Mr. Srinath Nagappa and Barefoot Bobby at the starting line.
The race started at 5:40 am sharp. And, off we went with a vague idea of the challenge ahead of us. Arwa, Alifiya and I decided to stick together till we crossed the finish line. Our idea was to maintain a pace of 9 km per hour along the way. I was the pacesetter and I kept the 3 of us in check whenever our pace increased. Mumbaikers, as usual, were on the streets cheering us, as we ran along. I saw Radha Rangarajan and shook her hand as we overtook her. My eyes watered when I saw the Indian Naval band cheering us with a wonderful music around the 4th km mark. As we kept running, we could see the first light of dawn peeping at us. We also saw the leaders of the HM running in the opposite direction.
It was time to get on the Bandra Worli Sea Link (click on the link to know more about the Sea Link) and off we went running on the long sea link. Growing up in the coastal town of Thoothukudi (தூத்துக்குடி), the sea had been a great part of my life. Hence, running over the Arabian Sea gave me a big boost of energy. The sea link was the only stretch where there was nobody to cheer the runners due to restrictions. Nevertheless, we had fun running on the Sea Link. The view of the sunrise from the Worli Sea Link was picture perfect! I met a gentleman from Pune called Raghu on the Sea Link. This was his 14th marathon and he runs barefooted. I saluted the man as he passed us.
As we got off the Sea Link, we saw the 21 km mark and it was such a psychological boost for us. I had taken a Clif Energy Shot before the start of the race and I took a couple more on the way. By the 23rd km, I felt a painful blister developing on my right sole. This was the first time I had developed such a blister and I just didn't want to focus on that. But by the 29th km, the pain from the blister was increasing. I wanted to remove my shoe and put a band-aid on the blister, but didn't want to open a can of worms by doing so. Hence, I kept going. In hindsight, I should have stopped at a medical station and had the blister treated by a doctor. Lesson Learned, the hard way!
Around the 25th km mark, I met a gentleman from Boston running in Mumbai. His name was David. He had planned his vacation in such a way to run the SCMM 2013. We chatted for a bit and he pulled away. At the 30th km mark, I saw my Chennai friend Shahul Hameed from the Dream Runners group. He was struggling to run as he carried a severe ITB injury.
The sun was now out, shining so bright on that Sunday morning. The humidity and the heat were still bearable. I emptied a GU gel sachet into my mouth around the 34 km mark and swallowed it quickly. I kept drinking lots of water and energy drinks along the way. The Mumbaikars were so kind enough to offer oranges, bananas, chocolates and biscuits. Salt was also offered along the way. The children cheered the runners so loudly and gave us high fives as well.
Arwa, Alifiya and I pushed towards the finish line encouraging each other. We walked 100 to 200 m every now and then, but ran for the most part. After the 36th km, the pain from my blister was unbearable and walking made it even worse. So, I decided to slowly run without stopping for the rest of the distance. I had to break my commitment to Arwa and Alifiya in doing so. I pulled away and met both Shahul Hameed and David close to the 38th km mark. We formed a new trio and decided to run together till the finish line. And, that's exactly what we did. Three seasoned runners from various parts of the world encouraged each other and triumphantly crossed the finish line with our arms raised towards the heavens. It was a moment in history to cherish forever! That feeling of - "I finished a FM" was just so incredible and amazing!
Every marathon runner always has to respect the distance of the marathon. I was mentally well prepared and I never underestimated the marathon distance of 42.2 km (26 miles). Hence I was able to finish decently with a timing of 05:16:34. It may not be the best of maiden marathon timings, but considering the painful 3 inch diameter blister on my right sole that slowed me down considerably for almost 19 km, I think it was a strong finish. Alifiya and Arwa finished closely behind me with a timing of 05:17.
The Future
My next target is to achieve a sub 5 hour marathon finish soon...!
In 490 BC...
...the first battle for democracy was fought at the Greek village of Marathon. Though overwhelmingly out numbered by an invading Persian Army, the citizen-soldiers of Athens prevailed and in so doing allowed the first democracy to be established and preserved the classical Greek way of life that became the foundation of western civilization.Legend has it that, when the battle was won, the Athenian messenger Phidippides ran twenty-four miles to Athens, carrying news of that stunning victory. The modern marathon commemorates this feat.
The Present
About 2512 years later, a man called Patrick Pitchappa (PP) ran his first Marathon in Mumbai, India. This is his brief story. Let's hear it from the horse's mouth now....
I don't even remember how and when I took interest in the Mumbai Marathon sponsored by Standard Chartered (SCMM). In mid 2011, I registered for SCMM 2012 and did a Half Marathon with a personal best of 02:07 hours on Jan 15, 2012. That inspired me to do 11 other Half Marathons in 2012.
I have to mention an interesting incident that happened on Jan 14, 2012. It was that day I landed in Mumbai for SCMM 2012 and went to the World Trade Center at Cuffe Parade in Mumbai to collect my bib. I ran into Bib Bala that day and he teased me about not attempting a Full Marathon (FM) yet in my life. I paid no attention to him and replied firmly that I'll only run Half Marathons in my life. Bala's reaction was - "Don't get stuck in 1st grade forever, it is important to move on to higher grades in life"! I laughed and we went our own ways.
In July 2012, right on the heels of my father's death, when the registrations for SCMM 2013 opened, I quickly registered again for the Half Marathon (HM) without giving much thought. But in October 2012, I realized that Half Marathons were not challenging any more. So, I sent an email to the SCMM organizers requesting them to switch my registration to a Full Marathon and they obliged.
My training for the Full went well till November 2012. I reached 30 km in training by the end of that month. I wanted to do up to 40 km, if possible, in December 2012. I attempted a 30+ run twice in Dec 2012, but couldn't go past 27 km at all. Once, I had to stop due to a blood stained shirt and the other time, I ran with Alifiya and just didn't have the fuel to go on.
But the Rock n' Run Half Marathon in Coimbatore on Jan 6, 2013 provided me the much needed confidence to finish my maiden Full Marathon at Mumbai 2 weeks later. Still, I was nervous and my friends kept cheering me all the time.
Saturday, Jan 19, 2013 dawned and I boarded my flight to Mumbai. There were many runners from Bangalore on that flight and we motivated each other to do the best the next day. After I landed in Mumbai, I went to collect my bib and lo & behold, I ran into Bib Bala once again. This time I told him with confidence that I was going to do a Full Marathon the next day! Bala patted my back and gave me his best wishes.
Alifiya and I had planned to stay the night at her sister's apartment in Mumbai. Alifiya's sister Arwa and her husband Husain were wonderful hosts and very nice people. After a relaxing Saturday, Jan 19th, it was time to face the challenge of the Full Marathon on Jan 20th. We all woke up at 4 am. While Alifiya and I were gearing up for our maiden FM, Arwa was ready for her second FM. Her husband Husain was doing a HM. We reached CST and after leaving our bags at the holding area, we rushed to the start line. I saw Rekha Sudarsan on our way to the start line and wished her the best. I also met my close Dailymile friend Mr. Srinath Nagappa and Barefoot Bobby at the starting line.
The race started at 5:40 am sharp. And, off we went with a vague idea of the challenge ahead of us. Arwa, Alifiya and I decided to stick together till we crossed the finish line. Our idea was to maintain a pace of 9 km per hour along the way. I was the pacesetter and I kept the 3 of us in check whenever our pace increased. Mumbaikers, as usual, were on the streets cheering us, as we ran along. I saw Radha Rangarajan and shook her hand as we overtook her. My eyes watered when I saw the Indian Naval band cheering us with a wonderful music around the 4th km mark. As we kept running, we could see the first light of dawn peeping at us. We also saw the leaders of the HM running in the opposite direction.
It was time to get on the Bandra Worli Sea Link (click on the link to know more about the Sea Link) and off we went running on the long sea link. Growing up in the coastal town of Thoothukudi (தூத்துக்குடி), the sea had been a great part of my life. Hence, running over the Arabian Sea gave me a big boost of energy. The sea link was the only stretch where there was nobody to cheer the runners due to restrictions. Nevertheless, we had fun running on the Sea Link. The view of the sunrise from the Worli Sea Link was picture perfect! I met a gentleman from Pune called Raghu on the Sea Link. This was his 14th marathon and he runs barefooted. I saluted the man as he passed us.
As we got off the Sea Link, we saw the 21 km mark and it was such a psychological boost for us. I had taken a Clif Energy Shot before the start of the race and I took a couple more on the way. By the 23rd km, I felt a painful blister developing on my right sole. This was the first time I had developed such a blister and I just didn't want to focus on that. But by the 29th km, the pain from the blister was increasing. I wanted to remove my shoe and put a band-aid on the blister, but didn't want to open a can of worms by doing so. Hence, I kept going. In hindsight, I should have stopped at a medical station and had the blister treated by a doctor. Lesson Learned, the hard way!
Around the 25th km mark, I met a gentleman from Boston running in Mumbai. His name was David. He had planned his vacation in such a way to run the SCMM 2013. We chatted for a bit and he pulled away. At the 30th km mark, I saw my Chennai friend Shahul Hameed from the Dream Runners group. He was struggling to run as he carried a severe ITB injury.
The sun was now out, shining so bright on that Sunday morning. The humidity and the heat were still bearable. I emptied a GU gel sachet into my mouth around the 34 km mark and swallowed it quickly. I kept drinking lots of water and energy drinks along the way. The Mumbaikars were so kind enough to offer oranges, bananas, chocolates and biscuits. Salt was also offered along the way. The children cheered the runners so loudly and gave us high fives as well.
Arwa, Alifiya and I pushed towards the finish line encouraging each other. We walked 100 to 200 m every now and then, but ran for the most part. After the 36th km, the pain from my blister was unbearable and walking made it even worse. So, I decided to slowly run without stopping for the rest of the distance. I had to break my commitment to Arwa and Alifiya in doing so. I pulled away and met both Shahul Hameed and David close to the 38th km mark. We formed a new trio and decided to run together till the finish line. And, that's exactly what we did. Three seasoned runners from various parts of the world encouraged each other and triumphantly crossed the finish line with our arms raised towards the heavens. It was a moment in history to cherish forever! That feeling of - "I finished a FM" was just so incredible and amazing!
Every marathon runner always has to respect the distance of the marathon. I was mentally well prepared and I never underestimated the marathon distance of 42.2 km (26 miles). Hence I was able to finish decently with a timing of 05:16:34. It may not be the best of maiden marathon timings, but considering the painful 3 inch diameter blister on my right sole that slowed me down considerably for almost 19 km, I think it was a strong finish. Alifiya and Arwa finished closely behind me with a timing of 05:17.
The Future
My next target is to achieve a sub 5 hour marathon finish soon...!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAwesome Patrick !
ReplyDelete