A family that runs together-The Vasai Virar Mayor's Marathon experience
When you have the roads
washed for you the day before, volunteers who wake up wee hours of the morning
to hand over the necessary refreshments at regular intervals; the village folk sacrificing
their Sunday morning sleep to cheer for you, then you have no reason to
complain even when the weather Gods are not exactly at their best.
Despite light showers the
day before, Sunday, November 22nd-the day of the Vasai Virar Mayors’
Marathon, still exhibited some humidity in the air. The start line was jubilant
with all the Djs and bands playing tracks. The song ‘Bhaag Milka Bhaag’ was enough to make get us going, determined to
put our best feet forward. After running
just 2 kms, we were surprised to find ourselves drenched with perspiration. Did
the calender just turn back to May? No
time for such thoughts as we saw the board saying ‘water point 100 metres away.
‘Thanking our stars we rushed to replenish ourselves with enerzal and water which
the helpful volunteers handed over with a reassuring look.
Within a short while,
around the 7 km mark, we got a glimpse of the breaking dawn as sunrise slowly
began to make its way. Just as we were
down on our energy levels, we began to spot runner friends, some of them doing
the full marathon. A hi five, wave and a smile was enough to set our spirits
soaring as we raced past with renewed vigour, well in time to pose obligingly
for the chirpy photographers who clicked away as we continued our strides. What an amazing set of people, to wake up and
travel this far, only because they could treat us runners with sweet memories
of our run, not to mention the eye catching display pictures for our profiles
on social media.
As we continued our
journey, we found the atmosphere to be nothing less than a carnival. Bands playing, colourful balloons adorned on
the road sides, school kids doing their little cheer, lending out their hand in
anticipation for a hi five that would make their day, laying yellow flowers for
us, handing out bananas, biscuits and their own refreshments. The old and the young folk of the Vasai
village kept clapping with exuberance, encouraging us runners to keep going. Volunteers who were present at regular
intervals handed over the ice pack/ sponge and sprays to ensure that we runners
had a comfortable journey to the finish line. It was welcoming to find aid
stations at almost every kilometre. Such unsolicited support from volunteers,
crowd and the photographers gave us enough incentive to run with zest and
banish those questions that kept creeping in time and again “why did I decide
to run this one?”
That reminds me of a few questions
I am often asked by non-runners-“How can you keep running? Isn’t it boring? What’s
so special about running marathons?”
Well one thing is to
experience the runners high, the feeling of setting a target for yourself and
achieving it, the congratulatory messages after you get your medal, is all
fine. But when you are running towards
your goal, you realize that there are others who sacrifice so many things so
that they can help you achieve your goal. Right from the organizers, volunteers,
photographers, pacers to the crowd- they sacrifice their sleep so that they can
come and hand over your refreshments, click your pictures to brighten up your
day and cheer you up, when you are almost on the verge of giving up your run. Taking all this into consideration, you
realize you are not alone in your journey and it gives you enough incentive and
enthusiasm to think of signing up for the next race, no sooner than you have
crossed the finish line of the present one.
Coming back to the Vasai
Virar run, we soon reached the finish line and were greeted with pats on our
backs by the volunteers who personally attended to each of us asking if we were
ok and guiding us towards the medals. It
was a welcome treat to find a sumptuous breakfast awaiting us, thanks to the
suggestion by the Mumbai Road Runners-the running group whom we run from Bandra
to NCPA every first Sunday of the month. The Poha
and sheera catered to our famished
runners’ appetites as they just melted in our mouths. It was a brilliant and a thoughtful
suggestion, considering that we runners were up from 3:00 am and travelled far
and wide to run this race. It was
certainly needed to replenish our depleted energy levels.
Meeting and embracing
runner friends post breakfast, posing for pics added to the celebrations. It
may not have been the ideal winter weather, which would have restricted many
from achieving a good time leading to inevitable disappointments, yet the
entire experience of running through amidst the ecstatic and electrical
atmosphere was worth the journey. Despite these little drawbacks, we runners
went home a satisfied lot. Guess it’s the journey which makes it more memorable
than the destination.
A big thanks to all the volunteers, photographers,
organizers, the pacers, the crowd and fellow runners for making this event a
joyful and memorable one.
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