‘If I can run, so can you’

I miss many sessions due to my training work, shoots and sheer laziness. I do not carry any of those NASA level gadgets around my body when I run. My shoes are slightly worse than slippers one steals at temples. My diet is a mixture of mood and hunger, with disinterest as a topping. My speeds on occasions is slightly slower than a slow tortoise back crawl. In fact, I have no business talking about running, and if you do start running, stay clear of me. 

When was my first ‘proper’ run? Cut back to college where I ran faster than Usain Bolt on steroids every time there was machine drawing class. And at school, I used to bunk the perfunctory Sports Day. The only time I ran a 100 metre race, I finished last. So what’s the point of me running, you may ask? After all some of us are beyond ‘that’ age and I don’t even have a wife as an incentive to run away from!

But here is the deal. My first competitive run was in 2014, a five km run and the December 2014 Chennai Marathon was my first 10km run. In 2015, I completed four competitive 10 kms and two half marathons. The first one in July was juxtaposed between two mind and body tiring solo theatre shows on the pre and post run evenings, and in the second one I shaved off a massive 14 mins from my first timing. 2016 had me ‘quad’ding, did the Wipro HM in January, shaved another 10 mins and the trend continues. How? 

Every runner knows that fun and frolic apart, when your feet hit the tarmac, and the whole of your running community is with you, the body breaks the pain barrier, the mind takes over, and the soul caresses you to glory. Mind you, I don’t ever drop out before the finish line however painful or slow. Why don’t you join me for an early morning pedia tour of my city? Chennai looks serendipitous at that time of the day. If I can do it, so can you!