The Man with the Bandana

The first thing you notice about Dylan is his damn bandana, the man without his bandana is totally unrecognisable. So now you understand how Clark Kent kept his identity a secret with just glasses, or the moustache disguise of Hindi films.

The next thing you notice is that he talks a lot, well not when he’s running but he talks a lot. When he runs he’s talks lesser than a Dylan standard, in fact Pankti and I jabber a lot more during runs, so much that we have been told of be quiet when training in BNP.

He’s quirky, crazy and a cartoon. I’ve never seen a running pic of his where he isn’t pulling face or sticking tongue out, just generally being his Dylan self. Or when he tells his client that he got late because of traffic, that being he is self-employed and the only traveling he does is from the bedroom to the hall. 

At the Awards Nite, he’s your go to man for hydration (cause he is behind the bar, I mean in charge of the bar).

But peel off these quirks, these things that you see, there’s more to him, and the more you get to know him the more he will leave you amazed, and yes with a smile on your face. From being confined to the bed for almost year (due to a life threatening ailment), to hitting the road to take his life, ans stay active (hope I got this part right), he sure has come a long way. For those who don’t really know him, it’s easy to write him off as yet another quirky, crazy runner, but to those who do know him, know that he’s pretty focused,  dedicated and disciplined runner who runs to a plan. This is evident from his sub 4 finish at this year’s full at the TATA Mumbai Marathon.

He’s not one of those runners who’s just focused on their run, or is socially active with his training. He’s there to help and guide you to the extent that you can eat his brains (for a change). Whether running on the highway or at BNP, he’s got your back, constantly turning to check on you, especially when your pace begins to slacken and you start to fall behind (dang if I didn’t have to take a toilet break I would have not lost him and would have gotten a better timing). He’s there to reassure and perk you up when you feel like your mileages are low, giving sage like advice (not for the first time) to not compare your mileage to that of someone else.

I have been blessed to know and be inspired by so many wonderful runners, and awesome humans, be it my buddy Croydon, Sayuri, Sharad, Eugene, my MRR Family, Asic family, Malad family (dang I am quite the family boy, I mean man), and I wish i could give them all an inspiration medals (Procam can we please have more than one inspiration medal), but for now, Dylan buddy, this ones for you, cause you deserve it, cause you inspire (and make me perspire, running up and down Kanheri), cause you’re so worth it.