Trailing the Trail

Should I, shouldn’t I? Will I, won’t I? Could I, couldn’t I? So many questions that bog your mind when you have to run a race which has been postponed, which is out of Mumbai (for all practical purposes Kalyan shall be considered out of Mumbai). Then you have to return to attend your dance classes, not to forget you will be wearing yourself thin, fatiguing yourself. But hey the thrill of trying something that’s so not you, the pull to do something beyond yourself is always greater. So there you had, you were going to go trail running, yipeee!!!

The day didn’t start quite right (it would be wrong to coin it as a wrong note) with me having had to retrace my steps home having forgotten the bibs at home, call it as being on the side of 40s when the grey matter doesn’t really matter and you can easily blame it on the depleting lack of it.

You’ve heard trails are tough, you can’t go as fast on trails as you would on the road. But no matter what you think you can expect from a trail, it will find a way to shock you, to challenge you, push you way beyond yourself. Many a runners have found themselves humbled in front of the mighty trail (confession of a first time trail runner).

So there were patches where you had to run/jog/walk in a single file, patches where you were forced to walk, especially up inclines, there were no two ways about it. You would have to tread with caution, else a fear of landing awkwardly, or slipping and injuring yourself, and I did slip a couple of times, almost landing on my butt but steadying myself just in time. So in the end you had to run cautiously, throwing caution to the wind and running, could prove injurious to you. And the heat and absence of rain, and the late morning start did no favours to the runners.

No matter how tough a trail can be, it also takes you through routes that simply takes your breath away, in all the literal sense. There are moments where you wished you could just stop racing and take in the surrounding, nature and all that lay in front of you. The vast expanses of greenness, the smell of grass, left with you feeling of elation, so in a way you can say you were high on grass. You ran pass paddy fields, by ponds, through little brooks and streams, up inclines and down declines, each revealing a beauty at every turn. You ran looking out for red ribbons, making you feel like Dorothy running down the yellow brick road, and guess what, my shoes were ruby red, or you could be Hansel and Gretel following the breadcrumbs home. You ran through grass, with grass brushing against your ankles, tall grass hiding you, providing you shade, along with the trees, making the climate cool even if it was for just brief moments.

Even though there were moments you struggled, ok a lot of moments where you struggled, where you questioned the whole purpose of this endeavour, and you seen some really good runners struggle, in the end it was the human spirit that triumphed. From the wonderful volunteers who so selflessly stood in the sun, directing the runners, supporting them, cheering them on. Then you had your friends and fellow runners who ensured you were ok, who cheered and pushed you and motivated you and helped you get over that finish line.

There are medals and then there are medals that need to be earned, and today’s medal was just that. It was the fruit of labouring in the trail, making it worth it. I believe that every aspect of running needs to be experienced, and today was just that. Learned an important aspect of respecting the mighty trail. And in the end though the body may have complained, the soul felt satisfied to Trail the Trail!