Blessed... Chaos!!!

On the face of it, I shouldn’t be running this event at all, what with the lack of sleep and being on my feet the whole of the previous evening, but still here I was waking up at 2:45 am, would it still be called waking up when technically you didn’t really sleep, though you did dozed off for a while. But then Dyloooo did recommend doing it, cause firstly, it could help with my line up for TMM, secondly, the familiarity with the route and weather would help with a good timing. So to cut a long story short, ended up at the start line.

If they say “All’s well that (begins) ends well” (well with a bit of Rodmaness to it), would the corollary also be applicable? Getting to the start line felt like a mini marathon in itself. At one time it made me wonder if I should just start running from that point onwards just to make to the start line on time, effectively eliminating the need for a warm up. But then realising was I going to a dead end, retracing my steps back, had me muttering some choicest of words under my breath, after all, lack of sleep can make one irritable.

Somehow managed to make it to the holding area well in time. After greeting fellow runners it was time to move to the start line. Standing at the start line kind of promised my buddy Pooja to help keep pace, while wondering if it would be I who would keep up with her, cause the last few HM hadn’t yielded any results to write home about. So you stood looking at the fireworks wondering if it was even needed.

Exactly at 5:10 am the race started. You weaved your way through the sea of runners who were ahead of you (because of your affinity of starting mid pack), letting those who wanted to race, go ahead of you, at the same time keeping Pooja in your sight. For the first time noticed how pretty the Sea-Link was under light. It surprised me that I hadn’t quite take it in in all the other times I’ve run on it. It’s not like I am the most focused runner, I am exactly the opposite of it. So took a moment to take it in, without missing a beat, or in this case missing a step.

As you run you worry that your lack of sleep would have an affect on your health, let alone on the run. And then you do something that only you are capable of, sleep run. With you dozing off, you begin to worry that at any moment you would collapse in mid stride and just fall sleep right there, snoring like a Kumbhakarna. And it doesn’t help that nature picked this moment to call on you, forcing you to look out for a Port-a-Potty, to stop and use it. On the plus side, had the opportunity to splash some water on my face and head, to fight off the sleep I felt, not much bordering about time.

Thankfully the weather was pleasant, or at least I felt it was pleasant, so was able to challenge myself with the pace, though I felt a slight tightening of the left thigh. Though the weather didn’t feel humid, I found myself soaking wet but not from sweat but from the water I kept pouring on my head and on my face, to keep cool and stay awake, stay on my feet and not snoring on the road. In the end you literally had a bath on the run, and if there was a wet tee competition for men I would have definitely won, or at least I would have my very own Mandakini (knowing how much I sweat I know it’s very likely to have such situations).

Running at a steady pace, and thanks to the weather, and some cheering of fellow runners, ans good friend, was able to challenge pace, surprising myself by catching up and, yep overtaking speedsters, except for the 1:45 bus. But then let’s face it, running below 1:45 wasn’t quite the target, though it would be the cherry on the cake, but it was not something I was aiming for. So I was happy to be able to sustain the pace and keep playing with it without any discomfort. Moreover the familiarity of the route did also help.

In the end finished with a respectable 1:47, the best that I have run in quite a while. After collecting the medals and the goodie bag, was surprised that there were no one ticking that on the bib as is the practice. Kind of ignored it, set out to find if the trucks with the baggage had arrived. In between greeting and congratulating friends, trying to click my medal with the Gateway of India, not forgetting enjoying a sumptuous breakfast of sheera and Upma.

But from here everything took a turn not for the good. Waiting for the trucks to arrive felt like eternity. The wait in itself felt  like a marathon, and the coolness of the morning breeze didn’t do any favours. Felt the chill go down my spine not from something frightening, but from the chilly morning, and from having a literal bath on the run. And when the baggage trucks finally did arrive there was utter chaos cause there was no system or order, just madness. 

Now it’s easy to place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the organisers, but in such situation basic human decency seem to go out of the the window, people seem to loose all traces of humanity, find themselves tracing it way back to their primitive ways. Can’t even say that they behaved like animals, cause animals behave better, and it would be an insult to equate them to these hooligans. But at the same time the organisers would need to be prepared for crowd management, considering the number of runners doing the event. Considering who the organisers were, crowd management should have been better and more tighter.

Somehow managed to get my bag, after keeping myself as calm as possible, as I could, making a beeline to the main road, catching a cab immediately to return home. Only later did I learn about the chaos that ensued regarding the medals and goody bag distribution.

So would I recommend doing this run, well, maybe, or maybe not. As a race that felt like it was trying to rival the Mumbai Marathon, it fell quite short of expectations. It lacked the atmosphere, the crowd support, the feeling, the organisation that the Mumbai Marathon brings to the table, and although international was mentioned in the race title, it felt far from it. It felt like the ordinary sister of the more prettier and popular sister. It can serve as a good alternate to the Mumbai Marathon but I really don’t think it would replace it any time soon, not till they iron out the many wrinkles they faced. Tighter organisation, crowd management and sufficient medals and goodies (how come you can fall short of medals, when you should be giving it only to registered runners with a bib) would definitely help it improve its standing. It’s heartening to read the Race Director acknowledge and address the situation and promise to act upon it as learning. So unless the learning’s are implemented, there’s no saying about the future of the event. But till then you’ll think twice before doing it, and if you are like me, once bitten twice shy, you’ll give it a miss, cause no matter what people say, or try to take pride in doing it, in the end the race may have not been a success as it is perceived to be.

So in the end the race can serve as a good alternative to TMM, however  it can never rival or replace it. So unless the lesson learned are applied, this can always serve as your Plan B to the Mumbai Marathon, ans for me a lesson of never running a race without proper sleep!