Just around the corner

It’s just around the corner. Just one more turn and you’ll be there, he kept telling himself, trying to will himself to continue to move on.

But the corner passed and he was no closer to the end than he was an hour and a half ago when he told himself the same thing.

His feet complained. He’d been on them for far too long. They were now aching and protesting l.

He would feel the soreness of every inch of his being, even his soul. He could feel them complain threatening to just to give up on him.

By now he was all by himself. The ones who started with him had long gone ahead and he was left behind. In fact, he could see them on the other side of the route waving at him cheering on.

He felt disheartened and drained.

Even his mind began to play tricks on him, to question his sanity to undertake this arduous undertaking. Making him wonder what had gotten into him to even think he could do this. Making him wonder if he was going round in circles. Making wonder when would it all come to an end. Whether he should just give up.

But despite it all, in a little corner of his mind there was hope, trying to fan that small spark within him that kept spurring him on.

A little voice deep within telling him that he got this despite all his aches and pains and fatigue. Telling him, as cliched as it may sound, he didn’t come so far to just give up. He didn’t put all this effort just to quit before the finish.

He had come so far, he just couldn’t give up.

So he willed him to just keeping moving. And like Dory he sang to himself,

“Just keep running, running, what do we do we keep running!”

And lo and behold, when he turned that final corner the finish line came insight.

He spotted his friends and well wishers standing at the finish line cheering him on.

And so with one final push, he gave it all he could, and dashed across the line much to the delight of those gathered there.

He raised his arms in ecstasy, fell to his knees with tears streaming down his cheek glad that he didn’t give up when he felt like giving up, for believing that his destination was just around the corner, even when it was not.

Deliver us from Temptation...

It’s everywhere, everywhere you may go. Like a hunter tracking the hunted, a predator following its prey, a serial killer stalking its victim, it lies in wait, ready to spring when you least expect it. Temptation waits patiently at every corner, ready to spring up on you, to trap you in its clutches. And if you’re a runner then hey you’ll have to face the brunt of it.

Face it, when you enter a mall, the Nikes and the Adidas, the Skechers and the ASICS, they call out to you, beckon you to come hider and check out what we have in store for you. So what starts as just browsing ends up into buying, what was meant to be window shopping turns into a fulls scale shopping. So you end up buying things you need not necessarily need. You end up buying an additional pair of shoes to add to the collection you already have at home, under the pretext you needed one for different terrains. You add to all your running gear which now exceeds even your daily clothes. And if you don’t see anything you like, then you grumble on the lack of variety for us poor men. And god forbid if you may find yourself in a Decathlon, then you’re like a kid in a candy shop, high on candy, a sugar rush, candy crush.

You promise yourself you’ll not race every week, you’ll spend time training, improving, getting physically and mentally stronger. But the lure of a scenic route, the temptation to add to your medal, to add to the bibs pinned on your soft board, a new profile pic, pics and posts to flaunt on FB and Instagram, and if nothing else then its peer pressure, you end up signing up for a race, and then the next one, till your running on every Sunday, a Serial Racer (if I could dare to borrow this term from Bijay, or was it Ram! Hey Prabhu main Buddha hote ja raha ho).

Ok, so you have signed for back-to-back races. You again promise yourself that you wouldn’t race, you would take it easy, no stress, no sweat, easy, peasy, enjoy run and go injury free. You even start in a nice and steady pace, soaking in the experience, cheering and smiling. But then someone who you know is slower than you, overtakes you, and then your inner competitor awakens, the inner beast is now awake. You start upping the ante as if to say “ruk abi tuje Bata who, how dare you overtake me.” So you find yourself racing, rather than taking it easy. You end up racing, what you promised you would not be tempted to do so. And this could even happen when your training.

And if the race was not well organised, didn’t live up to your lofty standards, the you crib and grumble, swear you will never run the race again. You go home, relax, open your mail, and there’s it is, another race wala mail, and it seems tantalising, something you’ve never done before, something your friends will be doing, and the serial racer takes over you and you sign up for another one.

So in the end you are left with a hole in your pocket from all those purchases and registrations, and a pray on your lip... “Dear Lord, lead us not into temptation, of sports apparel manufacturers, race organisers, peer pressure, serial racing, but deliver us from burning holes in our pockets, amen.”

I am MRR... I am a Mumbai Road Runner

It’s been almost 8 years since I have been bitten by the long distance running bug. Though I have been running track in school, never thought I would do long distance. But here I am, a convert to a long distance runner... if I can dare to call myself that... and have been running ever since. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that running has become an addiction (though my friends and family may beg to differ), it sure has become a passion, a part of life, a part of who I am.

Running has given me a lot. Sleepless nights is one of them (like before the Mumbai marathon, or any event for that  matter), early risings (after all we runners take to the streets while the world sleeps), how to run faster than the strays that are snapping at your heels. 

Jokes aside running given many friends who are dear to me, groups that I can call my family, my tribe, runners who I look up to who I admire, who I call my inspirations, my mentors. To name only a few and  it mention the other, due to the greying of the hair and lessening of the grey cells of the brains, would be a cardinal sin. Running has provided me with a platform to do what I do best, scream, howl and cheer and of course run, to touch the lives of others and help in anyway I can.

Running has showed me that you need not run fast to win, you need not stand on that podium to be called a winner. By just completing what you started makes you a winner. To overcome all those running phases, just crossing that finishing line is your sweet victory. Your speed doesn’t matter, same for your body type, your age, gender, background, all that doesn’t matter, your a runner and running embraces you and doesn’t discriminate against you, nor does the runners (well at least not the snooty ones). You cheer for the slowest runner as much as you cheer for the fastest runner. You pump and encourage every runner, whether you know them or not, cause at the end of the day we all need it. Running makes you more humane. 

Running lead me to the Mumbai Road Runners. A bunch of runners who embrace the spirit of running. Organising runs by runner for runners, where runners support you in the form of the wonderful Angel volunteers. A running group that’s more than running, that’s there for supporting for the ones who truly need it. A group that’s not exclusive and embraces everyone, no restrictions, no conditions.

Being an admin makes me part of a diverse group of individuals who manage to juggle their personal lives, their personal careers, their jobs, and the coordination of the various training runs and running events. People who work tirelessly to put together events and runs, behind the scenes. Makes me proud to be part of the team.

Being associated with the Bandra-NCPA gives me the opportunity to work with the runners who volunteer, the SPOCs, sponsors, partners and of course runners. Allowing me to give back to running what running has given to me. To meet runners and reach out to them. The only drawback is, I don’t know why people keep calling me Sir. I haven’t done anything great nor have I been knighted by any queen for the matter of fact.

So as we are on the cusp of celebrating the 8th Anniversary of the Mumbai Road Runner, really appreciate and thank everyone that makes MRR possible, without whom there wouldn’t really be an MRR. To every runner that takes to the streets of Mumbai, takes to the street anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world, to every member. 

So tomorrow as we take to the streets between Bandra to NCPA, as a runner, as volunteer, we celebrate you. So run with pride, run with a smile, run with your head high, cause you are a Mumbai Road Runner.

Proud to be a Mumbai Road Runner, proud to be MRR, cause I am MRR.