Running Account

It has been a while since the Give Life Chennai (half) marathon Aug 30. We decided to make the 7 km run since we thought we could handle it. We diligently woke up in the morning and 'drove' to the run in a car and waited for it to start behind a large lateral column of people. There were a large number of people who had turned up in all sorts of attire and accouterments. Obviously it was more than just a run. It was a party and the 'in thing'. What with all the FM stations blaring and urging you to 'give life'. I find that caption very ironic - after all, marathons have been known to take lives!! In any case, I don't think any 'lives were taken' and hopefully all lives were 'given'. We ran the 7 km run and based on the relative ease with which we ran, we do not think the run was actually 7 km. It might have been much shorter. Nevertheless, more than the run I had the opportunity to observe a lot and this has prompted a top ten reason list to participate in a 7 km race as part of a marathon or half marathon. The 7 km race is truly the case of 'also ran' primarily due to the distance and also because there was no registration fee - so you really are simply running and not doing anything noble.

Top 10 reasons to participate in a 7 km micro-marathon

10. I wanted to wear t-shirts with outrageous captions in a conservative place such as Chennai
9. I always wanted to drink free isotonic fluids in the morning
8. I wanted to run short sprints with human hurdles in my way
7. It seemed like a good excuse to bump into strange women
6. I always wanted to witness the police ogling women indiscreetly and unapologetically.
5. It seemed like a good excuse to bump into strange men
4. I always wanted to kick empty or filled water bottles at hundreds of people walking around me
3. I always wanted to see what a garbage ridden street would look like at 8 AM
2. I was feeling very fit for a long time so I decided to get me some infection or body ache.
1. I was not around in 1941 for the Dandi Salt March - this was my chance for redemption and it was easy - just had to scrape it off my skin.

Needless to say, we have decided that we will not be running a 7-km race again. If we do run in the city, it will be a larger and more serious affair.