It starts with a single step...
In
April 2014 I joined a group of runners with an intention of completing the 10km
run in The Wipro Chennai Marathon 2014 some 8 months later. Today a day before
the TWCM it all feels quite anticlimactic and strangely the excitement of the
first race is no longer there. I have already completed 2 Half marathons of
which 1 was a trail marathon and 1 10 km run and I am now encouraging new
comers to run their first 10km race well. What is more, the group that I run
with got named as Tower Twisters and is now over 100 members strong with nearly
40 runners meeting and running regularly.
There
are many reasons for both the developments but in hindsight I would like to
think it is the selflessness of some members especially the senior members of
the group who were willing to sacrifice their personal time so that a new comer
could run. The term senior refers not the actual age of the member but their
age with reference to their running life and some senior runners could be
younger than me in actual age. These runners do not mind running slower to
ensure that the struggling new comer is able to finish his / her run, always
generous with a word of appreciation and tips for better running. All these and
more with a smile and usually they get nothing in return except maybe a
grateful smile from the tired but excited new runner. Something similar will
happen during the actual race when dedicated runners will don the role of a “Pacer”
to guide new comers to the finish in the planned time.
It
has been an amazing journey and I have lost around 14 kilos somewhere on the
way to CSI Ewarts school during these 8 odd months. I have had to visit my
tailor to get my ill- fitting clothes altered, incidentally clothes I wore a
decade ago fit me again well almost as I have dropped one size. I am having fun as I run and I am able to chat
with new runners and gently pull them along to their first landmark. In a way Iguess
I am doing a lit bit of pacing too. Along the way I still get mentored by
senior runners, still learn to run better, still make new friends and generally
have a good time.
Another
development is that now I am also cycling and have discovered that it is fun. I
have completed a 120km odd cycle ride recently and I know this will not be the
last. I am part of an awesome cycling group that started as an offshoot of
running and is now a complete team on its own strength. In the months ahead I will finally complete my
long delayed and twice discontinued swimming classes for which a new time has
started. All along this journey someone is there with a smile to take me
further.
If
someone had asked me at the same time last year, you know the time when
resolutions are made to be usually broken if I will run a race or cycle I would
have probably laughed them off. Today I will say “sure why not?.”
It all starts with a single step…
I took mine on April 2nd 2014, how about you?
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