Hyderabad half marathon (30 Aug 2009)

My passion for running has been growing over time and I take immense pleasure in covering long distances. I also got a GARMIN 305 about 4 months back with which I can check the distance covered,calories burnt,the speed of my run etc. It has also got a load of features which I still haven't explored. The best part is its got a GPS and works absolutely fine. The Hyderabad half marathon was to be held on 30th of Aug and I was quite excited about it. A consortium of about 20 runners from Chennai were going all the way to Hyderabad to take part in this special event.

I had booked my flight to Hyderabad on 29th Aug and was travelling with a fellow runner on the same Spicejet flight. Travelling alone is boring,though some might not agree. The flight took off on time,covering the stipulated distance in precisely 1 hour and 5 min. The Hyderabad airport is just awesome,the infrastructure is just too good. We took a taxi from the airport to Gachibowli,travelling along the new express way and reaching Gachibowli in about an hour.The runners from Chennai and Bangalore had asked for accommodation and we were all accommodated in the Gachibowli stadium dorms.

I had my breakfast that morning and was hungry by the time it was 13:00 hrs. We were also to collect our bib numbers from KBR park,which was the starting point of the race. But one of the organizing team member was kind enough to note down our order numbers and get the bib numbers and t'shirts delivered to our dorms. We had to kill time so we all went to Lingampally in a share auto and ended up watching a Telugu movie, "Magadheera". The movie was ok,the usual masala stuff and I must confess this was the first movie I have watched without knowing the language,trying to work out the story with my imagination and figuring out what the characters in the movie were conversing.

After the movie we had a quick and early dinner,bought some bananas,bread and crocin and got back to our dorms. We were told the bus would be here at 4:30am the next day to pick us up. I had a quick shower,ate a banana and went to bed early.

The D day arrived, I woke up from the sound of my cell-phone alarm,which sings "You've got to pick it up,oh yeah...",brushed my teeth,washed my face and got ready for the half marathon stint. This being my third half marathon I was quite thrilled and excited. My body was tuned to long distance running so I did not have to worry about cramps and back pain.

The half marathon started off at 5:30 and I started off with a slow pace. I had set a time target of 2:17:00 hrs to complete the 21.1 km run. The half marathon path had many ups and downs so the race was quite tiring. Having more stamina and endurance was the key to complete the race successfully. I did the first 6 km with ease before I stopped and started to walk,gulping down a little water to keep myself hydrated. The number of people taking part in the running event like this was huge, and I kept motivating myself that I have to overtake one person after another to complete my race. I completed half of the race in about 1:08:00 hrs and this was a pretty cool timing as far as I'm concerned.

Traffic was stopped on one side of the road for this event. Thanks to the Hyderabad traffic police for their wonderful support. As I was nearing the finish line I increased my tempo and pace, reaching an amazing max speed of 7.3mph. I entered the stadium premises with about 1.5 km to complete. I went round the stadium and entered the stadium via the second gate and completed my race in an impressive 2:39:44 hrs. I was cheered as I entered the stadium and was given a medal for completing the race successfully. I felt elated about what I had achieved and thanked God for his support in giving me the physical and mental stamina to complete the race.

Last but not the least I would like to thank the organizing team of the Hyderabad 10K foundation for having organized the event beautifully. Kudos to them for doing a wonderful job. I would like to thank Ganesh and his wife in particular for their wonderful support and the care which they took of us during our stay at Hyderabad.

"Keep running for a healthy body and soul"