We all went up the hill and returned as Winners

After returning back from Hyderabad Marathon on Aug 23rd 2013, Team PTC Parag, Umesh, Nitin, Sujit, Vijay and myself had another appointment, the following week Sept 1 2013. An appointment with beautiful hills at Satara.

When Parag, Umesh registered for Satara marathon, I felt it was sheer madness that would compel anyone to register a back to back marathons. I was not physical ready nor had ever tried a back to back long runs. I always took a week or two break if I ever tried more than 10K.

Last years experience at Satara marathon; running in rain in the beautiful mountains compelled me to take this adventure. Also looking at those registered I felt my effort was very very small; Parag, Sujit, Umesh, Nitin were running full marathon at Hyderabad and then following week they were to run a half marathon on these beautiful mountain terrain. Parag, Umesh, Sujit were running barefoot at both places. So my effort of running two back to back half marathon seemed a small effort in front of theirs. In a mad moment, I embarked on this adventure. I registered to this event.

After completing Hyderabad marathon where my performance was not as good as previous year, I returned exhausted. I waited for a quick recovery. On Wednesday, Team PTC veterans one by one started stating they are good and recovered for the next adventure. Sujit dropped the plan of running at Satara because of personal engagement.

 I was worried about my physical strength. On Friday I decided that come what may, I am going to run in these beautiful mountains. Determined, my strategy was to crawl the mountains, if I could not run or not fully recovered.

On the D-day, we all started in different cars to Satara. Satara is 120Kms from Pune. We were to drive down to the town a day before. We started at 2.30 PM and reached Satara by 5.00 PM. We went directly to Bib collection center. All PTC team members met at the Bib collection center.  There is no sign of any cloud. Last year the rain gods smiled and the event was so beautiful. This year it was all different.

I read the Satara Hill marathon brochure. It stated "All are Winners in Satara Hill Marathon". Given the terrain, I felt that was so true. They have introduced three categories. Lord/Queens of Hills: Those who complete the Half marathon (21Kms) by 1:15 min or 1:30 min, Conqueror of Hills: Those who complete in by 2:15 mins or 2.30 mins, Finisher of Hills: Any one who completes after 2:15 mins.

Interestingly there is no category for runners like me "Crawlers of Hills"

By 6.00 PM we checked into the hotel. We ate our early dinner and had a good night sleep.

Next day by 5.15 AM we went to Police grounds, the starting point. We took group photos and did some warm-up exercises. By 5.50 AM we were in the holding area. At sharp 6.00 AM the race flagged off.

I was running slowly and took a right turn at the police ground gate and started moving towards the foot hills. A fellow runner crossed past me. He had no leg from the thigh, limping, he had a great determination of completing this half marathon. All the fellow runners cheered him. This gave me further inspiration to complete this race. This totally changed my thought. With renewed energy from the fellow runner, I changed my strategy: Slow run up hill and then run down the hill to complete the marathon below 3 hours or better my last year timing of 3 hrs 15 mins. (It was a target I knew, would be tough to achieve)

Parag, Umesh, Nitin, Vijay dash off with all runners. I started crawling slowly... The gradient the start point is just a trailer of what is in store for us. I look at the sky. It was absolutely clear. No sign of rain at all. Usually this time of the year, this place would always have rains. But this day, we donot have a single cloud. But the weather was beautiful. Cool and breezy.

At around  2 and half Kms I saw the elite runners of 10K galloping like horse towards the hills. 10 Km runners had a little late start.

After four Kms I was at the foot hills. Looking at the green mountains, It looked as if they were smiling at us. A cool breeze kept the runners happy.  Though the sun was bright, the green mountains kept us cool. I saw the first glimpse of Satara town. The fog was settling down and it was beautiful. I started crawling up.

I reached 5Km mark when I saw  the first Lord galloping down the hills. I cheered him. He seems to be from Nigeria or Africa. I saw the second runner very close behind him. I thought would there be a Indian Lord. The third runner was indeed an Indian Lord. Cheering all the Lords and Queens who are running down the hills, this crawler started crawling up.

At 7Kms we reached top of the mountain and it started flattening. It was sought of a relief after a tough climb. I looked at my timer. It was already 1 hour 15 Mins. So All the Lords/Queens would have reached the finish line. I started picking up pace.

I saw Umesh in his barefoot tumbling down, Parag followed him. Nitin next and Vijay in a span of just 10 mins. All happily tumbling down. I felt one of them would be a conqueror of these Hills.

At 8Kms there was village. People from the village started cheering us with Dhol thasha (A kind of drum). I was totally exhausted. I wanted to act as if I was running to acknowledge their cheering but unable to that. I jogged past them. At 9Km, I reached my favorite spot where you could see the dam, reservoir, and green paddy fields down the glen.

At 7.5 Kms a view of the valley

A view of the mountains.

 

At 9 Kms the beautiful view of reservoir and the dam behind

Another view.

Satara Hill Marathon organizers had a unique way of putting some inspiring placards all the route. None could catch my attention as this one at 9.5 Kms. It said "Run this 1 Kms for your Mom". Almost at mid point, knowing that I just have to tumble down the hill, I started running at my peak pace.

At 9.5Km, I met my College mate from Hyderabad after a decade. A quick exchange of pleasantries I rushed towards the mid point. I similed when I was turning back. The simily on the ground at the half way point where we had to turn back was apt. Its all down hill. I knew that I would complete this race now.

If we proceed further from the half way mark we would reach Kas Plateau. It blooms with flowers this season. Satara Marathon Organizers are thinking of a full marathon next year to return at this beautiful point.

A beautiful view of Kas plateau 10Kms away from the Mid point of Satara Marathon. Runners do miss this in this run.

I ran and picked up my top pace. I wanted to make up for the lost time. At 11Kms, while returning back I met the fellow runner who inspired me at the start of the run. I cheered for him and started tumbling down.

Though the sun was bright, the beauty of the mountains was not reduced at all. A cool breeze kept all runners cool. The green mountains were so beautiful. I ran past the village where the villagers were still cheering with Dhol thasha. This time I did have to act. I was tumbling down with a great pace.

I was enjoying this part of the run. At 17Kms I saw the first blade runners. He was way ahead and was slowing down a little after an exhaustive run. I clapped for him. I wanted to run a short distance with him. But I could not control the tumbling down. I did not want to change my pace too.

I rushed down the foot hill and entered the town. At 19Kms a group of cheer leaders were playing a popular song from "Bhag Milkha Bhag" (A movie about Indian great Athlete Milkha Singh). This was a great energizer. I rushed past 20Km. I saw the center of the down town which had a statue of Shivaji Maharaj (Great Ruler of Maharastra).  I heard my timer announcing 3hours. By now its clear that I missed my target of make it sub 3hrs, now I was targeting to improve my previous year time. It is just 1.5 Km more so I ran at my best speed.

At the Finish Line, Team PTC, Nitin and Umesh were cheering me. I ran to the finish line completed with the best time compared to Hyderabad marathon and my previous Satara Run. This was good enough to enjoy. I saw fellow finishers and conquerors enjoying the post run at finish line.

Umesh and Nitin told me that I missed a grand dance at finish line. It seems all PTC runners joined Pune Running group and had set the impromptu dance floor on fire at the finish line. I definitely missed that. I attribute that to my slow running.

After 10 mins I saw the blade runner completing his run. I went to him and congratulated him. He told me that it was his first run and he enjoyed his run.

As the brochure said, All those who ran up and tumbled down the Satara Hill were Winners. I was part of this winning team.

Two events - A Hero and A Villain.

The week of Friday 19th April 2013, two events unfolded: one in Boston another in Delhi. Two heinous crimes committed and two police forces were trying to solve them. Two governments are faced with a challenge to solve the case with at most care and diligence.

In Boston a marathon run was bombed by two terrorist. In Delhi a 5 year old girl was raped.

The acts were performed by terrorists, persons possessed by devils, persons befriended Satan. I am running out of words to describe these guys.

This blog is not about these terrorist or rapist. They are criminals and no blog is enough to condemn their act. I was trying compare how two governments and two government agencies dealt the crisis at hand.

In Boston, the agencies got together spoke in one voice, understood the sensitivity and emotions of people, got the situation in control even while the man hunt was in progress.They emerged as victors (though not sure if they fully or rightfully cracked the case). People cheered as they completed their mission. They were treated as Heroes.

In Delhi, the police force did not register the case, paid bribe to the father to conceal the crime, slapped the protestor. It was sad to see a indiscipline, inefficient and insensitive force. It is so sad to see our police force bungle every time. 

In comparison of Boston police force, it is sad that we have such a insensitive and indisciplined force. They messed up the case. They were not responsible and they were the villains of the day. Protest have grown asking for appropriate action.

India passed a tougher rape law, but the force that implements on the ground is incapable nor efficient to implement the law.

People are asking for resignation of the Police commissioner. The police commissioner asked a question "Do the editor resign if the reporter makes a mistake?" Well Mr. Commissioner there is a difference in type of organization your heading and the editor is heading. Yours is a command structure. The force is as good as its leader. It turned out that your force is incapable of anything.

What we need is a disciplined and efficient police force that can provide us internal security.

My experiences - Satara Hill Marathon

On Saturday 6th October 2012 my friend Umesh Sonavane (The bare foot champ) has come to our house at 9.30 AM. We quickly ate our breakfast (Hot dosa, with chatni) and went in my car to pick other marathon runners. We first picked Vijay Chavan and Srikant Bharti and finally Sujit Kolke.

We drove towards,  Mumbai-Bangalore highway. We took a route that is unknown to me till then. At  Swargate, instead of taking Katraj, we took to Kadhakwasla road. We hit Bangalore highway and were driving towards Satara.

We got a call that other marathon members, have already reached McDonald restaurant on the highway. Nitin Pandya, Parag, Neel (Parag's Son) were waiting for us at McDonald.

We reached Satara by 2.00 PM. Satara is a beautiful town, around 120 Kms from Pune. It is the city of Shivaji Maharaj and his descendents.  We went directly to the collection center. It was well arranged. We got our bibs and goody bag within few mins. After having a photo session at the collection center we moved to our Hotel.

After checking into hotel, we went to see the half marathon route and also Kaas Plateau. Kaas Plateau is world heritage site. It blooms once in a year with variety of flowers. We were there at the right time so after recceing the half marathon route, we proceeded further to Kaas Plateau. 2Kms before the Kaas plateau we stopped at dhabha and proceeded to Kaas Plateau by foot.

We wanted to check our stamina on a hill run. So we all jogged to the Kaas Plateau. It started raining but its was fun running in rain. We prayed that his weather continues on the day of the run. God for sure were listening to our prayers. Satara hill half marathon run starts at a foothill proceeds to the top of foothill for 10.5 Kms (5Kms before Kaas plateau) and returns back to the start point to complete 21Kms. The first 10.5Kms is up hill and then second one is completely down hill.

While coming back on the half marathon route, there is a 2 Kms stretch that had no road but only stones. All the barefoot runners tested if they can run over that harsh patch. I tried to walk few steps without my shoes and felt it was sheer madness. I advised all barefoot marathoner to drop the idea of the running barefoot at Satara. The advice was unheeded.

After a great dinner we rested for the day. We knew we have to wake up early for the run. The run was to start at 6.00 AM. We reached the venue by 5.30 and was excited to run the first hill run. All of us were attempting the run first time. After the recce, me being a new entrant into long distance running, was not confident of completing this run within my past timing (at Hyderabad by 3h 5min). So I re-aligned my goal of completing the run. I felt completing the run was more of an achievement than time. My strategy for the run was simple go slow or walk the up-hill and then slide down/tumble the down hill.

Just as the race was about to start, Gods were smiling upon us and so we had rain. It was a beautiful weather, and the race started at the right time. We started running towards the foothill and started the slow climb. Just after 1Km I could sense that it was getting tough. So I slowed down, with few min, I started almost crawling.

There were good water Stations at every Kms. Children from different schools came to volunteer at these water stations. The water stations had good energy drinks. This energy drink was different than Gatorade. It was good in taste and was a better energizer.

I came to the rough patch and wondered how our barefoot runners (Umesh, Sujit, Parag) were doing on this stretch. I crossed the 5K mark when I found Dr Kale (President of Satara Hill Marathon) on a bike. I thank him for good arrangements and told him that I would not be able to complete the run in 3hours as it is a uphill and asked him to keep the timer mats for at least four hours. He, with a bright smile said not to worry and continue my run.

I continued my run, before 6Kms mark when I saw the first runner coming down the hill. I started climbing up. It was raining and was pleasant weather. There were runners twice my age (almost 60+) who were running this harsh terrain. This inspired me and started running slowly. I saw, Sujit, Dhananjay, Neel, Parag, Umesh, Srikant running down the hill. At about 9Kms I met Vijay.

I raced towards the half way mark. I wanted to start tumbling down as quickly as possible. But the scenic beauty of Satara valley mesmerized me. It was such a beautiful view that words cannot explain. I wanted to slow down, take a break and sit there for few mins, but since I was a slow runner and timer mats were to be removed by three and half hours, I could not stop there. Unwillingly I proceeded towards the half way mark. Since I have to return the same path, I knew I would pass that scenic view again.

At the half way mark I saw the State Road transport bus stopped altogether. They were all waiting for the race to complete. We definitely were causing some trouble for these commuters.

Apologizing for the inconvenience we were causing them, I started my descent. Well tumbling down would be the right word. I could not stop myself.  Was tumbling down at great speed. I was enjoying the run this time. No effort-sheer gravity was driving me. Gods were still smiling at us. It was raining and a cool breeze kept the running spirits high.

I came to the spot that I like the most in the run. Enjoyed the view again. It is difficult to pick one spot from the whole stretch. But this spot somehow mesmerized me so much that it continued to stay for long time after the run.

I rushed to the foothill and into the town. It was almost 3 hours (about 9.00 AM) and people started coming on roads. We were causing inconvenience to them, but still they were cheering us. Being a slow runner, seeing the cheering crowd, started picking up pace.

At about 20Kms I had my first cramp. I started limping to the finish line. I knew it is just 1.5 Kms which I would make it. I heard the timer in my phone say it is 2 hours 55 mins. This gave me confidence that I can make it in 3 hours 5 mins. But since I had cramps, I was not able to pick up pace.

Limping I came to 500m to finish line. I saw some finishers coming back and cheering me. I ran to the last 100m. All my group mates who have already completed started cheering me. After crossing the finish line, felt like a winner. The timer read 3 hours 15mins. 10 mins more than my timing at Hyderabad. Felt really good that I could complete so close.

Immediately after crossing the finish line, the volunteers crowned me with the finisher medal and guided me to the snacks counter. The police ground which is the venue of the marathon was muddy. It was still raining. They had good arrangements. We had good vada pav, sandwiches and eggs as snacks. I ate vada pav and sandwiches and proceeded to meet my friends. All proud finishers were talking about their timing. I was also happy with my timing. We all posed for the photographs

We rushed back to the hotel. It was almost 2 Kms from the police ground. We did not realize the distance in excitement at the start of the race.

We took a hot bath and had a great lunch at the hotel. We drew back to Pune 120Kms in car. It was definitely a memorable run. I would be waiting for Satara hill run for the next years. All  the runners from our group are of the same opinion. It is going to be one in our running itinerary.

(Don't forget to click the links to know more about Kaas Plateau and Satara)