RunningandLiving.com

These last couple of weeks I have been running with a group called RunningandLiving.com(http://www.runningandliving.com ) Its been conceptualised by 3 runners who have participated in international marathons.
Rahul Verghese stays in Gurgaon & coordinates the runners in that region.
The group in Delhi is coordinated by Anita Bhargava. We are a group of some 4-5 regular turnouts who gather at Deer Park( DLTA Court Side ) and do 2-2.5 loops of Deer Park & Hauz Khas Lake district park ( a loop nearly 4.5 Kms). This is mostly on weekdays.
Sundays are at Jahpanah Forest track where we usually do 2 loops ( a loop 7 kms marked )..

Will try to run this Sunday with the Health & Fitness group and persuade these runners too also to join.
Hopefully, with the 2 groups combining , there shall be a big runners group this Sunday.

Dirt Trail Run

This Sunday was another of the long run. Around 12 runners gathered at Nehru Gardens at 6.30 am and aftera warm up lap around the park ( 3 km ) we started on a road run to Buddha Jayanti Park ( Beyond 11 Murthi crossing ).. I had some difficulty on the hay /dirt trail in the forest with some steep climbs ( maybe because i ran the road section at a higher pace than what i am used to ).
Interestingly we came across British embassy staff on the trail marking out a route /markers for a run of thier own , later in the day. We returned back to Nehru Gardens after completing the trail run ( a distance of 18 odd kms )
The group dispersed after a brief session of group stretching routines & pep up talk by Sunita Godara.

Off Season Runs

Its been 3 weeks of regular long weekend runs since i started running with a local runners club " Health & Fitness Trust managed by Sunita Godara ).Last sunday was another of the long run series with a total of 10 runners doing odd 15 kms.....4 runners from the delhirunners group also participated Nitin , Param, Hari & one other.

We started at around 6.45 am from Nehru Park parking lot (opp Pak High Commission ) - to Rastrapati Bhawan( beyond 11 Murti crossing ) and then did a 6 km loop run on a forest trail which is adjacent to Buddha Jayanti Gardens ( this is basically a Horse track where horse's of President Body Guard are taken for their daily routines )..the track was beautiful, with a major section of the run on cushioned straw , meant for the horses. We came across a couple of riders ....maginficient , tuned specimens.
Returned back via Chankyapuri to Nehru Park ....a total run of 15 kms.

I used to always observe riders coming out of this jungle track while driving down the main road, wondering what lay beyond on this forested path.

Now I know, having seen another of Delhi's hiddden trails.... thanks to running ( next time i wld post some snaps of the trail )

Extended Season

I am making an attempt to run regularly with a local running group . This weekend run was at nehru park (12 kms ) ..to build up endurance & strength in this season.. in some more time it wld be too hot to run in delhi.
next sunday we plan to run a distance of 18 kms with road running ..between nehru & buddha jayanti park.
lets see how many join up.

SCMM 2008

My first run outside home town was memorable. I participated in the Stanchart Mumbai Half Marathon in 2:02:17 (net time).
The crowd support in Mumbai was terrific with lots of friends/families camping out on the race route early in the morning to cheer up the runners. Route was from CST Azad Maidan via the scenic Marine Drive till Mahalakshmi and back to CST

Azad Maidan ..a huge green expanse had arrangements for mobile toilets/baggage point/refreshments counters and the certificate-timing chip counters.

The naval band played at the start of the Marine Drive stretch..lots of cheering mumbaikars offering water/nimbu besides the official kingfisher pts.

Overall a carnival atmosphere..will look forward to visit next year too.

4 days to the Mumbai Race

This weekend we had the last long run before mumbai...6.30 am a group of 8 runners of the Health & Fitness ( Sunita Godara's ) group met at Lodhi Gardens for the last long run before Mumbai.

We ran a distance of 15 kms.....via khan market, pandara road, india gate (children's park), sena bhawan, Rajpath,vijay chowk, claridges hotel and back to lodhi gardens ( 1 round inside the park).

After a round of stretching & then distribution of kits for the mumbai race, the group dispersed..there are some good veteran runners in the group amongst others.

Running in a group does tend to motivate one to perform better...we will now catch up on sunday at the "Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon ".

Mawana Sugars India Open Marathon, 23 Dec 2007

I participated in the Mawana Sugars Half Marathon on Sunday and finished with a PR timing of 1.56. The race has been an annual feature on Delhi's running circuit & this time the route was being tried out for 2010 Commonwealth Games marathon..the race was held under the aegis of Atheletics Federation (AFI).

The top winners were from the Indian Army & other paramilitary services (BSF,CRPF)..the categories were :
1) Full Marathon - Open mens, Open women, Veterans ( above 40 yrs ) - Men & Women
2) Half Marathon - Open mens, Open women, Veterans - Men & Women

Overall a good route ( 2 flyovers on the way)..nice cool weather(....the race started at 9.00 from Guru Harkishan Public School,India Gate) and some 4000 runners.