Hyderabad Run- First words first- electrifying, zippy, amazing, exciting, spine-tingling, vibrant and all those synonyms which escape my dictionary ryte now… I had an initial apprehension tht will I stay alive after the run, rather on the contrary I have never ever felt so lively in my life as I m feeling ryte now after the run.
To give a brief knowledge, this Hyderbad 10 km run is held every year in Hyderabad (http://www.hyderabad10k.com/). The posters at the venue said it all- run for ur friends, run for ur old, run for ur parents, run for ur soldiers, run for unity, run for ur pet dog, run for ur favorite cuising, run for ur songs…just run!!
Reached there at 6:30 in the morning after a 1 hour journey from my place and was pleasantly surprised to witness around 10,000 ppl already there. The whole Hyderabad corporate world could be seen…be it Microsoft, Infosys, TCS, Deloitte, UBS, Dr. Reddy’s etc etc. The stadium resonated with the high pitched woofers. The run T-shirt was bright red and this color on 1000s there made it all look so vibrant. Karunya (Indian Idol 2 finalist-a class apart singer) started singing some rock songs after which the CM (also in red T-shirt) waved off the flag for the race.
The milestones on the race track were rock bands. Each milestone provided some greater strength. They played Rock on, rang de basanti types…but the one tht moved me the most was singing “knock knock knocking on heaven’s door” with Mumbai support banners…that was really something (U’ll appreciate it more if u know the lyrics). Another thing wich acted as refreshment during the run was eye candies. In this department, i give highest marks to Microsoft followed by deloitte! :D
I thought of a winning strategy as if I was the most seasoned runner ;) I planned to walk briskly and doing some short jogs in between and finally to go for the kill during the last 2 kms. When the last 2 kms were left, I changed my plan and thought I’ll go for it in the last 1 KM :D. When I reached the last milestone, 9 kms had already killed me too much to go for the kill!! Anyways, I timed around 55 mins for my 10 Kms (not bad…hehehe) the winners timed around 25 to 35 minutes!!
Once back in the stadium, energy didn’t stop oozing out neither from the crowd, nor from me. I just took some 2 litres of ORS and went straight to the front of the stage where Karunya had just returned.
All the songs now were dedicated to Mumbai, India and unity. Started with desh mere desh mere meri jaan hai tu, then chak de India, then bharat humko jaan se pyara hai and finally Vande matram (A.R. Rahman)…I felt as if energy was bursting inside me…I sang it at the top of my voice along with the whole stadium…felt goose bumps…I had never felt so much for India, for soldiers and for Mumbai in the last few days. I lack words here to describe the atmosphere…I think thts ineffable..it had to be experienced. I feel fortunate to have experienced it. I do not know how long am I gonna stay in Hyderabad, but this day will stay etched in my memories for a long time.
Now the after effects have started and am feeling some stiffness in legs. I am all sport for any stiffness or pain…the experience was worth much more than any after effects.
I raise a toast for Mumbai, our soldiers and for India! Three cheers!!!
u completed the race... gud.. i thought u juss went to see it
Posted by: naveen goyal | 11/30/2008 at 09:09 AM