Baptised in Bangalore !!! my first 10k ...

It is actually a funny story...
I was driving my brother for the Sunfeast 10k, 2008 edition in Bangalore.  I had my casual shoes - reeboks, which were about 5 year old then... ( when you dont wear them, they tend to stay new, right?). 

So I did a casual entry and was probably the greatest skeptic that morning - race day!   Told my bro - how do we drive back 350km the same day... will we be dead after the run?

My bro was actually planning to get a personal best then...hence the idea of me being his backup driver...but he took the first brave step to make me run - my first run!   He said he will run till finish with me...

Well, the run started... it was multitudes of hands and feet... never seen so many sports shoes, caps before...lovely women and chirpy girls and boys, oldies and goldies, waded their way to the starting point, and then somehow, I try to remember...it was a gun shot that started the stampede... people tried to get ahead, and some started chat-walking.

Somehow, I pushed myself beyond the starting line, and then lost my bro atleast 3 times before the first km.
Lot of blended aroma of ladies / gents deo with sweat filled the air, and the heat was telling.

Lot of people were cheering and waving, and we went on till the 5k.. I took my first break.  The break was heavenly... drank about 100 ml of water, and was told by Bro to walk a bit, and then run slowly, at a pace I thought was comfortable. Now I feel that I was actually walking, and pretending to run... Bro would run ahead for some distance and run back...it went on from 6th to the 7th. 

I said I could not take it any more...Bro said 'could you see the 8th'... I said - yes.. then let us move forward till that point... with lot of difficulty, I did.   We took a 5 min break, and then we decided to run-walk counting the posts.   We went for past the 9k mark.  

That was the spark that was needed!   Bro and I pushed for the final km, and he said the finish should be great. We did finish in style.  We got our refreshments - a banana, a dry bun, some drink and water.   We returned to our rooms for more banana's and water.  

I have never felt so elated in my life, this was an accomplishment - now looking back - that started it all!   So I run!  


( I have not touched upon the route, as I dont remember the route clearly)