Some background here. The Bangalore Midnight Marathon http://www.coindia.com/current.html happened on 19th / 20th May midnight in, yes, you guessed it, Bangalore!
Apparently, this is a world's first! There has never been a midnight marathon ever before - and I can see why.
Its hell running at night. Especially for someone like me who is a morning person. I read somewhere (in my Chennai Runners group mails I think) that the circadian rythm is on a major downswing at night and its extremely counter productive to an activity like running.
Anyway, it was an interesting variation and there was a lot of entertainment around. So I had a pretty good time. We had to run around a 5.5 km loop 4 times. There were killer inclines every one or two km. So it was one of my hardest runs. I managed to run 3 loops and had to walk/jog/shuffle the last loop. Also I think I came into this race some what overtrained. Never really rested after the Groton 10k.
My calves were bunched up like tennis balls by the end of the 4th lap. I managed to finish the half in 2hrs 23 minutes. Thats a world class time. Only problem was that it is world class for the marathon. But thats a small detail.
The elite runners were keeping a pace that seemed more like my sprinting. Boy were they fast. The Dammaro drummers who were hanging about to encourage the runners would beat their drums to the rythm of their gait each time they passed by. When I passed by it sounded like they were tuning their drums. I wasnt very happy with that. Must complain to the organisers.
Anyway, I had a great time, and my buddies from Chennai runners - Hari, Shumit, Ravi, Guna, Karthik, Adhinav, et all seemed to have had a great time too. Karthik finished the race quite strong. But was making funny noises for a while after. The noises earned him a cold bottle of "Pulpy" mango juice or some sugary drink that they were vending at the end of the race.
After the race we gathered at the main area for announcements and generally basked in a sense of triumph and achievement. The walk back to the car park was a bit of a chore. Ravi and I hobbled to the car like a couple of old women and helped each other across a 1 foot high median. Fortunately, there was no one around to see us.
I went home at 4 AM and ate the perfect post race meal - rice and beef curry. After that lights out till 9 AM.
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We at Rajyotsava Ota humbly request all the people of Karnataka to come out & run for their state, on her birthday. This run will be one of its kind ever organized. People from across the state will converge to 5 cities of Karnataka - Bangalore, Shimoga, Chitradurga, Bellary & Hubli- Dharwad - to take part in this run simultaneously. This spectacular event will be watched & witnessed by the entire nation and the world.
Rajyotasava Ota’s objective is to spread health & wellness by encouraging the masses to adopt running. Rajyotsava Ota is recognized & supported by Government of Karnataka and Department of Youth Services & Sports (DYSS, Govt of Karnataka). Rajyotsava Ota will adopt every year to 10 outstanding athletes identified by Department of Youth Services & Sports (DYSS, Govt of Karnataka), to train and equip them to compete globally.
Through this RUN, we will also promote Karnataka’s tier II cities like Shimoga, Chitradurga, Bellary, Hubli-Dharwad to the global market.
This Run is for you, the residents of Karnataka, the people from all walks of life. So, let us come together to thank our mother land, Karnataka and tell the world the importance of Rajyotsava Day. It’s simple & affordable. Also there are awards & cash prizesto be won.
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