Marathon Day

Being somewhat close to the equator, in an environment where the mid day sun can get quite hot, it isn't natural to think that there may be a marathon run here in Auroville, south India - but there you are. Indeed, one was run today. Given the heat, it may not be surprising to learn that the run starts at 6 a.m.  It is barely light at that time.

There were also a 10, 5 and 2 km runs today. This was not the only marathon in the area.  There was also one in the nearby city of Pudicherry where some 8500 people were registered. They started handing out shirts and regitration at 4 a.m. with that run starting also at 6 a.m.

Having done a marathon at one point in my life, I have tremendous respect for anyone who can do it. Here in Auroville, there was the furher challenge of the pavement - or at times lack of it. There were spots of running on paved road, then dirt road, then sandy trails, amongst traffic, in the trees and so on. No trail pampering here.

The fastest time for the marathon was a chap from Chennai (about 3 hours from here) who finished in 3 hours 10 minutes.

In the west (and I suspect wealthier parts of India) there is concern with running gear - having the right shoes that fit the foot - does it pronate and so on. Here, some runners have solved that problem - they run barefoot. You will also note that there is no fance running short, shorts, headband and so on. Just your good old fashioned basic runner.

Then, of course, there is this young lady out on the 10k course wearing tradition churida nd no shoes - doing quite fine thank you

The runners were also seranded by a drumming group from a local drum workshop. This was quite cool as these are drums made here and the performance was by local musicians. The rhythym was quite magical and the runners were pleased to have the encouragement. I likeed this guy who ran past giving a wave of victory as he encountered the drummers.

As I watched the runners come through the early morning, I was reminded of the book, The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner.

It was quite wonderful to see this event taking place. The runners made their way not only through Auroville but also out into a bit of the communiites nearby. Its hard to guage what the average villager thought of the whole thing - but I suspect they thought most of the runners were somewhat made - why would you run around when there is so much work to do?