Gung-ho about running

42 and 21. This might just be mere numbers for many. But for those who participate in marathons, these are the magical milestones. The city hosted a marathon on Sunday and it served as a warm up for three folks from Bengaluru who are all set to take part in the full marathon run in Mumbai next month.

Lata Jain

Bala, his brother Srinivas and Srinivas’s business associate Anuj –drove all the way from Bengaluru in their Innova to take part in the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon. Yes, running is a serious passion for them. Bala had run many marathons in the past in the US before he relocated back to India. Srinivas has run a few before. Having been off the circuit for some time, they ran the half-marathon and would now go the full hog in the marathons which will be staged in the country in the coming months.

Their regimen before any big marathon is simple. Cut back on food, especially oils. Stock up a lot of water and then eat and sleep early. Their day starts at 6am when the weather is expected to be cool – and that’s a good part. Bala says “If it’s hot, we end up drinking a lot of water and that slows us down. When the weather is cool, it makes it simpler. When we start running, we are not bothered about the weather conditions. Once, my wife Rakhee ran when it was raining – she cut a piece from a large plastic cover and used it to cover her body. Post two hours, once the rains stopped, she threw that off and continued on”.

Running is some serious stuff. If not well prepared, the consequences can be hard and long. It requires a strong mind and a willing body.