The Tata Mumbai Marathon 2018-My best ever(thus far)

The Mumbai Marathon (erstwhile SCMM) 2017 was a fantastic run for me. I did not achieve my time target but I learnt a lot based on what I did right and the mistakes I made. One of the things I learnt was the importance of training well and the importance of having a plan to get the desired result. Doesn’t the sentence seem to be straight out of a management book? Most runners say that they have learnt a lot of life lessons thanks to running. I do the same.

By the middle of October 2017, training for the rechristened Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM) had commenced in full flow. Leading up to this point, I had paced a few 10km and half marathon events. They were all great experiences. I got to run at an easy, conversational pace which was required as a part of my training plan. In the bargain, I got to help others run the distance and get their time targets easily with a lot of fun. One fine evening as I was out for a team dinner after work, I received a message from Mumbai’s pacing guru Gaurav Bharadwaj saying, “Be ready to pace at TMM”. My eyes popped out on reading those words. A long phone call followed where we talked about what, where, how, etc. The dream of pacing at India’s greatest running event had started taking shape.

As a lot of things become official, we knew that we were officially selected to pace at TMM when we were added to the TMM 2018 pacers’ Whatsapp group. We were explicitly asked to not disclose the information in running groups until the official announcement by Procam. As the days rolled by, the news seemed to have made its way into the running grapevines. The fine Saturday morning the week before race-day, the announcement was made.

That started a sudden flurry of activity on social media with each of the 40+ pacers across all categories being bombarded with congratulatory messages, queries, strategy requests, etc. The magical entity known as Whatsapp came to our rescue. I created a WhatsApp group like most of the other pacers and added friends who I knew would be taking my bus. The invite by link feature too was used to the fullest. Being a “veteran runner”, I had learnt a few things about what to do and what not to do in the days leading up to a race. Thus a lot of useful posts were shared. Members on the group increased exponentially with people from all walks of life and from different parts of the country. It felt great when someone said that they were targeting a faster/slower time but were in the group just for the info bytes. The pacer friends who had joined the group just for some friendly spying activities weren’t spared. They were made to give “guest lectures” relevant to race preparation like pre-race hydration, muscle cramps, the hazards of starting too fast, chafing and other such topics. The group size swelled beyond the 3 figures mark. I was pretty sure that the bus was not going to have 100+ runners but I was happy that a lot of people were benefitting from things many of us had learnt the hard way.

Haila!!!!!

Mortal pacers with the legend

We pacers were pre-informed to be at the expo on the Saturday before race-day. After we were “unveiled to the world”, there was an interview of the event ambassador by the witty Gautam Bhimani. It is not every day that you share the frame with a world record breaking legend. We got a group pic with Sergey Bubka, the 35 times pole vault world record holder. We also got some inspiration in the form of Mr. N. Chandrashekaran, who was to run the half marathon like so many thousands of us. The Mumbai Marathon expo as always was like the trailer to the annual running festival of India where people from different parts of India and other countries converge, transcend all boundaries and achieve their dreams. Unfortunately, going from the cold expo tent to the hot afternoon gave me a terrible sore-throat. Steam inhalation, salt water gargling felt good, but I was sounding like a frog, putting a wrench in my plans to scream right through the 21.097km

 Race-day arrived. All the necessary hard work was done. It was time to enjoy the spectacle known as the Tata Mumbai Marathon. Surprisingly, the weather was quite a lot cooler than previous few days. I left early and took one of the special trains to Mahalakshmi. My “bus conductors” had decided to travel by road, which was a bad idea considering the fact that “Mumbai is upgrading” boards were up in Worli. I reached well in advance and reached the holding area section F. The flag held high helped my potential passengers locate and join the bus. The number of people was way less than 100 but I was sure that the ones who made it were in for a great run. The gates opened. As planned, we gradually walked towards the start line along the extreme left lane. This was done to aid others from other holding areas to join the bus. By the time we reached the start line, the remaining 2:30 buses had gone ahead and we had the unofficial fun run 2 hr bus in front of us. As they went ahead at a fast pace, we started our bus engine and used the slipstream to go ahead at a steady pace of 7:00/km as planned.

In the lifeline of Mumbai to live my dream

We turned on to the sea link. With whatever sound was coming out of my vocal cords, I ensured that everyone around me ran up the gentle incline as we hit the sea link. I was thinking to myself, “There is nothing worse than people walking in a crowded and narrow stretch of the road.” After the second kilometre, the road widened as we hit the cable stayed section. Every few kilometers, I kept checking if the bus waale were OK. Since I could not scream to save my life, I got a few passengers with loud voices to be the official announcers of the bus. They had the job of announcing that we were going great and perfectly on target (which has always been my strategy). We also had an official cattle horn on the bus unlike my normal “beep beep” à la Roadrunner. To ensure that people on the bus were keeping themselves relaxed, I got everyone to do some drills every 2 km and also the odd Mexican wave.

Some of the best moments of the run came on the sea link. My sister was running her first Mumbai Marathon, her second half marathon. She had worked extremely hard to overcome a heel injury to get to the start line. The effort she had to put to start running was inspiring. Her main motive was to experience the Mumbai Marathon and finish the run. A slot in the starting section E coupled with a delayed start for my bus made me feel that she would have reached quite a long way ahead. I was right. I spotted her on the downhill stretch of the sea link near Bandra. As we went past, she was greeted with a Mexican wave which gave her a push (she told me this after the run) also helped everyone on the bus loosen their shoulders

My favourite pic of 2018

A short distance after the U-turn at Bandra, I asked everyone to run looking up. The sight of the cable stayed section was mind blowing. The artificially lit cables seemed to be leading straight to a focal point, with the deep blue sky above. One could feel the gentle, silent slope more easily on the return leg towards Worli. However everyone was aware of the drill. Nice and short strides, going at an easy pace with shoulders kept loose. Sunlight had started lighting up most of the route by the time we reached the Worli end of the sea link. As we were idling on the long downhill stretch, a person running on the bus said to me, “I qualified for TMM since I had followed you to a 2:30 finish at Hiranandani Powai and here I am running my dream event with you again”. It felt so wonderful to hear this. This is joy which only a pacer can experience.

The bus on Worli sea face

The morning uncles and aunties were out in full force at Worli Sea face. The high fives, the cheering etc made runners realize that they were celebrities. As the full marathoners went by in the opposite direction, a lady from my bus came up to me and told me that she saw her husband running past in the opposite direction and that it felt great. I could barely fathom the sense of pride and inspiration she would have felt at that moment.

The stretch up to Haji Ali was interspersed with a few short and sweet walk breaks. I shared the sasta-sundar-tikau plan which we were to follow while going up Peddar Road. And just before we set out to conquer the “demonic slope”, we were given a huge cheer by the Mumbai Road Runners cheer zone. We went up the slope splitting it into 30 seconds walking and 30 seconds running intervals. And before we knew it, we went past the 2:40 bus and were past the summit at Jaslok Hospital. Yes, buses did overtake each other on a steep uphill without causing a traffic jam :-P. The section from Haji Ali to Babulnath has always been my favourite part of Mumbai to run thanks to the elevation changes, the road surface and on race day, the lovely people. The flag I was carrying helped ensure that I had a lot more people cheering for me and yes I got more photos at this year’s Mumbai marathon than the last 2 years put together.

When the Mumbai Marathon was conceived, it was to give people an opportunity to run alongside elite athletes from around the world. As we approached the Kemps corner flyover, I saw the leading vehicles approaching. I told everyone in the bus to get a glimpse of the elites and that we would do a Mexican wave as they went past. The 5-4-3-2-1 countdown speed had to be really fast and we all went “Aye” and the elites were gone in a flash. It was as exhilarating as ever.

After the downhill and the turn on to Marine Drive, I started telling everyone around me that the hard part of the race was done and it was time to enjoy the experience and push to a strong finish. Runners who felt strong went ahead. A lot of new people joined in. We received a floral shower near Wilson College which felt awesome. I continued the chatter in spite of the condition of my throat. The sea gulls did a fly past as we went past Taraporewala Aquarium. Mumbaikars were out in full force to cheer for us. The atmosphere was electrifying. The good weather on race day definitely helped everyone. The Queen’s necklace has been a part of the Mumbai Marathon route since its inception and has always been a joy to run on. Friends who were planning to cheer for us were seen doing a fantastic job. I always say that the second best way to enjoy a marathon is to by cheering for those who are running.

Towards the home stretch

Happy walk break

We turned east at Pizza by the bay. By that point, I had started pushing people ahead so that they could finish strongly. With my hoarse voice I looked to get walkers to run. The new part of the route was nice. It is always fun to run through the heritage of my city

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The distribution of runners in most half marathons is the heaviest around the 2:30 mark.  I had the option of running hard and finishing in less than 2:30. Instead I used the entire time at my disposal (+/- 30 seconds was expected of us) to push unknown runners who were struggling to finish. The buildings on either side, a tall bearded fellow screaming and running with the flag being used as a PT teacher’s weapon definitely pushed more than a few people who were looking to give up. After the last turn on to DN road, I did give that last bit of acceleration and crossed the finish line in 02:30:26, with the TMM anthem playing in the background.

It was a dream come true to pace at the greatest running event in India. From someone who felt trampled by a bus towards the end of the 2016 Mumbai Marathon to being a pacer in 2018. From someone who ran once a year to a veteran of several half marathons. From not knowing how to get someone to run to someone who has helped many others finish their runs with ease. I realized that I had grown a lot. The words of the theme, “Soch Liya Samjho Mumkin hai” playing in the background resonating with these thoughts flooding my mind, it was quite overwhelming. I took the towel they gave, sat on the ground and started weeping like an overgrown baby. One of the organizers asked me if everything was OK. After getting back to normal I replied, “Why do so many people cry at this finish line? It is because this is where dreams come true”

Bonus picture!!! Got featured in a newspaper