Running Year in Review - [ Part3 ] Good , Bad and Not so ugly races of the year

Dear Friends and Criticizers!!

Happy Christmas and hope you are having loads of fun enjoying the holiday season. Being part of 23 races this year, every race was unique to me. From Coimbatore to Delhi and Chennai to Mumbai all races had their share of reasons for me to smile. Let me get down to the review directly.

Starting from bitter to sweet :)

Ugly race of the year:

• Skyscraper Dash 2014-  Race was held in Bangalore, Being an unique race, organisers had promoted the race such that it would be the greatest race of all times. Race day at 6AM , no organisers are seen, unfortunately, i was the first one to reach the venue. Race start was done in separate batches. Timing chip was of no use. No sensors at the start , but it was kept at the end for no logical reason. Race was over and organisers were not ready to declare the timings and give clarification for any concerns. No finisher's medal for anyone. sponsors were taken care with a special category for them. Prize winners were hapy that they got good bounty and were supporting organisers. Not a good race to attend, certainly the most mismanaged race of the year.

 Bad Race of the year:

• VVCE MAD Run- Being a college event and my own college event, this was to be categorised as worst race, but it was organised by amateurs. so putting it to Bad race of the race. Race was for a cause and Taking all inputs from me to organise the race, last minute politics cropped up and due to high miscommunication, event was organised with help of unknown people. Event time as usual was not suited and chaos was all around the race.  Lead runners were mislead and no water and volunteers to guide the route. 8 km racing was hell. Even after telling them not to keep cash prize for the charity event, they went ahead with it and messed up the event. Will attend this race as it's my college event and not for other sake. I hope organiers will learn from their mistakes.

Good Race of the year:

Two  races are in line for this. 

• NIE Tecknieks Run- I always enjoy to run this race. It's was like comrade's race. this year the route was anticlockwise and in Mysore this is one of the best organised races by student community. 10K run will kill you and you have to be mentally strong to run and win the race. Let alone finish in top 10, this will eat up all your stamina till you complete the race. waiting for 2015 race. Some additions required which will help the race to be even better.
• SOW Run- This holds a special place in my running calendar. Firstly, the route and the time at which it is organsied. This year, it was on the next day of KTM which was even more tough. running a trial run on Saturday, time was on on Sunday to run the up down course. Finished the race with ease and 2nd time 10K winner. looking for 2015 to complete the hattrick with good timings. Really appreciate the organisers who delivered the prizes to us

Best Race of the Year:

For all the reasons KTM, BM, ADHM, SCMM , SOW Run, NIE Run were the best races of the year.... 

Best debut race organized: 

Two races come into this category. But i have to give credits to the organisers who made it happen.

• Ramanagara Marathon - This event was held for unique cause of organ donation and organisers were kind enough to ensure that it was a good success. They recognized volunteers and the runners in a good way. Route was good one with some mad dogs on highway wanting their share of road. With the amount of hard work put, the race was a success. This year (2015), being on rest will surely make it to the race and enjoy the run and the new route. 

• Bengaluru Marathon - Who wants to forget this race for all reasons? I remember this race for all good reasons and it was one of the best debut races apart from the paid media spoiling the credits of this race. Inaugural edition had 11K people and in 2015, we can see more and more people landing to BLR to run this race. There was good support from the runners, but dirty road users were mad. They were ignorant and spoiled some part of the race. Small's team's effort was really commendable. All runners were part of the event which saw how united the running community can be. On top of it, all wet well and all enjoyed the race. Looking for 2015 to be part of the event once again.

Race which was unforgettable for me this year:

Many races were unforgettable for me this year, here are some of them.

• SCMM Mumbai - Attending race was not sure till last minute as some I****t  ( i have restricted all my anger here , sorry for that) had all evil plans to hold me back at Mysore for personal gains. I had booked the last flight of the day to Mumbai sensing the danger. Rushed to airport and to hotel at Mumbai by 1AM. Then 3 Am and ready for the race. Delivered the PB for 10.5KM and team won a big bounty. This by far will remain the most unforgettable race in my life for all wrong reasons. 

• KTM, Ranganathittu- Last year, standing at the finish line as a volunteer cursed myself for not being part of the race. This year RFL gave me that gift. Had another race on next day but really determined to make it to podium. Race started and was lagging till last 5Kms and then surged to ensure that i was the first Mysorean to win 10K race at KTM. History made :). Next day was one more podium with the pain of running on metal road!!

• Bengaluru Marathon- when at melbourne, i was cursing myself that i was not part of the race. Someone listened and sent me back to India. I really thank that person. By virtue of this, they were making me to become famous. What a mistake they made!! On the day i met Ussain Bolt, i talked with Dharma and Tim Tim and expressed willingness to become a pacer. Wish granted and on oct 19th i was part of the history. Met the God of running, paced 25 odd people to finish line and ran the slowest 21K to ensure that fellow runners reached the finish line. It also ensured that the loss incurred for not pacing at melbourne marathon was compensated in a grand way. 

• Celebration Mysore Run - This race was the race to remember. Till last minute, i had not registered for 10K or 21K. Last minute decided to run 21K. I was running 1 hour and 1:20 hours run to ensure that i was keeping fit and strong. I had decided to make my HM debut at Delhi, but plan was changed and decided to run. It was an amazing run as our boys Naveen and Prajwal were in the pack till 14 Kms which was god to maintain clear pace. Finished 4th and was placed 3rd in Open category!! Good to be on podium on first race. Transition completed to half. Next will be FM in 2015 End if all is well. 

• ADHM- What a race to break your leg and make 25K. This was  race which was a learning to me and not to race in an incorrect way and to lose what you deserve. 10K in 41.5 Mins and mid 4K in 18 Mins said it all. If your team mates slow down, run with your pace to cover up their lost time. This was not done and lost the sub 1:30 by 40 seconds. Wrong footing at a place cost me to run carefully. No hydration was again a mistake which caused muscle turn at finish line!!. So be ready in a big way to make big in race was the lesson. 3 sleepless nights were on cards and made it to top at Delhi. Thanks to all the mess up that happened before the race which made me more strong to keep the mouth shut of the trouble makers.

Special Thanks to below people who were directly and indirectly responsible to make the above things happen:

• To my friends at US, Mr.Dileepa and Mr. Vamshi who send my running gear which i order online to ensure that i look bright in all runs !!
• To Bengaluru marathon team who recognised me as a runner and provided some recognition at BM event.
• To Pani Sir, Ajit Thandur and Deepak Raj who always with smile tell me tips to be strong.
• Team RFL, who were so nice to ensure that events are organized on correct date so that  i keep up my promise of attending their races
• To all my high school classmates who ensure that they ask the results after the race and say stop running it's too much for you!!!
• To all the trouble makers who ensure that i fail, they don't realise that they will be slapped directly on face after the event is over !!!
• To Procam team, who send my race photograph which always goes into my frame with pride.
• To all my fellow runners, without you guys i cannot run or even participate in any events.
• To Haile- you came to BLR, i saw and took a selfie. You made it happen, Next time i wanna race with you.
• Lastly to my Physio who ensures that i run the race without any hassles.

Note - The event reviews are my personal experiences and not a generic overview. Any comments and feedback can be addressed to me. 

 Enjoy the holiday's will be back with more in coming days.