Four rode out

My father was not an educated man, couldn't speak a word of English and understood very little. Despite this, he used to take my brother and me out for English movies. He wanted us to learn and understand the ways of the world beyond our tiny abode in Dhobitalao, South Bombay. I remember him sitting in the cinema hall watching the images flash on the screen, trying to work out some logic to the audio-visual. I felt close to him at such moments and I guess this is why I spend more time teaching Bryan about life. "Four rode out" was one such movie that my father took me to and it revolved around four cowboys that rode out into the desert and suffered fatigue and dehydration.

When Amit proposed that we do 12 marathons in 12 months and the second of this series was scheduled last Saturday, I thought I was gripped by a wave of lunacy to agree to it. I woke up at 4:50am to a quiet, dark and wintry (yes, it is still quite cold) dawn. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee pervaded the room seeping its opiate into a sluggish brain, unwilling to address the exhausting task awaiting me. I savored every sip of the hot java, while I brooded on how best to tackle the full monty - a distance of 42.195 kms.

Amit and I began at 6:30 even while runners were arriving, some of them with an objective of calorie surplus (not deficit) because they were going to gorge on a veritable breakfast buffet laid out by Roshni, it being her birthday. After about 3K, we were joined by Raj and Mahesh, the eager beavers that can reel out a marathon, at the drop of a hat. We did a loop of another 10K and by then there were about 30 runners that were assembled for the grand celebration. The cake cut, an off key rendition of "Happy Birthday", wishes, a slice of eggless cake (Roshni is our very own PETA fundamentalist:)) and we were off - to taste the sweat from our brow.

A centrally located aid station by way of a car with water, Gatorade and biscuits was manned by two angels; Madhumita and Puneet. So selfless was their sacrifice on a Saturday, that they hung around for 5 hrs waiting for us to complete, while taking our pics and handing out electrolyte to us - instead of spending quality time with their own family. The sun came out with its usual vengeance dispersing the last traces of the cool caress of breeze. The four of us ran as a group, tacitly acknowledging the laboured breathing of each, as the miles swept by. The pace was deliberately nudged up by me to ensure there was no slack for comfort zones. I can be deliberate in eliciting pain in a venture such as the full monty, once I am in my elements; and I certainly was. The faint fatigue on waking up was long forgotten and I wondered as to why in God' name, I was even contemplating doing less than the scheduled distance.

There was a pipeline that had burst and it was spewing cool water at high pressure into a rutted grass filled furrow. It was not something we were going to ignore. The child in us surfaced as we stuck out a foot on the torrent spurting from the burst mains and sent the ice cold spray all over each other. The shock of cold water revived us enough to race along at a pace that is considered "killer" by us. We finished 38K and staggered to the aid station with hope and anticipation writ large on our face. Amit and I set out to bag this one and while were at it, I must admit that we were reduced to a shuffle. I was wheezing and in the last 800m I felt my calves seizing up in a cramp. I was reduced to a painful hobble and felt camaraderie with Amit as he announced to me, "We are going to finish this together". I respected him for that remark. And finish it we did, heaving a sigh of relief and diving into the spray of water, my tee off and my cap used as a "Lowta" to pour water on my head.

Post run hydrating and carbo-loading was underway for both of us, as Raj and Mahesh came in for their own finish. A can of beer was opened as we took grateful but token sips to mark the occasion. There were lots of idlis and cake remaining for us and having just completed a full monty we were famished and thirsty. The idlis and chutney seemed to be fast disappearing as we wolfed them down gratefully. The 2 out of 12 marathon was done and in the bag; 10 more to go guys!