Sunfeast World 10K Bangalore ( 23rd May 2010)

When I was in school and college , I did not actively participate in any sports and athletic events. Even after i came to Bangalore, My old roommates Narsai, Bevi and Kosalai were jogging and also going to gym .I did not join.

Since 1.5 Years, I started with sports and taking care of health and fitness. I started regularly jogging with karthi and started playing BASKET BALL .

While Continuing that I rode 25kms Cycle-thon 74 minutes in Bangalore Last year..
We got the information about Marathon Run in Bangalore in last month.

I started my preparation for the Sunfest Run 10K just few weeks before in HAL ground. it is roughly 800 Meters single Lap.. Still I wonder I always get tired after 2,3 rounds.. Eventually I increased the laps count with help of Mr. Sethu, Abhi .. and Raghu . Sethu is a Professional runner. I admire his running in HAL ground. He always ran more than 10 Laps every alternate day. He is also one of motivation factor for me. Abhi a Basket Ball Player from Mysore was a companion during my practice in HAL. Two weeks before i managed to run 6 KMs and then 5 days before the marathan i could run 8 KMs, a great morale boost !!!

Meanwhile My colleague Dina and Sudhir told about Bangalore NIKE RUN CLUB. I went with sudhir and Dina on 8 th may. We ran about 5 KMs in Kateerva Stadium and Cubbon Park. On May 15 I went alone. Sudhir, Dina, Raghu and Maru told me , they are coming.. But nobody turned up. So I ran alone with CLUB runners..

On friday , I did my final set for marathon. Started around 6:15 AM in to on my wrist watch( Usually I do not wear watch ). I finished 5 laps with Abhi. Remaining 8 laps all alone. It was drizzling. I finished by 7:18 AM. Around same time Sethu also started, he finished all the laps before me and encouraged me for my completion.
It was very happy that day ... because i finished 10 KMs in 1:03 hours. My Self confidence level was increased. I discussed about this with raghu during lunch time. he told that it is good time man.!!!! But i did not believe it. He said that you will finish less than a hour. still i did not believe him.

Yesterday ( May 22 ), I did some warm-up and stretch excercises in the morning and stayed back home the remaining day.

I discussed with Karthik ( Subramaniyapuram), about pick up and drop arrange ments to the stadium on the marathon day and he said that he will be joining me.

I got a good wishes from my family and friends..

RACE DAY ( MAY 23 )

Karthik called me at 5:40 AM and we both started at around 6:00 and reached the event place at 6:30 AM

People were rushing to the ground irrespective of their age and nationality . It was a gathering of multiple diversity.. School students, college students, Software professionals, world athletes , Senior citizens and physically challenged people etc...

It was a colorful and a mass event. The event management for wonderful. I met Senthil, Kamal , Dina , sudhir, Jonas and few friends and colleagues after the event.

Inaugural starting ceremony began with deep sense of mourning a silence for a 1 minute , for the people who died in AIR CRASH @ Mangalore..

One by one all the events started. The first event was Elite Men10k run. it was for professional runners . All Prizes are owned by African continental people . After that senior Citizens event followed by Elite Women 10K.

In the mean time ,we were following the events timings in the big screen. Indian Air force Helicopter was monitoring the event region from the skies.

It was 8:05 am 5 mintues before the start of our event our entry points are GATE 5 AND GATE 6. It was a ocean , roughly around 7000 and I was one among them.

The event started at 8:10 am, I touched the ground , prayed for few seconds and started running. I was speaking to myself that I to complete the run in less than an hour. Sudhir, Dina and myself were together till the exit of stadium.. After that I did not see Dina. Sudhir was with me for couple of kilometers and later he to disappeared. After Manipal , I saw senthil on other side and a new joinee of our group.
After the completion of 5 Kms , I was a bit tired due hot weather. After that I joined with Jonas for rest of run. During the run , I was eager to drink water. I did not drink.. I do not know why i did not drink water. I was closely monitoring my watch every minute. Whenever i saw my watch , my mind said SELVAM, you have to finish before one hour.

Last 500 Meters lot of people on the road close to the stadium were touching my hands and greeting me. When I entered the stadium the clock showed 9:06 am.. I finished the race in 56 minutes as per my watch and I was very happy that I completed the run with 4 minutes to space. But I may have to wait to till next week to get the exact results as the computer chip (RFID) will tell the exact timing.

At last I would like to compliment the excellent Post-race arrangements. In-spite of the huge crowd they provided refreshments ( food and water ) to all . I met senthil, Asad, Mani, Sethu, Kamal, Venkat, Mridul and Renuka ( my colleagues ) .

I took few snaps and returned to room with Karthik with a great sense of pride, happiness, confidence and satisfaction !!!!

Team Photo:(Left to Right )Myself, Sethu, Senthil

(Left to Right) Myself, Renuka, Mirdul and venkat

Once again, thanks for all, who supported me.