It’s all about the SPIRIT!!!

The journey started when I joined this new team that included four regular marathoners. As a part of the joining formality, along with the Personal Data forms, I filled up an extra form for SCMM 2010 Half Marathon Registration.

Training for the race day was another unique experience. I wouldn’t even dream about waking up at 4.00 am for my studies, but here I was catching a CST bound train from Vashi at 4:45 am. Every Sunday, we reached Marine Drive by 6 and started the 10 – 15 kms jog by 6:20 am, do a little stretching exercise and then go for nice breakfast at Stadium restaurant near Churchgate Station. The practice sessions were definitely a realization of how your mind can tame the body and push it to the hilt.

The Race Day was not only a testimony to the strength of one’s mind but also of the wonderful human spirit that we always read/ hear about only during calamities. Who runs a marathon - An individual? Yes; but who wins a marathon? The answer to that is the Human Spirit. A runner draws his energy from every elderly individual determination to finish is unconquerable, from every youth who challenges one to stretch the limits, every sideline supporter who cheers for you without any strings attached and the spirit in you that seeks to leave a imprint on the sands of time. The panoramic view Worli and Bandra while running over the sea link was like an icing on the cake.

I am most thankful to all the people who had come down on the roads with their families, the volunteers and every runner to have cheered and supported me till the finish line. Bill Rodgers, the four times Boston Marathon champion has rightly said – “A marathon can humble you.”