Mumbai Marathon 2006 – experience of a lifetime

“You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out here. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.” – Steve Prefontaine. One of the greatest athlete to have walked the earth.

At the Mumbai Marathon, 28000 people ran. The distances may have been different, the motivations too, but the spirit was one.

I had the opportunity to serve as a volunteer during the event, thanks to my dear friend Amarnath who quit his IT quarry job to join Procam International, a premiere sports and leisure management company (and the organizers/promoters of Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon)

Here is a photo-essay from the event.

The day before the D-day.

Azad maidan gets ready to play host to the marathon runners. It’s 4 pm and while many tents have been setup, work was in full swing. A few teenagers were flying kite, since it was makar sankranti.

The banners of the sponsors of the event.

Many advertisements were lined up along the route of the Mumbai Marathon. TOI was the official print sponsor and had put up this series on Marine Drive.

Ready, Steady, Go. Three words that brought back memories that seem distant now. Do you have a memory attached to them?

Kite-flyers having a gala time, near Marine Lines railway station.

Mobile hoardings seem to be an economical investment. I wonder if the price for using such a hoarding is less than a static one, and whether they have to take permission from BMC etc.

kabootaron ka chabootara

Practicing for the morrow.

dry run by the live television crew…

… and the navy choppers.

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A lot of us in the volunteering and organizing team did not sleep the whole of Saturday night. During these two days, I was also exposed to the amount of effort and co-ordination required for organizing an event of this scale. As Amar explained:”It’s not a static event like a tennis match where the spectators come to a place like stadium, watch the match and go back. It’s a 42km run and on the road. Requires co-ordination from
traffic police, government, security agencies, corporation and so on…” As I took a walk down the marine drive at around 2 am, I could see teams of volunteers who were tasked with setting up the markers across the entire stretch of the marathon.

We also had a joyride on Marine Drive at 3 am in somebody’s car.

At around 4 30 am, we left for the venue. By the time we came, the stage and the enclosures etc. were already setup. A few cameramen from media started streaming in around 5.

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The early bird gets the first soundbyte. (apologies for the hazy pic)

The competition in the Mumbai media is intense. This girl from Star News was among the first to troop in. She checked out all the angles and came to the stage to chat up with one of the directors of Procam. An incident happened at this very moment. An open truck carrying some advertising boards passed under the arch point and struck the finish time indicator. The finish timer is a critical component and it would have been a major issue if it were damaged. The director was pretty tense, but at the very moment, this girl from star news came and he had to put up a smile while he must be going ‘what the hell..” in his mind. Thankfully, a couple of guys from the organizers team could handle the situation and the timer was restored. That timely act (pun intended), saved the day.

The build-up before the flag off.. the RJ (harsh i think) from radio mirchi did a terrific job of getting the crowd on their feet.. the mood was infectious, in every sense of the word.

AND THE MARATHON BEGINS!

Daylight breaks and my camera can take clearer pics now.

The celebs… i missed clicking abhishek and rani’s pics as i wasn’t prepared Amar was lucky to handover the jhanda to Abhishek, and was close enough to notice Rani’s pimple!)

MEDIAAH! Almost all the national print and television media was present in full strength, with everyone posting multiple reporters to cover this event. Mumbai’s media is tres chic. Not joining it remains an enduring regret. With so much of media, I hope somebody wrote about what goes behind organizing Asia’s biggest marathon.

Suchitra Pillai, who was covering for zee sports i think. Appropriately dressed!

India’s premiere women marathon runners!

The winner of the wheel-chair category. The three of them were so excited when they came down to take the prize. The winner and the “pari hoon main” girl obliged with a smile for a photo request.

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I met a visually challenged runner (sorry, missed his name). He said that “is baar accha dauda kyunki support accha tha. Main pawar saheb (a corporator) ka aabhari hoon jinhone mujhe mera support diya”. He was refering to the runner who was his guide and ran along side. I asked him if he can run without holding anyone’s hand and he replied in the affirmative. “jab thoda free stretch aaya toh uska (guide’s) haath chod ke bhaga – around 2/3 km.”… it’s a remarkable feat. If you try to close your eyes and run, it is unlikely that you will be able to run in a straight line. I tried it once and my sisters had a gala time watching me go round and round, even as i thought i was walking straight.

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the carnival

Media ..in action (does anyone know her ) The kathakali guys won a prize for best costume.

Celeb spotting

Tara Sharma and Vinod Khanna, also caught Kalmadi in the frame.

javagal srinath, up close.

revelry.

Mulu…(photo by Arun Patil, rediff)

the story behind this photograph.. the women winner of the marathon, Mulu Seboka, could not pick up her kit before she was rushed to the prize distribution place. Just as she was about to go on stage, her coach insisted that she put up something over her race gear. A volunteer, who was wearing the marathon t-shirt over his regular t-shirt immediately took it off and offered it to her. And that’s why you see this diminutive, but incredibly courageous mulu wearing that oversized t-shirt!

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Personally, while I had a great time, meeting some wonderful people, the most satisfying part was that I had the opportunity to give water and electral-mixed drink to the prize winning athletes … I know how it feels at the end of a race when everybody is busy congratulating you but all you want is water! That smile and their “thanks” made my day.

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… my favorite photo (you won’t find this angle in ANY media photograph

Epilogue: I don’t know if this event would have been as successful in any other city. There’s something about Mumbai.

Mumbai, tujhe salaam.