Running For a Better Reach: The Making
I am writing this piece to acknowledge the immense support offered by everyone who made the “Running for a better reach” marathon possible and without whom this initiative would remain a mere thought buried in the mind of an incorrigible dreamer. Another reason to write this piece is for the sake of posterity, so that one day I can reluctantly rifle through the many essays I’ve written and find that we had (and hopefully will always have) a community that supported each other. This initiative was also a true example of how synergies in a closely knit community can be used to add value to the wider world.
Leading up to the marathon
For someone who loves the outdoors, running had helped me keep sane ever since the enforcement of the lockdown. Beautiful apple orchards and corn fields in Tettnang offered me the perfect setting, where I could forget about everything for a while and do what I love doing. The unusually warm weather in April was a silver lining in bleak times and I made the most of it by running 4–5 kilometres on weekdays and around 7–8 kilometres on weekends.
I was sparing an hour for a short run every day even as the submission date for my Master Thesis was fast approaching and I had to cross the t’s and dot the i’s before the end of April. I did manage to submit the thesis and was now tasked with preparing for its defence scheduled for the mid of May. D-day arrived and I managed to defend the Master Thesis, albeit barely (if anyone needs advice on how NOT to write a Master Thesis, you know whom to contact). As one can imagine, I had a lot of steam to let off and on that weekend following the defence I woke up Sunday morning and impulsively decided to run a half marathon (21.1 kilometres).
I ran at a leisurely pace and finished the run in an hour and 45 minutes. The run gave me the solace that I sought. I was quite relieved to put the thesis behind me and not look back. I had something that been bothering me for sometime now. The plight of the poor workers walking hundreds of miles in India had been pricking my thoughts and now I could give it my complete attention. There’s not much I could do sitting in Germany, I thought. I wanted to raise awareness, but I was sure most of us were already aware of the crisis. That’s when it struck me that I could use running to not only raise awareness but also to call for action in the student community. I pitched the idea to some of my friends and as always they were very encouraging and full of ideas themselves. It was decided that I would run a full marathon (42.2 kilometres) at Außenmühlenteich in Hamburg on the 6th of June.
I had less than two weeks to prepare and unfortunately, as in most endeavours in life, there is no crash course for training for a marathon. I had not run the marathon in over two and a half years and each time I had run it previously, I had trained extensively. My apprehensions were exacerbated when my left knee started to hurt the next morning as a result of the half marathon. It had been nearly a year since I had last run more than 10 kilometres and the discomfort in my knee was a tell-tale sign that I wasn’t in shape for a half marathon let alone a full marathon. I rested for a week as my knee was still troubling me and I didn’t want to risk making it worse. The marathon was only a week away now and to say that I was underprepared is a gross understatement (A marathon usually requires a strict training schedule for 6–12 months for fit amateurs to be fully prepared).
My only source of confidence was that I would have friends around me, friends who would have my back, come what may. With my thoughts immersed in the immensity of the task at hand, I made the 14 hour train journey to Hamburg. It was one of few times in life that I’ve felt like a man on a mission and it was definitely one of the most gratifying feelings ever. Having reached Hamburg, it was time to plan the logistics for the run and procure refreshments that I would need in the course of the marathon. Sushanth and Preetish were of great help here. I also managed to squeeze in two laps (1 lap: 3 kilometres) at my beloved Außenmühlenteich to get a feel for the route, a route I knew like the back of my hand. The marathon would be a little more than 14 laps and we would start at 5 a.m. on a Saturday.
The Marathon
Expectedly, I couldn’t get a wink of sleep on the night before the marathon and it was now time for action. There’s something surreal about tying your shoelaces before a marathon. That’s when you know it’s for real and you acknowledge what you signed up for. I reached the start point around 05:00 and warmed up for around 15 minutes. It was already bright and the lake looked beautiful as always. It was forecasted to rain but the weather gods were kind as there was no rain, only a strong breeze with the temperature around 7 °C. After the customary pre-race rituals, I started the marathon at 05:20 along with Shravya, who ran alongside me for the first lap. It was a gentle start at a leisurely pace. In my mind, I knew that the marathon only started after the 30 kilometre mark and I had to somehow get there in reasonable shape if were to have any chance of finishing it.
The precarious condition of my left knee was another reason for me to not push too hard in the initial stages. The first lap was a breeze, it was wonderful having a conversation with Shravya, while enjoying the sights of the lake. I was doing everything to not think about the distance that I had to cover in the next few hours. I increased the pace by a small margin in the next couple of laps. I had friends running along with me on different laps. On one lap, Hazard (Rajath) ran brilliantly along with me and secured his personal best for a lap. Aashik ran along with me on another lap and kept dishing out words of encouragement throughout the lap.
On another lap, Pooja and Preetish followed me on the bike constantly inquiring if I needed anything. Sali (Akash) accompanied me on the bike on many laps with Red Hot Chilli Peppers blaring out of his speakers. It was amazing running to the beats of songs that I loved and laughing at the jokes cracked by him. I made it through to the halfway mark at 2 hours and 3 minutes. The first 21 kilometres had been comfortable and I was slowly gaining in confidence. At about the 24 kilometre mark, my left knee started acting up and I tried distracting myself from the pain by making conversation and consuming fluids and orange sectors. It worked. Siddhanth ran with me on one of the following laps and gave me refreshments which he had carried along with him.
As I reached the 30 kilometre mark, I kept telling whoever was around what refreshments I needed and they would communicate with the others about it. In one such attempt, Vedanth, who was accompanying me on the bike even had to endure a fall trying to make a call. Aashik and Shravya started running along with me as soon as I hit the 30 kilometre mark to lend moral support as I began the uphill task of completing the dreaded last 12 kilometres. I increased the pace a bit and was feeling confident as I headed towards the last three laps, with Anish giving me refreshments on the bike. Kudva (Ashwin) was saved to run with me for the last three laps and his introduction automatically increased my pace even further. Sai (Yashasvi) was pacing us on his bike, and Kudva and I, ran steadily to complete the 12th lap (36 kilometres down). I dropped another gear in the 13th lap with the pace now dipping below an average of 5:00 min/km.
Kudva stopped midway through the 13th lap so that he could save himself for pacing me on the last lap. Sai started running along with for the last lap. As soon as I started the last lap, I realised that a sub 4 hour finish was well on the cards, something I couldn’t have imagined with how the lead up to the marathon had been. I went all-in, with the pace now dipping below an average of 4:40 min/km. Kudva joined us midway and I will always remember telling him, “We’re going all-in today” as we blazed through to the 41 km mark. Kudva and Sai realized I could do the last kilometre by myself and dropped their pace.
As I started the last kilometre, I knew I would be finishing well within 4 hours. That last kilometre is probably the most magical running experience I’ve ever had. I was so overcome with emotion that I had tears of joy streaming down my face even while I was sprinting. The pain in my knees and every other part of my body seemed to be inconsequential. I finished the marathon with a time of 3:57:58. I had finished with an average pace of 5:38 min/km. It was the slowest I had ever run a marathon, but it was also the most enjoyable and definitely the most gratifying.
I cooled down for a bit before laying down on a patch of grass. My knee was killing me now. I also started to shiver because of the wind and I couldn’t move an inch without assistance. The pain was excruciating. Everyone who was present helped me, some fed me, some put jackets and gloves on me, and others helped me stretch cramped muscles. I was able to get back on my feet in about 20 minutes and made my way back supported by friends on each side. To say that I’m always grateful to each and every one of them is an understatement. Varsha (Amoghvarsha), who wasn’t there with us on that day, was the first person I pitched the idea about the initiative to and his words of encouragement stayed with me throughout the marathon.
The Cause
Through the marathon, we were able to spread awareness about the crisis faced by the workers in India and raise funds for the Rahat Covid-19 relief fund set up by the award winning NGO Goonj (https://goonj.org/donate/), which has been at the forefront in supporting poor workers and labourers. Sushanth put together the video clips captured by those present during the marathon to create a touching video that helped immensely in creating a larger impact. All of us, Indian students from TUHH, came together to support the cause by not only contributing but also spreading the word among our friends and relatives in Germany as well as in India.
The result was that a considerable amount of money was raised and awareness regarding the plight of the workers was spread through various social media channels. This is how a closely knit community, albeit a student community, can come together to add value to the people who need it the most. It was very gratifying for me to be a part of such a community that strives to make a difference even with the limited means at its disposal. We, the student community, can be proud of what we did and consider this as a starting point for bigger things to come.
“Running for a better reach” was an initiative that was made possible by Aashik, Akash, Amoghavarsha, Anish, Ashwin, Pooja, Preetish, Rajath, Shravya, Siddhanth, Sribalaji, Sushanth, Vedanth and Yashasvi Sai.
All of us are thankful to our peers at TUHH who helped raise awareness and/or contributed.
-Sribalaji Setlur
05.07.2020
