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Among the runners pounding the streets in the full marathon at the Eighth Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) on January 16, 2011 were Dr Farhad Kapadia, Maheli Amalsadvala, Neville Bilimoria, Cyrus Mehta, Rustom Warden, Aspi Rao, Cyrus Palsetia, Neville Fanibanda, Jehangir Mobedji… Among those who completed the half marathon, as per the SCMM website, were Yazad Mobedji, Kyan Bharucha,  Burzin Mehta, Saroosh Din­shaw, Zareer Mehta, Burgess Cooper, Shiraz Cooper, Taima Bharucha…  As per official statistics, 2,800 were on the run in the full marathon (42.195 km), while the half marathon (21.097 km) had 11,000 participants. A record 38,400 fit, fine and infirm ran the race on marathon Sunday, with 21,500 doing the six km Dream Run.

Actively involved with the Marathon, as he has been in the earlier editions, was Dr Aashish Contractor, Head of Department, Preventive Cardiology and Rehabilitation, Asian Heart Institute. "In addition to having 10 medical stations along the route we also have eight medics on bikes to provide a comprehensive safety net through the length of the track. One hundred and fifty doctors will be present on race day as will be eight ambulances,” Contractor was quoted in Mumbai Newsline, January 12, 2011. Adille Sumariwalla, former sprint national champion and Moscow Olympian, representing the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), had been ratifying the results of the race as technical director in all the previous seven editions of the SCMM. This year however, following a disagreement between the AFI and Procam International, the organizers of the event, Sumariwalla was replaced by Dave Cundy from the International Association of Athletics Federations. "When contacted, Sumariwalla, who is now the AFI vice president, said he     will take up the issue at the federation’s general body meeting in February,”  notes The Times of India, January  12, 2011. 

   

Pace maker

He is a consultant physician and intensivist at the Hinduja Hospital and a visiting consultant at the Breach Candy, Cumballa Hill and B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospitals. "I’ve been regularly running for the last few years and have participated in all the Mumbai Marathon events and all the Delhi half marathons,” says Dr Farhad Kapadia. "Over the years my timing has improved — for the half from 2.35 hrs to 1.54 hrs and the full from 5.35 to 4.19 hrs, the best two being the most recent Delhi and Mumbai runs, giving me a respectable ranking of 69th and 29th in the veterans category of these events.”

Kapadia started running initially as part of a plan to maintain an ideal body weight which he had achieved through modifications in diet. "I trained by myself, using Internet-based regimes for the first few years, but noted a stagnation in my timings. The Striders (who groom runners of all ages) were the official marathon trainers and I joined them,” he relates. Since then the good doctor has been running four times a week, all through the year. "I initially did the half and full marathon alternate years in Bombay, but have done the full here for the last two years. So I now plan to stick to the full in Bombay and the half in Delhi,” he adds. How does he combine heavy professional commitments with a grueling sport like distance running? we query. "Once one gets into the habit of waking up early for the runs, it does not really eat into one’s time schedule. Late nights can become problematic and one tends to avoid them, especially before the longer training runs.” Farhad and his doctor wife Mala Bhambhani, who is a consultant rheumatologist, have their consulting rooms at Kemps Corner. 

No run of the mill

"Bombay is not the easiest locations to run a marathon. The heat and humidity can be very uncertain. This year however the weather conditions were very favorable as compared to previous years. The low humidity levels and the cool weather were ideal that Sunday,” relates Cyrus Mehta. The scheduled start for the veterans (the category in which he took part) and the non-elite runners was at 6.15 a.m., a full 30 minutes earlier than the previous years, which made a huge difference.

The organizers make an attempt to improve the running conditions each year, Mehta commends. "Dr Aashish Contractor is also a running enthusiast and cyclist. The medical support provided by his team and his suggestions for the betterment of this event are invaluable.” The organizers also introduced ‘the mist’ (a light spray of water) en route as a quick cool down for the runners. Water stations, which were missing on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link last year, were available. "This is a genuine necessity. The Sea Link is a real challenge for runners like me since it commences after we have completed nearly 24 km. The lack of shade and the incline for nearly two km can truly test your endurance,” he describes.

Passing the 30 km mark in a decent timing of 2.52 hrs, Mehta found both legs cramping, the fatigue factor kicking in. "I eventually finished in 4.27 hrs, which was a trifle disappointing,” he says. Mehta’s net rank was 187 out of 964 and veteran category rank 37 out of 159. "I was happy, however, to finish in what was not my best timing nor my worst,” says the marathoner who works with the Société Générale in Bombay. "As the saying goes, ‘We live to run another day.’”

Daring to run    

It is a daunting distance even for those in the prime of youth. But 71-year-old Maheli Amalsadvala showed grit and gumption to compete in the super veteran category, running the required 42.2 km in a time of 6.16 hrs. His category rank was 10, his net rank 938.

Amalsadvala has participated in six consecutive half marathons from 2005, with official timing certificates. "After the January 2010 event, I had planned to compete in the full marathon next year,” he says, notwithstanding the fact that doubling the distance from 21 km to 42 km is a quantum leap! "My practice sessions are undertaken throughout the year, even during the rains. I run along Marine Drive, the Pedder Road incline, Worli-Haji Ali and at the Race Course where a joggers’ track is available. Running on the roads is alluring, especially at 4.30 in the morning!” he describes. In addition, he says, he walks good distances — as much as five to 10 km every working day of the week for personal errands, etc. "I climb four storeys without any element of breathlessness. That is necessary and is a part of routine exercise.” A full body massage throughout the year with oils from Kerala helps invigorate tired muscles, he advocates.  

Four months before the event, practice picks up pace. Amalsadvala increases the running distance from 12 to 15, 20, 23 km "as my mood and circumstances permit. I do not over exert or force myself in any manner whatsoever.” The winter being colder this year proved to be an asset. "In my last practice run on January 8, being the coldest day of the season, I could complete 27 km in three hours. That gave me the confidence about the probability of achieving 42 km on January 16,” he narrates. 

Retired from all professional and business commitments, the senior citizen devotes a good amount of time to cosmopolitan social causes. 

Easy strider

Singularly unfortunate this year was 58-year-old Ervad Aspi Rao. Completing the full marathon, he discovered to his dismay at the finish line that the timing chip attached to his running shoes had fallen off somewhere along the route, so no official timing was assigned to him. "By my watch, I had run the distance in 5.18 hrs. I feel disappointed, no doubt, but one has to take this in one’s stride,” says the priest who works full-time at the Sethna Agiary in Tardeo. Problems with the running chip have been experienced by other runners too, he adds. 

Heart and sole    

Surmounting several surgeries, 28-year-old, differently-abled  Ervad Yazad Mobedji ran the half marathon for the first time, accomplishing it in a creditable 4.02 hrs. Despite the difficulties, Yazad has completed a course in hospitality and catering and now works with a well-known five star hotel. He is also a part-time priest at a Fort agiary. 

The senior Mobedji, Jehangir, who is also a practicing priest, reached the finish line after his son. "This is a very emotional moment for me. It was his first marathon and he successfully completed it. I can’t describe my feelings right now,” the father is quoted in the Mumbai Mirror, January 17. Jehangir has run the full and half marathons in earlier years.

Run for fun

"The greatest benefit of the marathon comes not from running the distance on race day but from the discipline that comes from following the training program,” remarks Neville Fanibanda. "The miracle was not that I finished the race but that I had the courage to start. Around 30 km, I hit ‘the wall.’ I got cramps in both legs and it became very difficult to continue.” Taking one painful step at a time in what was his third marathon, he completed the race in 5.43 hrs, with a net rank of 716 and a net category rank of 131. "This timing is less than the official cut-off time of six hours and makes me eligible for automatic registration for next year’s event,” states Fanibanda who is with BNP Paribas in Bombay.

Knowing her onions

Zarin Havewala was once again a winner at the Kingfisher Run-in-Costume contest. Dressed to highlight the price rise in onions, Havewala was the Kingfisher Mast Mumbaikar first runner-up.  

Among the celebrities spotted at the SCMM were well-known sculptor Arzan Khambatta and the mother-daughter duo of Parmeshwar Godrej and Tanya Dubash.

Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited took part for the fourth consecutive year in the SCMM, registering two teams comprising 50 employees in the Corporate Challenge category to run the half marathon. A total of over six lakh rupees were donated by Godrej, to be given equally to ALERT India (which takes care of leprosy patients), Vatsalya Trust (for orphan/destitute children) and Republican Sports Club (where Marzban Patel coaches underprivileged children for hockey), mentions Nariman Bacha of the administration department.