Siliguri 15K race day report - a race of bus rides.
What is the best way to run a fast 15K? Three guesses.
1. Intervals training with 800/1600 meters
Wrong there buddy.
2. Tempo intervals then?
Wrong again there mate.
3. Long tempo runs then?
Oh oh! Wrong again sir.
Then how does one do it?
Answer - Take the bus. And that is exactly what happened here in this sleepy town of Siliguri. I will come to this part later.
Pre-race registration: Information was a bit skimpy. A week before the race there was a newspaper release that said all participants for the 15K should come with a doctor's certificate, so I arranged one from a friend. I made some calls and was told to reach the Baghajatin club ( http://www.baghajatinac.org/index.html ), the organizers for the annual event, between 3 p.m and 4 p.m. on the 6th. I reached there at 3:15 p.m. or so and found a lot of runners waiting there, some of them had been there since 12 noon. So we waited and chatted. Almost everyone I spoke to said he wanted to be in the top 10 (because there is some prize money involved)! I was looking for someone who said he just wanted to finish and was relieved to find 2 guys in the end who said just that. I was not alone (or so I thought). The doctor's certificate that I had brought with me was not needed in the end of it all.
There was a brief medical checkup where they measured the pulse, blood pressure, and auscultated the heart for murmurs.
Registration fee of Rs 25/- was paid. Received a snack coupon and a cotton running shirt with a pin-on bib number. There was also going to be a bus to take the runners from the club to the starting point. Reporting time was 5:30 a.m for that. I opted to reach the starting point by myself.
Race day: My brother (Martin), his son, and two friends reached me to the start point in the car by 6:30 a.m. Got enough time to limber up, warm-up, adjust and cross-check the Garmin heart strap. It always feels either too tight or too loose to me. And I think I must have tied the laces at least 6 times, if not more. :-) The VIP, the former cricketer, Syed Kirmani, flagged off the race after a brief speech. The two small buses bringing the runners from the Bagajatin club to the start point were late, so we had to wait a while. The race started off soon after the buses arrived (after the runners stretched out a bit). It was a mixed crowd, a lot of young boys (it was an all-men's race). There was one guy who was old (52 years) and everyone in the crowds were wondering how he was going to fare - he ran well. I was one of the "older" guys.
Start: It was a sprint start. Yes, I had not seen one till yesterday. Everyone seemed to be running for their lives. I started off at a 6:20 min/km pace, so I was really behind everyone else. A lot of people in the cheering (and sometimes jeering) crowds were wondering what was wrong with me! The sea of white teeshirts in front of me faded off into the first climb, in a mostly downhill course. I looked ahead, waiting to spot the first causalities of this sprint start.
Meanwhile, this being the national highway, the traffic (that had been stopped temporarily) started moving, so I kept to the side, sometimes running on the footpath.
Running and bus rides: After around a mile, gradually the sea of white tee shirts slowed down, I could see a few runners walking and I kept up my steady pace, hoping to overtake a lot of the causalities in due time. As I neared them, I see the runners board the buses that were plying on the road! In fact, one bus conductor was urging me to ride his bus, ride ahead and run again! Nobody to check on this! Wow! Soon the sea of white tea shirts had boarded buses! I said to myself I am just going to run at a steady pace, not bother about what was happening around me.
Syed Kirmani cheers me: Around the 4-km mark, I was all alone, running my pace and this car comes up taking back Syed Kirmani and other organizers back to town. As the car passes me by, he looks out, give me the thumbs up and says "Keep it up; that is the spirit." I think he has also seen the bus riders! That pepped me up for sure. I give him the thumbs up sign. Thank you sir!
Water stops: Few and far, and mostly "only water." This was at the 5 km mark, only water, but the gents there sure cheered me well. I felt good. There was a glucose water stop at 7.5 km and a only water stop at around the 12 km mark. It was hot and very humid so I did good by asking my brother and friends to provide the hydration support along the way.
Some more pictures along the way:
This guy ran in slippers (top pic)
Below - My friend running a part of the course with me.
I was cheered along the way by a lot of people; it felt good, some even gave me a high-five!
The leg cramp: Just about 800 meters from the finish line, I got a huge cramp in my right calf. It became a ball of hard muscle mass, huge and kept swelling. I stopped, got it lightly massaged, walked a bit, and then was able to jog to the finish.
Finish line: Nobody to greet the late runners (the "bus riders" had reached after running the last stretch with "good timings." Nobody to give you the time either, so I just hit stop on my Garmin to know that the run was done for me. 1:39:15. Much slower than my anticipated 1:31:57, but it was hot.
It was a race well done for me. My very first one. I had not even run a 5K before this. I was happy with my run, but very disappointed with the organization.
And I ran it - I did not ride the bus
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John on -
I hope you guys like my report. It is a nice picturesque place. Bad organization turns me off from running here again.
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Permalink Reply by vivek sabhapati shukla on -
wow,congrats, great timings for a runner who has never done a 5/10 k. i also loved ur report
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Permalink Reply by Vivek Prasad on -
Well done John!
Never mind missing ;-) the bus!
I am sure over a time period Siliguri folks will know the meaning of such races and will participate and organize it better.
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Permalink Reply by John on
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Thanks Vivek (Shukla) and Vivek (Prasad), I sure do hope the folks understand the meaning of such races and not board the bus every time :-)..
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Permalink Reply by Veera on -
Congratulations !! Good show , John.........way to go , Maan !
I know such things can be a dampner , but you did it in the right spirit !
Cheers.
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Permalink Reply by Terry Perdue on -
Thumbs up John, you did it and did it correctly. I certainly did enjoy the full report, fine job of telling the story.
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Permalink Reply by Ram on -
Well done John in your first run. Interesting photo that of the man in slippers surrounded by tonga, a bike and two vehicles. Happy to note that something moves, nay runs in Bengal. I hope more runs do happen there and they stop the buses from running during the duration of the race, rather than allowing the runners to board the bus in the process of running. BTW, the volunteers seem mightily pleased to serve you.
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