RFL turns 5!
On RFL turning 5 years, thought of writing a small story on how it has been -
RFL is 5 years old today. On March 2005 was the first ever RFL run at
Bannerghatta road which had 46 runners, many of those runners are still with
us. That was the first year that some of the Bangalore runners trained together in a
couple of RFL monthly runs before the Lipton Bangalore International Marathon.
The google group was only created in April of 2005 and till Jan 2006 it was just about 250 runners strong. The Bangalore running season
in 2005 consisted of only 2 events, The Lipton Bangalore International Marathon
and the JSW half marathon. Both these events haven’t been organised lately.
RFL slowly grew from 250 to 500 over the next year with the season peaking again with The Times of India Bangalore International Marathon in September
2006. It wasn't happy running for all the full marathon runners from RFL as the
support for FM was pulled out in 4 hours or so. Running still didn't take a
hit, more and more people were taking to it.
It was February of 2007 when Madhu Avasarala called for doing an Ultra Marathon
in Bangalore. It was pretty clear by then that there was a need to conduct a run to set an
example of how a running event should be held. There was support from all
quarters and many serious runners pitched in. There were meetings every other Saturday
at Airlines hotel. That's where the Bangalore Ultra plan was hatched. It was
planned for December 16th 2007. Bangalore Ultra is still RFL's flagship event.
Last year’s Ultra had over 600 participants, up from 330 the previous year and
240 in 2007.
By October the registrations opened but there was another concern. All the
runners needed a long run as the final training run for the Ultra. Thanks to
Bangalore Hash Harriers, The first Kaveri Trail Marathon was planned for in
November. Though it started as a training run, KTM is now firmly ensconced in
the country's event calendar. With 170 people in 2007, 270 in 2008 and 700 +
people in its third edition in 2009, it is now a great event in its own right.
In 2008 August the first Urban Stampede was conducted. The corporate relay
which gets a lot of adrenaline going and it is getting more and more competitive
every year. In 2008, there were 78 teams. In 2009, there were 149.
In 2009 we introduced the Duathlon in June. The event has helped not just the
running community cross train but also switched gears for the cycling community
in Bangalore.
The last 5 years have been very good for us. We are now all of 7,400 member
strong. Members from all parts of the country, few from outside the country
too.
Also, along the way, we have made several new friends, run long with many interesting folks and had conversations on everything under the sun.
Many have contributed to RFL in their own way, we have been guided to where we are today. This page is not going to be enough to mention them or to show our gratitude. The sole unifying
factor between all of us being - running.
Here’s to the next long run. :)
Click here for some pictures from old RFL runs. It's on Facebook. While
you are at it, become a fan of RFL on Facebook too! (Only if you think
we are worth it)
Add a Comment
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Comment by Rajeev S Murthy on March 15, 2010 at 11:11 -
Congratulations to RFL on completing 5 years! I joined RFL in 2009 and have benefited immensely from the long runs organized. It was great to participate in the Ultra 2009 as well. Thank You and May RFL grow stronger in the years ahead and inspire, guide and motivate more runners.
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Comment by Venugopal H. on March 15, 2010 at 8:18 -
Congratulations team , wish you good luck !!!!
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Comment by SURESH PATHI on March 14, 2010 at 7:21 -
Congratulations RFL Team..u guys have given such a wonderful platform for running n made it more meaningful...
Wishing u greater heights...
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Comment by Dr. Amrita Mitra on March 13, 2010 at 13:09 -
great going rfl,u have given a meaning to many lifes!!!
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Comment by Manju Mysore on March 12, 2010 at 19:07 -
COngratulations RFL... it has certainly been an eventful 5 years for you. May you guys scale to bigger heights and cover longer distances. God bless.
Manju
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Comment by Partha Madhukar on March 12, 2010 at 18:40 -
Super achievement fellas - a team so passionate about its dreams is rare..upwards and onwards :-)
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Comment by Sandeep Sekhar on March 12, 2010 at 18:19 -
Awesome show..I picked up running last year only because of the Urban Stampede'08. Since then I have been hooked - a Runner for Life :) - Thank you RFL
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Comment by Chandra Gopalan on March 12, 2010 at 17:31 -
Congratulations guys ! You absolutely rock ! The entire running community of Bangalore owes a big thanks to you for making our city the running capital of India
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Comment by Abhijit Dange on March 12, 2010 at 17:16 -
Thank you very much! I most definitely wouldnt be running if it wasnt for you.
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Comment by Thanveer Kumar on March 12, 2010 at 17:03 -
Great going and all best - thanks to RFL running has become a part of my exercise
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