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Looking Back – Mumbai Marathon 2009
Soon after running, rather walking, the Mumbai Marathon in 2006, I wanted to get back to the city again and banish the ghosts of not finishing the run in specified time. Given the registration fee was not exorbitant as it is today, I registered for the event again in 2007 and 2008, only not to…
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The Sittilingi Run
In October 2008, I moved to Bangalore to take up a new job. Around the same time, I was training for the Singapore Marathon to be held in December 2008. Shumit Vatsal, a Chennai Runner then living Bangalore, introduced me to Anita, Sanjeev, and Santhosh, who were part of the Bangalore Chapter of Asha for…
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Isn’t it Risky?
In a scene from the movie World’s Fastest Indian, there was a conversation between Tom and the protagonist, Burt Monroe, played by Anthony Hopkins, Tom: Aren’t you scared you’ll kill yourself if you crash?Burt Munro: No… You live more in five minutes on a bike like this going flat out than some people live in…
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Tour Diaries – Tour of Tamil Nadu 2022
A cycle tour, unlike other types of touring, is more about the journey than destination. My daily notes for over 8-days are presented here in a chronological order. I have added some references and other information to what was earlier published on my Facebook page for my friends. December 23, 2022 – Day Zero After…
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Bringing Diversity in Running
On February 23, 2020, 25-year old Ahmaud Arbery went for a run in the Satilla Shores, an upper class locality in Glynn County, Georgia, United States of America. In the process, he entered an under-construction site and spent some time inspecting it without causing any damage. Alarmed by the presence of a stranger in that…
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Sportswashing Running Events
The Indian Premier League or IPL, unleashed a new era of crass commercialisation of sports in India. As the late Mike Marquesse wrote in 2010, …the IPL faithfully mirrors the dark side of the neoliberal dream and the true cost of unleashing the private sector. – Mike Marqusee Among the various things that were commercialised,…
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A Scorecard for the year
Recently, users of Strava, a popular app among fitness enthusiasts, would have received a barrage of statistics in the form of ‘Year in Sport’. The aggregate data comprising no. of activities, time spent, kilometres covered, ‘kudos’ received, etc., is presented as a comprehensive summary of the year bygone. While the objective may be noble, the…
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தம்பிக்கு எந்த ஊரு
Initials indicate town and parentage… But that’s for lesser folk who have to announce their antecedents. It’s not necessary for me. If you say Margayya, everyone will know. However, that’s not my name RK Narayan, The Financial Expert During my cycling trips through Tamil Nadu, the often asked question is, “தம்பிக்கு எந்த ஊரு” – Thambikku…
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STOP Running
One Friday evening, about 5 years ago, I started reading Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog where these lines appear., “You run and run, mile after mile, and you never quite know why. You tell yourself that you are running toward some goal, chasing some rush, but really you run because the alternative, stopping, scares you to death. Phil…
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To Measure, or not to Measure…
Sometime back, I attended a lecture on the pitfalls of modern Education. The speaker passionately spoke on the negative impact of examination on the learning process in Children. He went on to elaborate on how the fear of failure inculcated through examinations have severe consequences on their emotional and mental development. When the house was…
Running and Beyond 