On Sunday morning, much before dawn, about 11,000 people gathered at Tank Bund for the Hyderabad 10K run. And the place could have almost passed off as a concert venue — with the loud music and lights. The serious runners who had turned up for the big event though, looked all set... zumba or no zumba.
Flying Sikh Milkha Singh, who was present to flag off the event, said his wish was to see an Olympic medal in running for India before he passes. But the legend also flew off track as he began justifying PM Narendra Modi’s regular trips abroad in a five-minute long rant. A few confused glances were exchanged but then, soon, it was time to run.
And run they did. From experienced runners to one of whom who decided to take off in a sari and sandals (pictured top right), the ambience at Tank Bund was one filled with cheer and joy. Until many of the runners realised their timings were rather off. Some, in fact, hadn’t even received their timings and at the time of print, were still waiting for a message from the organisers.
Shilpa Reddy, who was running with her 13-year-old son Eshaan and her friend Raghu Bathina and his kids who live in the same community, says, “It’s not the first run for any of us. In fact, we thought this was a great opportunity to run with the kids and all of us completed the run within an hour.
“But I haven’t received any message from organisers about official times. Like I said, I have participated in runs earlier, so obviously I know that you have to walk through the panels that have the sensors. I really don’t know what’s the reason for the error.” Shyamgopal, one of the organisers said: “ Yes, I heard of a few instances where the runners didn’t get their times. Each runner was given a bib which had the RFID chip which can record their timing as they cross the walking pads — one at the start, one mid-way and one in the end. So, some runners missed the one mid-way and that’s why their timing couldn’t be recorded.” But like Shilpa, many runners maintain they did go through the panels.
Some reported conflicting times. Runner Parankush Somraj, who participated in the run said, “I haven’t received my timing yet. My brother had registered himself and me and he got his. But the problem is, it seems completely off. He thought he had completed the marathon in 54 minutes but the message says more than an hour.”
Meanwhile, Dhiraj Taneja, an experienced long-distance runner said: “Even I haven’t received my timings yet. I was wondering if I should check on the website because this indeed is a goof-up and yes, I did walk through all the panels.”
Man, 80, runs with 80 kilos on back!
At the run, if there was one person who stood out because of his huge backpack with two Indian flags, it was Bagicha Singh. The man with a mission, has been walking from Kashmir to Kanyakumari for 23 years now.
In Hyderabad right in time for the marathon, Bagicha was excited to meet Milkha Singh, who of course showered praises on the man. Bagicha says, “I started walking since 1992 and there has been no stopping me. I walk because I want to spread awareness about the ill-effects of eating guthka and cigarettes, female infanticide etc. I keep walking and if there’s a school in the vicinity, I take shelter there where I am often invited to give a talk.”
