My first Half Marathon experience

I was finally able to run for the longest distance I have ever run, 21.097 Kms, but at a slow jogger's pace of 8 Kms/hr. Delhi had come out in its best spirits. For a change I saw smiling cops, cheering the runners while they were manning the route. The arrangement was making the runners feel like special people with all the non runners being diligently kept away from the roads :) There was also the television crew sitting on the edge of a chopper, all excited, so much so that at times they used to raise a dust storm by flying too low over the ground. There were people from all walks of life, representing all age groups right from a 3 year old kid to a few octogenarians.

Inspite of being a late riser, I reached the venue, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at 7:00 AM. The fresh early morning air was full of excitement with people stretching and warming up in the assembly area. Amongst the group there were world class athletes, corporates, teams from the defense services and not to miss running enthusiasts like me, all geared up to run for Delhi. I tried to soak in the atmosphere but there was too much action all around and all I could manage was a few glimpses of people who had turned up in their best of spirits and costumes. There were those occasional glimpses of I Pods, MP3 players and cell phones attached to the hands free earplugs. Quite interesting to note how running can be such a fun thing to do.

Our race was flagged off at 7:45 AM by celebrities and renowned sports personalities who were also there to cheer for Delhi. The crowd scattered into groups of 2s and 3s by the time we took the first turn after about 200 meters from the starting point. I spotted the first Kingfisher water station (Thanks Kingfisher for providing all the runners with water and electral) after about 500 meters and then there was one after every 2 Kms or so. There were parked ambulances, courtesy Escorts group of hospitals, with waiting doctors although I hope they didn't get too much work on a Sunday morning.

The Half Marathon started at Nehru stadium and went via Sai Baba Mandir, Lodi Road, The Oberois, Mathura Road, Purana Qila, Pragati Maidan, WHO office on Outer Ring Road, Vikas Minar, Raj Ghat, Firozeshah Kotla Stadium, ITO, Tilak Marg, Mandi House, Le Meridien Hotel, Rail Bhawan, North Block/Raisina Hill, Vijay Path, India Gate, Zakir Hussain Marg, Khan Market, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and back to JLN stadium.

On a busy traffic day I would have taken the same amount of time traveling to all these places in a public transport as I took jogging past them. While I was returning back, the Great Delhi run was already in progress and there was a huge crowd of more than 15,000 people walking and running the 7 Kms race. I was pleasantly surprised to read in the newspaper today that some proposals for friendship were also exchanged and accepted in that group of young and pretty looking people ;)

I noticed an interesting thing around the midway point of the marathon. An elderly man from "Surat" wearing a dress colored in the Indian tricolor was offering "Relispray" to lady runners but was politely telling the male runners " Sorry, Khatam ho gaya, thoda sa hi bacha hai" :). It was interesting how he was still cajoled to spray the tiring knees. There were lots of people who were running sprints interspersed with long walks. Good strategy for people who were new to the world of long distance running.

I finished 438th out of an approximate running population of about 5000 enthusiasts. I hope that next time around I would improve my speed and timing to finish amongst the top 100, atleast. Wish me luck for that ! I am going to continue to practice and run for fun :)

Some of the T-shirts said “Are you running?” as though cajoling the walkers to pick up speed. Let me say now, “Did you run?”.

There is a story, why these curvaceous roads are called "Gatta Loops". A cow had fallen down the steep slope and died. "Gatta" in Ladakhi means "cow" 

Shadow of the clouds make the barren landscape loook even more intriguing 

Snow covered mountains while going towards kargil..a rare site on the otherwise barren terrain..as the clouds are not able to cross into the Indus valley, due to high Zanskar and Karakoram ranges..most of the area gets almost no precipitation. 

If it was not for the pole which came in between me and the background this picture would have been mybest..earth looks like dough which has been kneaded by some large hands..the pole came infront of the camera as I was clicking from a moving bus on a high shutter speed mode 

Would love to roam around in these mountains..exploring the hidden gompas 

This is what I call "Moonscape" or should I say "Marsscape"..haven't been to any of those places..Maybe I can, some day :) 

This is the famous Buddha statue in Mulbekh..there is a story of a cannibal who used to stay in a hut close to Mulbekh..he used to lure unassuming tourists to stay at his place and used to kill them at night...When the increasing incidents came to the notice of local police a trap was laid and he was caught red handed..he perished but the folklore survives..I also had a meal at a roadside Muslim Dhaba in this town 

Mulbekh..while on way back from Leh..this town falls on the way to Kargil..There is a monastery carved into the hillface at the back of the picture..the town is also famous for its ancient Buddha statue carved into the hills..right next to the Leh-Srinagar highway 

Farmland, farm houses, hills, snow covered mountains and blue sky with a few clouds..all in one..do you have a similar picture ?  

Hills in Sonamarg..just about half an hour back I was crossing barren rocky mountains and these hills were lush green 

I tried to capture the contrast here..couldn't get the house out of the way as my lens was not the best..notice the mountain in the background is totally barren and the slope on the right is covered with trees..the transition happens as soon as we cross zozilla pass while coming from Drass and reach Sonamarg 

Grass Meadow in Sonamarg 

Approaching Sonamarg..very pretty approach route 

Kashmir Valley in the haze 

Gulmarg - You can see the temple which figured in a bollywood movie..remember "Jai Jai shiv shankar" 

Maharaja Hari Singh's summer palace in Gulmarg 

Road to Nubra valley and Siachen Glacier from Khardungla Pass..You could make out that I am standing above the cloud line in the background 

Graffiti on a rock next to Khardungla pass..people go to some extent to make their mark..this artist came from Manipur in the north eastern part of India 

Buddhist prayers inscribed on stones placed on top of a hill next to the world's highest motorable pass..1 hour drive from Leh 

Prayer flags and prayer point on Khardungla pass, 18350 feet. 

Namgyal Palace is right in the middle on the hillock..the polo ground is partially visible in front of the shanties. 

The dilapidated structure on the left of the picture is Namgyal palace and then on the top right is the gompa..a monk climbs up the hills every night to light the lamps at the ancient royal gompa..Rest of town is in the foreground..an example of an unplanned city gorwing in all directions 

View of the Polo Ground..main Leh..and Japanese Stupa on a hill in the background 

A picture from inside Namgyal Palace's courtyard..some renovation work is on! 

The lower part of Leh..this picture was clicked from the Nezer gompa hill..my guesthouse was right next to this gompa..u cd also see the snow peaked Stok Kangri in the background