For the Mankers! - The Guapa Run

Another donation came in quickly from great friends and strong members of the AES running community - the Mankers. The future campers that will benefit from the Ty Taylor Memorial Campship thank you, as do I. More donations can be made at this link. Thanks in advance.

For this dedicated training run, I decided to run the route that Bernie and Laura have run more than any other - the four mile route that one or the other of them run several times a week with their dog, Guapa. I'll try not to gush on Bernie and Laura too much, but they have been big supporters of my running and have probably logged more miles with me than anyone else. Read any of my past posts and the likelihood is high that one of them was there with me. Here's one post I wrote about my bromance with Bernie as an example of my gushiness.

Just like the previous dedication, I wasn't sure what I'd write about as I took off, so I just opened my eyes and waited to see what would happen to me on this run. Living in India is a lot like living in the book To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, by Dr. Seuss. Except, the crazy things that Marco would see here are actually here and not in his mind. Almost as an answer to my dare, it wasn't long before I saw my first cool thing. It was the President's Bodyguard. As Wikipedia reports, the President's Bodyguard is an Indian Army calvary regiment. Today they are still an active regiment, tasked with the job of protecting the President of India. In addition to those duties, the mounted horseback troops are a prominent part of ceremonies in New Delhi and elsewhere.

They are based within the Rashtrapati Bahvan, or the Presidential Palace. As it occupies a sizable piece of the real estate in our part of town, we often have to run around its walls. It's not uncommon to come across the troops as they exercise the horses.

I didn't take a picture that morning, but I have in the past. It also got me thinking of the crazy animals we've come across on our runs in Delhi. Here is a sampling for you to enjoy.

The rest of the route was sadly, predictable. No crazy gutter dog on Safdarjung Road, no elephants at the Ashok and no camels. What about you readers? What's the craziest thing you've ever been surprised by on a run?

RUN STATS

Distance: 4:16 miles

Duration: 31:12

For Chico! The Markets 4 Miler

Dear Chico,

Thanks so much for the donation! It was a good kick in the pants to get out and get running after some frustrating sleepless nights. The recipients of the Ty Taylor Memorial Campship will have you to thank for their experience at YMCA Camp Miller. I know you love the outdoors, so I know that you realize how important it is to raise the money necessary to make this a yearly, recurring campship.  Tell you other dog buddies that they can donate too, and they'll get a dedicated run like yours! They can click here - http://www.ymcacampmiller.org/donate/ty-taylor-campship-endowment/

I trust you're having fun on your new running trails. Your owner did recently show this photo on his social media feed. It looks really nice.

I am a little curious though, about the blue sky and the grass. That must be quite a switch for you, no? Do you miss the dust? Coming across a squad of horses, or camels, or elephants? Is the pastoral European landscape too boring for you? I suppose it must be. I'll tell you all about the run I did on Friday, so you can relive the Delhi Experience.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the door was the heat. It's been cooler in the mornings, but Friday morning, there was almost no difference in the air temperature inside the house and out. I certainly wasn't wearing a fashionable red jumper. Shorts and a t-shirt for my run. The second thing I noticed was the darkness. Do you still run in the dark? I wanted to do a run for you that was evocative of the great old memories I had with your running partner, but our epic Washington DC route (check the archives!) seemed a bit out of the way.

As I headed out wondering what I'd write about, it became clear early. Dogs. I mean, you're a dog. It makes sense. Especially as my run basically began with dogs barking at me and cramping my style. This first dip at Mile 1 was the first dog I got a chance to explain your run to. He agrees with me that you're very generous.

The next exciting thing that happened was the complete lack of street lights on the flyover. Running into the glare of oncoming headlights made me glad that I was on the wide sidewalks of the NDMC area. 

It's puppy season here in Delhi, which is nice, because we runners can use them as a warning sign for overprotective mamas. The first litter was at Mile 1.7 just opposite of Begum Zaidi Market. This mama dog was like you, calm and collected. She didn't even bark. The next litter was at Mile 2.4 across from Basrurkar Market. Their mama was not as uninterested in me. In fact, she let everyone know that she was not happy about my cruising by. 

As I came back out on the Shanti (Hindi for peace, as you know) Path, I wryly observed a group of four men walking with canes (but not using them for walking) and the ubiquitous Delhi dog-whacking sticks. They were only steps behind a group of about 7-8 dogs. I chose the street for a hundred meters or so, passed the lot of them and hoped for a peaceful resolution.

The final stretch home was uneventful, except that I was able to negative split my last mile.

Thanks again for the donation, I appreciate it.

Love,

jason

PS. Tashi says, "Bark, bark, woof." I don't speak dog, so I hope that's not offensive.

RUN STATS

Distance: 4.04 miles

Duration: 31:17

Temperature: 73 degrees at 5:09am

Soundtrack: The Killers - Hot Fuss

Thoughts on Route Ownership

Be warned. There will be a quiz.

As I was running the other day, I started thinking about how I, as a runner, take great pride and ownership over the routes that I run and the roads that I run on. If you read the blog, you know that I am obsessive about creating new routes that not only take me to see new things, but also help in my pursuit of coverage.

But when I'm not looking for new paths, I'm plying the same roads. It occurred to me, that at 5am, 6am, when I'm hitting those same paths over and over again, I feel like I own the streets. They belong to me. I mapped the route, I named it, and I run it, so it's mine. Which is ridiculous, because: a) I share Delhi's roads with upwards of 20 million people and b) I always see other people on "my" roads.

Quiz Question 1: Do the other runners out there feel this way?

I know that Scott has the "Scott White 5 Miler" and Evan has "His Nehru Park Loop." Both are eponymously named and each of those guys would hesitate to run other variations. I also know that I have created and named dozens of routes since 2012.

That's why I buckled the other day when Melissa suggested we run "Quiet Neighborhood." That route is not called "Quiet Neighborhood," it's called the "Peacock 4 Miler." I designed the route in April of 2012. It took the name after repeated runs consistently yielded the viewing of peacocks in the same spot.

Here's a screenshot of the route:

And here's a screenshot of a very similar route, made in 2011 called "Quiet Neighborhood."

Obviously I was crushed. It destroyed my concept of ownership. Does Kira own this route? Do I need to change the name of my run? Then I really got thinking. Did someone before her run this route every Tuesday? Is new thinking derivative? Is ownership of ideas possible? Is everything just a repackage of something else? I was stymied. So I went back and ran it again, this time alone.

This is what I heard.

It was haunting. I stopped running. I turned off my music. I took out my phone and shot these videos to try to share the experience with you. It took several minutes, but I finally found one of the instigators. 40 feet up a tree, was the unmistakable silhouette of a peacock.

Quiz Question 2: So tell me, how quiet was this neighborhood?

Anyone out there have any thoughts on this? Leave the answers to the quiz questions in the comments!

RUN STATS (Feb 24):

Distance - 3.73 miles

Time - 37:49

Soundtrack - Random Playlist

RUN STATS (Mar 3):

Distance - 4.13 miles

Time - 34:22 (peacock break not included)

Soundtrack - Cacophonous Peacocks!