May 6, 2017 - The 4th Charge of the British History Half Marathon

Today's run was sponsored by Isaac, Adam, Brianne, Scott, Justin, Jacinta, Nathan and the other AES Runners! Thanks so much for continuing to help fund the Ty Taylor Memorial Campship Endowment. We're getting so close to fully funding the endowment, I appreciate your help! Soon, YMCA Camp Miller will be able to send a deserving camper to camp for free every year in honor of an amazing man.

It's not easy to write a sentence that can fully introduce the importance of my running group. Over the years, the AES Runners have challenged me, supported me, indulged me and more. They've trained me up for my first half marathon, my first marathon and more. They've (almost) always said yes to my crazy ideas for runs. And they've pushed me to create a monster - The British History Half Marathon. And they've consistently opened up their wallets to donate to my causes. This year alone, AES Runners past and present have donated over $600. Amazing.

The British Half Marathon was born in 2014, from a desire to do a long training run on new territory. It occurred to me that a point-to-point run could take us pretty far from home. A 13 mile line on a Google Map brought me to the Coronation Memorial and the BHHM quickly started taking shape.

You can read all about that inaugural version here. It's also referenced pretty heavily here. For various reasons, 2015 and 2016 never got write ups. Here's a quick look at last year's event.

If you're paying attention, you can see it all. A bus, over 20 runners, historical monuments, note cards with "fun facts." It's all there. The only photo missing is the one from the end. The one showing my stitches. I'll come back to that.

Here's a video of this year's event.

The British History Half Marathon has grown into something special around here. The preparation begins early, with runners of all abilities training and me writing emails. An excerpt:

Depending on your side of history, Mangal Pandey either bravely became the first martyr of Indian independence or foolishly presented himself as a bhang and opium-induced traitor and mutineer as he attacked Lieutenant Baugh, Adjutant of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry and later, Sergeant-Major Hewson with musket blasts and talwar blows.  

Either way, he turned his musket upon himself and discharged a round into his own chest. It wasn't enough to kill him though, and he was hanged without recourse. 

On 6 May 1857, the 34th was was disbanded "with disgrace" for failing to perform their duty in restraining a mutinous soldier and their officer. It's widely regarded as the start of the Indian Rebellion. Or, depending again on your side of the story: the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857, the Indian Insurrection, or India's First War of Independence.
Almost 100 years later, on 6 May 1954 Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister, CH, CBE, became the first human being to break the sub-four minute mile. 

An auspicious day then, it would seem, for the Fourth Annual British History Half Marathon.
Save the date 6 May 2017, history buffs and runners. More information will be coming soon.


Early bird registration begins today.

Yours,
Rao Bahadur Jason Coleman, Receiver of 17 Gun Salutes, HEIC, Event Organizer

You see, indulgence. And support. This is what the AES Runners have allowed me to become. A fake running event organizer and armchair historian. But mostly, a writer of silly emails. Another excerpt:

InclusivenessThere will be at least 19 of us running! While not the largest fake running event that I have ever organized, it's still a big group! Please be mindful of the fact that there are many different people with different paces and abilities on the road. More than anything, everyone wants to participate. This is a slow-paced race with lots of built in stops. 

Water, First-Aid, Emergency TransportationAs we will be running through a city of almost 20 million inhabitants, we are never far from any of these things. That said, there is no official support. Make sure to bring a phone, camera, battery pack, water, money, energy gels or anything else that you might need to be on the road for 2 1/2- 3 hours.

Indeed the 4th charge was an inclusive and participatory event. 20 runners showed up at 5:45am to collect my ridiculous home-made bibs, Indian Tricolor wristbands and board the bus to the Coronation Memorial. The fact that the runners were now a captive audience allowed me to read some notecards and set the scene for today's run. The Mutiny of 1875, or the beginning of the War for Indian Independence. See the 2014 post for more details on the history, today I'll concentrate on the run. 

As always, our arrival at the Coronation Memorial attracted the attention of North Delhi's early birds. More surprising to me though, was the sheer number of people out and about at 6am. The park was full of people! And statues of old, dead British guys. Among them was King George. Another note card from me (think elaborate descriptions of Durbars) and we were off and running. For the 2017 edition, there were several veteran runners. Memories of years past were flowing as quickly as the water from my Camel Back the year it exploded at the beginning of our run.

The first two miles of the run are not pretty. There's a strip of junked out cars, some olfactory delights and once, a steam roller that was laying fresh blacktop that we had to dodge. The first real point of interest beyond the Memorial is Delhi University. Sneaking through the gates ("Entry Restricted"), there was talk of monkey attacks (looking at you Alexa) and a quick stop to pose with Gandhi (because, India).

The first scheduled stop occurs at the Flagstaff Tower. This windowless castellated tower was the hideout of the few surviving British once the mutineers tore through town. I grabbed this pic from my elevated vantage point. I love it and everyone in it. They inspire me.

They also allow me to read them notecards, so it was a quick summary and an quote from everyone's favorite British-Delhi-Historian, William Darlymple and we were off again. But not for long. I quickly spied a group of men doing laughing yoga and insisted we join in. It was simply wonderful. It was not the first time I've spied these hysterical yogis doing their thing on a run, but it was the first time I've joined in. I've been emboldened by my impending departure and want to catalogue as many memories as possible. Today would definitely allow me to do just that.

Next stop was an Ashoka pillar from the 3rd century BC. At this pillar, I turned over my docent role to Laura, an actual history teacher. She regaled the group with enthralling history and I made a joke about erection.

Continuing on toward the Mutiny Memorial, memories of years past began to creep in. Like the first year when we cajoled the guard to let us in. And the second, when we knew he would. And the third. It was like visiting an old friend. Here the history took a decidedly revisionist bent as the cards examined the very nature of history. Who's story is it to tell? Can it ever be told accurately? Had we really already run five miles?

The next section has historically been where my "half-marathon" gains notoriety and extra miles. This year, I was bound and determined to not get lost or add too much extra milage, so I kept tight track of our turns. By now though, the route was feeling pretty familiar.

Stops at an old city gate, a powder magazine and The Red Fort were the locations of the first goodbyes. Among the great things about city running is the ability to jump in an autorickshaw at any point and rest tired muscles and cruise home (reasonably) comfortably. The signage advertising a magician at The Red Fort was a source of much revelry and we were off again.

Our revelry was soon squelched when we passed what could only be understood as a dead body. Questions and curiosity sobered us all as a brave runner went back to check it out. After what seemed like an eternity, there was a twitch and a rise of the chest, assuring him enough that there was life left in that body, but how much and toward what future was uncertain. The next mile was a quiet one.

By now we had run almost nine miles, so a break for drinks and mental decompression was quickly organized. At a busy intersection in the alleys of Old Delhi, our drink stop allowed for a lot of gawking. And almost got us run over by motorbikes and chicken trucks. Oh, and don't forget the van full of goat heads.

From Old Delhi, the route almost runs out of Mutiny material.There's a mile long section in the hot sun over an overpass (re-included in this year's run due to last year's inability to cross the train tracks any other way, adding an extra mile). There's a stretch of the Janpath and things start to look familiar. It's our Delhi, the Delhi of India Gate runs, the Kessel Run and countless other pounded pavements from countless runs with the group.

The last (almost) scheduled stop comes at the Secretariat, center of operations for the Indian government. Although it was not created when the events of 1857 took place, I like to stop to look at the quote written over the entrance:

“Liberty will not descend to a people. A people must raise themselves to liberty. It is a blessing that must be earned before it can be enjoyed.”

In seeming fully disrespect for the people of the country that they had violently overtaken, the British inscribed this scolding. However, it turned out that the people of India would get the last word. Not only did the overthrow the Raj and declare independence, but they left the inscription so we can still read it today.

The last last stop on the BHHM was added this year. It was a stop to commemorate the spot where I ran into a pole last year and almost broke my nose.

I stumbled for three steps, tried to keep running and continued staring at my GPS. Feeling like I had been punched by a prizefighter, my only thought was, “Get the group back home.” Then a more rational idea emerged. “You just ran into an iron street sign. Look up and take a moment to assess.”

Despite my efforts to plan a memorable day of running and learning, The Third Annual British History Half Marathon had taken a distinct change of course. What had started as a successful edition of a run that takes colleagues and parents on a guided history tour of one of the world’s most dynamic cities had turned into a dizzy, bloody mess. “Stitches?” I asked.

“Stitches,” came the reply. On my way to the hospital, I reflected on our running group.

I wrote those words as the introduction to my recruiting profile last year as my family made the difficult decision to leave Delhi. We've been here for nine years and it's been amazing. Our running group has been a major part of my life and I'm going to miss everyone in it beyond belief.

Thanks friends.

RUN STATS

Distance: 14.2 miles? 15.2 miles? Certainly not 13.1 miles.

Duration: 2:44:33? 3 hours?

My GPS Stopped half way, so I have two workouts for this run, and the stats are off.

For Steadmans! - The Qutub 16 Miler

This run is dedicated to the Steadman family. Thanks for helping to build a base that will eventually provide a campship to a needy camper at YMCA Camp Miller in memory of Ty Taylor. Anyone else can get a dedicated run by donating here - http://www.ymcacampmiller.org/donate/ty-taylor-campship-endowment/

We had a three day weekend the last weekend of April and I was all set to run the Qutub Sixteen Miler on Friday with the faithful crew. However, the 5am wakeup call was accompanied by a round robin of cancellations. The AQI had taken a strange upsurge for April and nobody (including me) wanted to run in the terrible air.

Dejected and disappointed, I went back to bed. I moped around all day, cursing the various reasons why Delhi has the worst air in the world. The next morning, I woke up, checked the air and saw that it hadn't improved. Determined to boost my bad mood, I pulled my mask out of storage and set out on my own to conquer this long training run.

The Qutub route is a fun one. It heads out of Chanakyapuri, into Vasant Vihar and heads uphill (in Delhi!) to Sanjay Van. Sanjay Van is a continuation of the Delhi Ridge forest, and for better or worse, it has been carefully landscaped and manicured with wonderful running/walking trails. Sanjay Van is also the home of Qila Lal Kot, which is the historic "third city of Delhi." Over the course of the last 5000 years, it's said that Delhi and its boundaries have been the site of seven distinct and different cities.  Qila Lal Kot is now in ruins, but scrambling to the top of its rubble allows for amazing views of the forest and the surrounding city. It's also a cool place to watch planes coming in to Indira Ghandi International Airport.

Coming off the road in Sanjay Van is amazing. Everything is instantly quiet and relaxed. Almost idyllic. People are walking, running and playing in the park. There's a pond!

I ran in the park for a while, checking out the views and even a Sufi Tomb. They say Sanvay Van is haunted due to the high number of these tombs and its proximity to the Mehrauli ruins. 

The focal point of the Mehrauli ruins, the Qutub Minar was the destination for this run, so I eventually ran out of the park and posed for a selfie in front of the Qutub to send to Kate to let her know that I was okay. It was hot - almost 80 degrees and the air was bad.

After a photo shoot with the Qutub in the background, I headed home. It was a long tiring run, but it left me feeling very accomplished and glad that I had headed out despite the odds.

RUN STATS

Distance: 15.65 miles

Duration: 2:03:44

Soundtrack: Shuffle of the songs on my phone

For Lynnea! - Lodi Garden

Lynnea is an old friend from Camp Miller. She was also close friends of Ty and she understands why raising the money for a recurring campship in his name is so important. If you want to see some crazy photos of her from back in our camp days, check out the Camp Miller Facebook Page. If you want to offer the opportunities that camp gave us to a lucky camper in the future, donate here - http://www.ymcacampmiller.org/donate/ty-taylor-campship-endowment/.  Thanks!

Lynnea's dedicated run is a 6.5 mile loop that is terrain well-trod for our running group. We left this morning at 5:10am and headed out for Lodi Garden. I've written about Lodi runs a few times in the past - read about them here and here. In a great coincidence, another Lodi run was dedicated to Julie, another former Miller counselor.

SIDE NOTE: The group that ran this morning is most of my core support group. Of the five us that went running, these are the ones that are almost always up at 5am, ready to run. Of the five of us that went running this morning, four will come across the finish line in Canal Park this June. And that's something that I'm really excited about. This summer, four of my Delhi friends are coming to stay at our summer house for the race! 3 of them will do the Bjorklund and 1 will do Grandma's with me. I love it when my world's overlap. Hosting this group at the house, going for a pontoon cruise, playing some bags or horseshoes, hanging out in Murphy's on the Lake is something that I can't wait to share. I'm proud of my little piece of America and I love these people, so I'm expecting a good time. For Saturday night. Friday night we have to be responsible. Spaghetti and water!

I have to say, I'd love to host a Camp reunion at the house too. What say you Miller alum?

Back to the run.

I took the opportunity to use today's run as a pace training run for the marathon. Luckily, my friends were up for it. We picked up our pace a bit and cruised out of school. We were to the park before we knew it. It's hot already and we noticed. On the way, we passed Safdarjung's Tomb.

We can't see this view, but here's a shot a took several years ago.

The park was cooler, the temps always drop in the shadows of the lush, leafy trees, and we were grateful. I had one of those moments in today's run where you look around and even though you've been there a million times, everything seems different. A slight change in light, or visiting at a different time of day and the path seems different. Strange.

Wikipedia reports that Lodi Garden houses buildings and tombs from the 15th century. In those times, small villages surrounded the tombs, but the villages were relocated in the 1930s in order to allow Lady Willingdon the opportunity to landscape the entire area into a park. After independence, the Park was renamed Lodi Garden in honor of the original architects of the monuments. Speaking of architects, Joseph Stein, the architect that designed buildings at our school, re-landscaped the park in the 1970s and included a greenhouse.

That greenhouse is the first thing we see on our loop of the park.

As we continue clockwise, we can just spy a glimpse of the Shisha Gumbad, which was originally covered in shiny blue tiles. You can just make them out in this photo I took in 2011 (to the left).

Below is a shot from inside the walls of the park's namesake, Sikander Lodi. It's a popular spot for family photos, including some of mine!



The next landmark on the route is the Athpula or "8 Piered Bridge." It was the last of the Mughal structures constructed in Delhi. We often run across it, not wondering why there is a bridge in the middle of a park, seemingly going over a lake. A guest of the eighth grade a few years ago that came to talk to the students about water explained to us that at one point in history, there was a waterway that connected Lodi's tomb to the Yamuna river which is at least 3-4 miles away.

The loop off of the bridge brings us around toward the main entrance of the park where the Bada Gumbad and attached mosque dominate the scenery. There are always large groups of people in the grassy lawns surrounding the Bara Gumbad and this morning was no exception. Lodi is a magnet for the city's early risers.

The final leg of the loop passes the last tomb in the park, that of Mohammed Shah, built in 1444. This is the first time that I've done any research on the buildings in the Garden. I've been too many times to count, but seeing that date gives me a new appreciation for our running route. Also, the morning light at Shah's tomb is always great. The photo of Mohammed Shah's tomb below is from a group run in August of 2015.

After that, it's back to the glasshouse and out of the park. Then we zipped home.

RUN STATS

Distance: 6.54 miles

Duration: 57:04

Soundtrack: Joan Shelly, Over and Even

For Dr. A! - The Old Delhi Half Marathon

Dr. A came in with a very generous donation that showed up in my records after a plea that would get this run in the books! Thanks for urging me write up my travels around my Delhi. But the thanks is truly for helping to establish an on-going campship that will award a scholarship to needy children in the name of my friend, Ty Taylor. Everyone else can donate and get a dedicated run just by clicking on this link - http://www.ymcacampmiller.org/donate/ty-taylor-campship-endowment/

By the way, Dr. A is no stranger to travel writing. Check out her work for the Washington Post here.

Saturday's run marked the third or fourth installment (April 2014) of the Old Delhi Half Marathon. There's nothing official about this run, it just happens to be 13 or 14 miles round trip. There's certainly no rigamarole or pomp associated with it. Not like the upcoming British History Half Marathon. There are no bibs, no note cards. The attraction and the allure of the run is its destination.

Old Delhi calls to us. We spend our days in leafy Chanakyapuri, where the streets are wide, the cows are few and as they say in our CPR classes, the scene is safe. Old Delhi is none of those things. It's crowded, chaotic and cacophonous. It's a little dangerous.

But more that any of those things, it's interesting. Old Delhi is real. It pulses and breathes with all of its inhabitants and it wraps you up.

Like last week, the run drew a crowd. 12 wonderful friends showed up early on a Saturday morning to head to Old Delhi. Getting there was largely uneventful. We took it easy. The air wasn't great, the heat was already getting up there and we had a large spread of runners. (Confession-these are my favorite runs). Everyone comes out, we run along at a nice pace, we chat and we enjoy the scenery. At least, the scenery that can be seen. Delhi Gate was shrouded in the Delhi pollution, and from our position high on the Raj Path, we could just make out the outline. Undaunted, we continued on.

And that's when I saw it. My second most favorite font on a building in Delhi. And it was just around the corner from my first! The All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society building has an absolutely incredible Art Deco font. The letters are so tall and skinny!

Taken from the AIFACS website. I'll take a better shot someday.

My favorite. The subtlety in the U! Oh dear.

After that occupied my time for a few minutes, we arrived in grand style to the Heart of New Delhi - Connaught Place. Our entry into the inner circle was heralded by too many street dogs to count. And they were angry. At what, exactly, was unclear. Each other? Us? The apparent lack of commitment and dedication to the revitalization of the "largest financial, commercial and business centres" in the city?

We left the dogs to their platitudes and continued on. From CP, the run gets "interesting." As Laura and I were running alongside speeding, deafening traffic on Minto Road, I leaned over and yelled, "This is nice. Relaxing." The population density seemed to double or triple as we crossed the border of the two Delhis. Looking up, I saw three hornbills in flight. I tried to attract the others runners attention, but I think they just assumed my muffled yells were related to me getting run over by an autorickshaw or falling in a hole. At least I saw them. Or was it a diesel-injected dream?

And then we were there. The literal edge of Old Delhi. All twelve of us stopped for a group photo in front of the Turkman Gate, one of the five remaining entrance/exits to the walled city of Shahjahanabad, the seventh incarnation of the city of Delhi.

After the photo (and a breather), I immediately took the group on  a wrong turn. It was wrong for two reasons. Number 1: We were going the wrong way. Number 2: We ran past a smushed cat that was suffering far worse intestinal problems than Adam. Back on track, we headed into the fray of Sitaram Bazaar. We were dodging bikes, motorcycles, bicycle rickshaws, cows. You name it, we saw it. Old Delhi was positively buzzing with excitement at 7 in the morning on a Saturday and it was a workout just avoiding running into everything. At one point, it was suggested to me that I not bump into the cart in front of me. Why? Because of the legs (goat?) sticking out the back under the tarp were dangerously close.

From the Sitaram Bazaar, the route turns to the heart of Old Delhi at the Chawri Bazaar Metro Station. Many years ago, Kate and I ventured into the warrens of lanes and "go-downs" to have our wedding invitations printed. Years before that I was hopelessly enamored and agog at the smells, sight, ,and sounds of car horns honking, especially when I realized there were no cars on the street. I was passing a row of shops SELLING car horns and advertising by letting their product blast out its message.

And then, Jama Masjid.

Jama Masjid is one of the largest mosques in India and was built in the 17th century by Shah Jahan, the namesake of the seventh city of Delhi and the builder of the Taj Mahal. It's the center of all activity in Old Delhi and we journeyed around its exterior before we split off into the group that would run back and the group that would autorickshaw back in style.

The next stretch of old Delhi was more dodging and more gawking. But not too much gawking, as full attention was needed to ensure uprightedness! Today there were no goat heads, but plenty of buckets of brains. And livers. The last sight in Old Delhi this morning was a man walking out with a carcass. Over his shoulder. Fully carved. No wrapping.

We exited back at the Turkman Gate and headed home. It was a long (basically) straight trip home with not too much excitement. Which I suppose was good. We needed some time to decompress and unpack the images that will surely be enduring images of our time here in the Heart of India.

RUN STATS

Distance: 14.11 miles

Duration: 2:10:01

Soundtrack: Modest Mouse

For Andrea and the Curreys!

Last Friday's run was mentally and physically a big one.

I've been struggling with my program due to the end of the school year, the trip back home, lowered motivation and fatigue.

The run before this didn't end well, but I was determined to make up for it. I had my eyes set on a 20-24 miler, the last really long run before the marathon. I had done an 18 and a 20 in Delhi, and my training program called for another 20 miler before the end. The problem though, was that it was scheduled for the weekend that we were traveling from India back home. I wanted to do it earlier in the week, but I just never got to it. I wanted to up it to 22, so I could have a new longest run and get a bit closer to the magic 26.2 mile mark.

As you can tell by the name of the run, I didn't get there. What happened?

1. Physical exertion set in.
2. Mental blocks took over.

Before I left for the run, it was already in my head. I was dreading the distance and whining about having to go. I appealed to my friends for a motivational donation. Andrea stepped up. It helped and I set out to run the Mesabi Trail near my house. The Mesabi Trail is a great bike trail that will eventually be a 132 mile paved bike trail running through most of northern Minnesota. My idea was to run the 11 mile stretch from Eveleth, through Gilbert, to Virginia and back. (By the way, this seems inconceivable after running in Delhi. A run that would take me through 3 towns? Crazy.)

The trail is great. It's extremely well-maintained and beautiful. For the first four miles, I didn't even see another soul. I ran through the mixed forest, admiring the trees, listening to the birds and meditating on the sounds of the hidden streams that outed their existence with their gurgles that proved they were there.

CC: By- Ken Ratcliff

At mile four, I entered the town of Gilbert. Gilbert will always live in my memory as the "Place Where I Bought my Record Player." Our record player is a big feature of Life at the Lake, so whenever I pass through Gilbert, I smile at the memory of bargaining the woman down to $20, then proceeding to spend more on a record cleaning kit and a needle.

From Gilbert, the trail turns west and passes through more forest. This is mining country and the deep lakes along the way are old open pit mines that have been filled with water. The route also passes through a rock cut from 1893, the original path being a rail line. It's very picturesque.

At this point, I was feeling good. My legs were heavy, but it wasn't unbearable and I didn't feel terrible.

Around mile 8, the route turns north and enters the city of Virginia. The City of the Virginia is the "Queen City" of  the Iron Range. It was once a bustling headquarters of iron ore mining operations. Mining by nature is boom and bust, so Virginia has had its ups and downs. The portion of the Mesabi Trail that goes through Virginia is great, with lots to see along the way. It was here that I started to feel a little worn out. There are real live actual hills on the trail, which is something that I'm not used to dealing with and they took a toll. The hills combined with sleep deprivation, poor hydration and a baditude, to be fair.

As soon as Ms. MapMyRun announced 11 miles, I turned around and headed back. I'm not a big fan of out-and-backs, so this may have been one of the fatal flaws of this run. Knowing that I had to turn around and backtrack really got in my head. At this point, I had been on the trail for over 1.5 hours. Knowing that I still had to do that much was tough on my already weak psyche.

My mind started wandering, making deals and building escape plans. It was tough. Approaching 13 miles, I knew that I could make it at least that far without stopping or resting. I've done three half marathons, so I made up my mind to go at least that far. From Mile 13 to mile 14 was an uphill gain of almost 200 feet. That's probably more than all of my Delhi gains put together. At mile 14 I took a walking break.

It was the beginning of the end.

Once the decision to quit has been made, it's very difficult to overcome.

The next four miles would see my average pace drop from 7:59 for the first five miles, to 8:41 for the next, 10:06 for miles 11-15 and finally 12:27 for the final 2.79 miles. My body and my mind had given up. As I quit, I looked at my phone and saw that the Curreys had donated too. Ugh.

I skipped the last four miles of the run, walked the rest of the way back to my car and headed home broken, nervous and weary of my decision I had undertaken to run a marathon. I felt like a let down to my donors and myself.

How to fix this? Luckily, I come from a school where the growth mindset is highly valued. I'm going to learn from this and make it better. I'm going to refuse to let it hinder me and I'm going to run that marathon. And it's going to be great. I'm going to meet my life goal of running a marathon. I can do this.

This run belongs to Andrea and the Curreys.

I'm dedicating runs to raise money for a campship in memory of our friend Ty Taylor at YMCA Camp Miller. Click here or here to donate. Please make sure you choose the Ty Taylor Campship option. And please let me know if you've made a donation so I can thank you!

RUN STATS:

Distance - 17.97 miles

Time - 2:49:21

Soundtrack - Phish, Plastilina Mosh, Primus, Public Enemy (I was in the P's of my music library)

For Liz and Adam!

Saturday was the big day. It was a day that had been percolating like a pot of coffee in my grandfather's electric coffee pot.

The British History Half Marathon had finally arrived.

I originally planned this route in October of 2012 and had hoped to run it last year. The grand plan was a themed run inspired by the Siege of Delhi in 1857. I had traveled to the Coronation Memorial Park a few years ago and it just happened to be about 12-14 miles from campus. An idea was born. Why not do a point-to-point half marathon that started at the Coronation Memorial, passed through some major landmarks from the Delhi Mutiny and finish at school?

Sadly, the run never happened last school year. For various reasons, I couldn't inspire enough people to join me. But this year, things were different.

I started promoting the run on our running group a few months ago, trying to drum up interest and give people enough time to get up to distance.

One of the runners I hooked for this run was Adam. As a high school history teacher, Adam was keen to join. If you look back at the blog you'll see that Adam has joined for pieces of other fun runs. He was along for the Old Delhi Half, the Tughlaqabad 18 Miler and last weekend's Goodbye 10 miler. He's always been supportive of my themed runs, especially my Delhi sight-seeing runs and my historical tidbit runs. Thanks for the donation friend, I look forward to many more runs with you next year!

Today's other donor, Liz, has been a running buddy for a long time. Liz was very excited to join us and had been building up, getting ready, until she suffered some running injuries that have put her out of commission. Sadly, she's moving away, so our next run is a bit of a question mark. That said, in the world of international schoolery, I've learned that anything can happen. Thanks for your generous donation and thanks for being a friend. I've loved the running we've done together over the years!

The run starts from the Coronation Memorial Park. This park was the original site of the three Durbars that were held on the location. The first was in 1877 and commemorated the ascension to the throne of Victoria. Another Durbar was held in 1903. The durbar of 1911 was the only one attended by the King, King George V. The photo below marked the starting line or our run, the state of George V that originally stood in the cupola behind India Gate. It was moved to Coronation Park in the mid-1960s and it sat in an overgrown, weedy circle with other deposed British statues for years. 

The last time I was at the park, I had to creep through a half-open fence and wandered among the statues and empty pedestals. This time, I arrived in caravan with the 10 other runners to find that the park had undergone a significant face-lift. The statues had been repositioned in a circle surrounding the obelisk commemorating the 1911 Durbar. Extensive sidewalks and buildings are also being built, with the promise of an elaborate park.

We set out on the run, down a busy and dirty street. My run stopped abruptly, with water pouring down my back. My hydration pack had sprung a leak. My friends leapt to my aid as soon as I yelled "Help!" One was unsnapping my bag, another was pulling out the bladder and the rest stood bravely by, laughing, realizing that I wasn't in fact, peeing my pants.

After some adjustments we continued toward Delhi University. A crowd of people were on their way somewhere, a rally(?) - a party(?). We'll never know, because they went right and we went left. The first adventure of the day was under way as we all passed through a gate that definitely suggested that our entry might be restricted. It wasn't, thankfully, and we cruised through the quad.

Heidi and Tara. And Gandhi.

The next stop on the tour was the Flagstaff Tower. During the 1857 mutiny, the British wives and children holed up here waiting for news. I tried my best to recollect the story as I told my tour group and suggested they read more about it on my website - wikipedia.org

Great group of supportive friends!

We continued through the Kamla Nehru Ridge, again surprised at what great green areas there are in the city and we hit our first detour. After we crossed the road, entered a private nursery and were encouraged to leave, we were faced with the dilemma of choosing left or right. I took it upon myself to choose right and off we went. In a big circle. I probably added close to a mile with this wrong turn. Sorry team. Once we were back on track, we were running up a long hill (!) filled with monkeys. Sorry Ted. The next sight to behold was the Mutiny Memorial. We convinced a guard to let us in and it was time for selfies.

The Mutiny Memorial was the last stop in the Ridge, so we left, ran along a gnarly busy road filled with cars, dust and sun for too long, then turned off in search of the Red Fort. We missed the Kashmeri Gate, which was the entry point to the city of Delhi in 1857 and an important battle sight. We did reach the Red Fort, though and were able to run along its moat.

Preparing to leave Old Delhi, we stopped by the Delhi Gate for a quick photo, then off to the Turkman Gate. 

Near the Turkman Gate, we stopped for a drink break.

Pictured: Getting Drinks

Pictured: Nonplussed Observer

After finally leaving Old Delhi, we cut through Connaught Place (more selfies!) and then started the final leg back to school. At this point, we had covered almost 14 miles and I was feeling good. The pace had been relaxed, I was feeling strong and it was fun.

Getting back to school, we made sure to loop around so we could all finish together. Our half marathon had turned into almost 16 miles, so people were pooped. With only four miles to go to reach the 20 miles mark, I had to add another loop. I was feeling good, so I decided to go for it. Bernie and Ted joined. The first mile was great. When we hit the park, suddenly the heat came on strong. We were in full sun and our legs finally started talking to us. The Nehru Park Loop record is around 10:40, but it took us over 14 minutes that day.

We pulled up to school, the MapMyRun lady whispered 20 miles in my ear and I was satisfied. It was a great day of running and a great day with my friends. You guys rock!

This run belongs to Liz and Adam!

I'm dedicating runs to raise money for a campship in memory of our friend Ty Taylor at YMCA Camp Miller. Click here or here to donate. Please make sure you choose the Ty Taylor Campship option. And please let me know if you've made a donation so I can thank you!

RUN STATS:

Distance - 20.27 miles
Time - 3:02:43 - Over three hours of running!
Soundtrack - Death From Above 1979, Nine Inch Nails, Panda Bear, Hy Brazil Vol. 1 ...

May 13, 2013

I took the weekend off from running and was rewarded with more donations! I know that's not how it's supposed to work but, Sharon, this run's for you. Thanks for your kindness.

Today's training run was a 5 Miler that I've been keeping in my back pocket for a while. I designed the run almost exactly one year ago; it was mapped on May 15, 2012 but I've never run it. At that point last year, I was experiencing the pains of training. My back was killing me. I thought maybe it was due to all of the street running I had been doing, so I made "The Low Impact 5 Miler." It was designed primarily around the the massive green lawns in Chanakyapuri, Shanti Path and the dirt paths of Nehru Park.

Chanakyapuri was designed as an add-on to New Delhi in the 1950s, after India won its independence from Britain. The area was set up as the Diplomatic area, a place to build all of the embassies that would soon be moving into the capital of the nascent nation, eager to develop diplomatic relations. The focal point of this new neighborhood would become the Shanti Path, or the Peace Road, with its sweeping, manicured, green lawns. It was eventually lined with trees and embassies. The streets surrounding the Shanti Path speak to us of the ideals of this new area of diplomacy. Panscheel Marg is the "Street of the Five Principles", celebrating a 5 nation treaty signed by PM Nehru. Satya Marg is the "Street of Truth," Niti Marg is the "Street of Politics," and Naya Marg is the "Street of Justice." Sader Patel, Jose Rizal, Jose Artigas, Alexander Dubceck, Kwame Nkrumah and Andre Malraux were all heroes and Chanakya himself was an ancient leader of India, a master of politics and diplomacy.

The run started and finished on Andre Malraux Marg, named for a French author, statesman and convicted tomb raider. This marg is a very standard part of almost all of my runs. The US embassy compound takes up two blocks, with the Swiss and French to the right. A right-hand turn in the shade of trees on the access road and Keir and I were running past Myanmar, Russia, the Netherlands and Canada. Not bad for a few minutes. From Canada, it's a straight shot across Shanti Path, dodging cars, auto-rickshaws and buses (not too many at 6am) and then a left-hand turn on the opposite access road. Now heading northeast, we passed Germany, Sudan and an abandoned(abandoned-looking?) Serbian embassy. Next is Pakistan with its towering blue domes and we take a right turn to head to Nehru park. The loop in Nehru Park is about 1.6 miles on a packed dirt track, then it's out and back to Peace Street. Another right and it's past the Commonwealth - Australia and the British High Commission. You see, they have High Commissions, we have embassies. Same, same, but different. The Norwegian Embassy is neatly tucked into the far corner of Shanti Path, then you cut across again and the northwest corner is bounded by the China. The US, Brits and Chinese all have huge plots of land. The next embassy comes after crossing Panscheel Marg, where the US embassy starts again. Then it's back to Andre Malraux to head back home.

I can't believe it took me a year to run this route. It's simple, interesting and largely devoid of traffic, direct sunlight or the other problematic features (read: dogs, monkeys, toxic fumes) of most Delhi street runs. It's definitely a keeper and will be a quick go-to for a 5 mile run.

Thanks again Sharon for the donation. If you can help a grieving family with a small gift, please do:

https://www.coloradogives.org/forellis

RUN STATS:

Distance - 5 miles (although Keir's GPS frequently puts us at less)

Time - 37:46

Temp at 6am - A reasonable 75 degrees F

Soundtrack - More repeats. I've got to do a better job of updating the iPod.

May 4, 2013

A Popular Spot on Our Runs!

Last year when I trained for my first half marathon, I fell in love with Google Maps and MapMyRun.com. I was organizing routes for the first time in my life based on distance, so I wanted to make sure I was actually going 2 miles, 3 miles, etc. One of my first routes was a 3 miler that ran past the Salt March statue of Gandhi leading India to the sea to stand up to the British tax on salt.

When it came time to plan longer routes, I immediately took a look to see how far the Gandhi Smriti was from school. I was thinking of making a Gandhi-themed run. Smriti is a word that is usually used in the sense of remembrance, and the Gandhi Smriti is now a museum. The 5.25 mile route that eventually grew out of this search has served as the foundation of all of my themed runs. It changed from a Gandhi run to a route that went past the final resting places of three of India's most well-known leaders. Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru all passed away in my neighborhood. Of course, these runs often lead to google sessions at home to learn more about each of these folks and what happened to them. The Mahatma was assassinated at Birla House, Indira Gandhi was killed by her bodyguards and Nehru died of natural causes.

Fast-foward to a few weeks ago. I was running with friends Scott and Melissa on a new road for me when we ran past the Lal Bahadur Shastri Smriti. How could it be that there was a Smriti that wasn't a part of my run? I made a mental note to go home, find it on the map and Google it for more information. What I found was very interesting. Nehru was India's first Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi was the third and Lal Bahadur Shastri was its second. He seems to have been widely liked and humble. He died poor, under mysterious circumstances in Tashkent. He had gone to negotiate a cease-fire with Pakistan and after successfully doing that, he died of a heart attack. Some Indians allege foul play, and in accordance there are several conspiracy theory supporting details. No post-mortem was conducted, the government has no official death records, etc. I knew that this had to become a feature of my all-new Smriti run! I added it to the old route, extending it by a mile and the Smriti 6.25 Miler was born.

On May 4, greeted by Scott and Melissa once again, I offered the new route for our Saturday run. Six and change was agreeable to all and we set off. Adding to the challenge of remembering a new route, we had decided to run it backwards! By the way, this is a great way to avoid route fatigue. The run was progressing very well. There were peacocks all along the route. They were on walls, on the British era bungalow roofs, along the road, everywhere. Things in my  peacock call-induced zone out were beautiful until I was shocked back into reality when I almost touched a macaque. I was running along the sidewalk, minding my own business when I glanced to my right and a two foot tall macaque was approximately six inches away. Knowing that these aren't cute, fun monkeys like the ones in the movies, I give it a calm-assertive, Cesar Milan "tsh-tsh" to let it know that I wasn't afraid (I was) and to let it know that it should move out of my way (it didn't). Instead, it bared fangs, hissed and maybe swung at me. The split-second that this whole process had been slowly taking was interrupted by a scream from behind me, two hands on my shoulders and a jump over the bushes into the street. Scott evidently didn't trust my "tsh tsh." We were both scared crazy and the adrenaline had us running the next half mile a bit quicker.

When we got home, we had a story. I marched up to the apartment to tell it and log then run. That's when I noticed that I had cut out the Gandhi Smriti when I had extended the original 5.25 to 6.25 miles. Now it's time to figure out how to double back to Gandhi while still visiting Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi and Nehru. The Smriti 7 miler? 7.5 Miler? ...and come to think of it, I know where the grave of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, the fifth president of India is.  This route seems to be getting pretty long. Smriti 10 Miler anyone?

RUN STATS:

Distance - 6.25 miles

Time - 1:07:27

Soundtrack - More Beastie Boys (time to switch up the Shuffle)

April 30, 2013

Today's run was inspired in part by yesterday's. Today I ran two roads that I've run past a million times, another that I wasn't sure if it was really there or not, and into one of those parks I mentioned. I was lucky enough to have company again, which always helps, especially when my company humors my crazy requests to go on scouting missions.

The old memorial-image by Deepak CC-BY-SA-2.0

The run today hinged on the National Police Memorial, a park I've gone past a lot. I convinced my running partners to join me on an exploration, so we hopped the fence and went inside. One of my them had heard that there was some type of memorial that had been taken down (it was, in 2007) or was controversial(it was, a waste of government money and an eyesore), so I looked it up when I wrote this post. Here is a site from the Indian government announcing a contest to design a new memorial. The entries were due in 2011. A winner was announced, by for now, the site sits abandoned. Here's a link to the plans by the winning firm. There are staircases that lead under the central pavilion, where the tower once sat, I suppose. We went down to explore and I was sufficiently creeped out, peeking around the dark, rubble filled area. But to my surprise, there were no vagrants, miscreants, hobos or even stray dogs. Just an overriding sense of decay. Here's to hoping that Delhi eventually gets it act together and invests appropriately in infrastructure.

RUN STATS:

Distance - 4 Miles

Time - 39:48

Soundtrack - Fade to Black, A Bluegrass Tribute to Metallica

April 28, 2013

Reasons to not get up early for this morning's run:

1.  6:00am on a Sunday morning.
2. No friends to run with.
3. Last night's surprise farewell party for our school's director.

I knew it was going to be a tough one. The motivation level was low for sure. I got home, ambitiously prepared my running clothes and set my alarm. During the first of my son's nightly wake-ups, I woke up and turned off my alarm. "Forget it," I said to myself. "Too many reasons to skip the run." Luckily, he woke up again, because at 4am, I turned the alarm back on because I knew that I'd be disappointed in myself if I didn't do today's run.

Reasons to get early for this morning's run

1. This run put me to my goal distance for April.
2. This was a new route with plenty of cool new things to see.
3. The weather wasn't terrible.

So, at 6am (give or take) I set out on a new 8 Miler. I usually try to plan my runs around a theme and this one was the "Round Buildings." The first three miles were travel miles, until the first round building presented itself. The Parliament of India was built in 1912 by English architectural golden boy, Edwin Lutyens. It opened in1927 while the Brits still controlled India. It was the site of the transfer of colonial power to Nehru in 1947 and is an important building in the history of the country.

 by <DEEPAK GUPTA>

 Lutyens designed and built most of New Delhi and his buildings are interesting combinations of local and traditional styles. 

The next stop was The Tuberculosis Association of India. Not a round building, but I'm in love with the font on the front of the building. One day I'll go and take a proper photo of it. Gorgeous!

The next round building was the Gole Dak Khanna, a post office built into a traffic circle near the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara and Sacred Heart Cathedral. It was built in 1934 by R.T. Russel, the same architect who finished Connaught Place. I poked my head into the Cathedral along the way; it seems so strange to see a Catholic Mass in India.

The final round building isn't technically round, but rather octagonal. The main building of Gole Market was also designed by Lutyens and was the principal market area that served his Delhi. It fills a traffic roundabout and has seen better days. It's a shame, because the building is cool and could easily be redone into some kind of heritage shopping center, art galleries, etc. It was supposed to be redone in 2009 as part of the build-up to the Commonwealth Games, but for now, it stands in ruins.

Finally, it was more religion as I ran along Madir Marg(Temple Street). Hindu and Buddhist temples line the street. A quick diversion through the Talkatora Stadium Park had me catching glimpses of the two round stadiums built for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

RUN STATS:

Distance - 8.5 Miles

Time - 1:05:03

Soundtrack - Taj Mahal, Best of Taj Mahal and Hanapepe Dream