April 26, 2017 - For Melissa!

Today's run was sponsored by Melissa! 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.

This write-up is so late in coming that I'll actually dedicate two runs to Melissa. Thanks for your generosity, I appreciate it

The first run was actually in March!

Melissa, the generous donor behind this post, was visiting Delhi. As our incoming Middle School Assistant Principal, she was in town getting to know the school as part of the transition visit. When I heard that she was a runner, I couldn't resist the offer to play tour guide, so I volunteered myself to guide a morning run. Probably not fully knowing my history, she agreed. Since she was staying at the Claridges Hotel, I decide to take a loop around Nehru Park, meet her at her hotel, hit the tourist hotspots near the hotel and finish with a half lap of Lodhi Garden.

The run was an immediate introduction to urban Delhi running. Monkeys and dogs were our companions as we headed toward the Gandhi Smriti. The Gandhi Smriti is the location of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948. It's now a flashy "high-tech" interactive museum and a taciturn preservation of his few possessions, his simple living quarters and an immortalization of his final footsteps. Gandhi was assassinated in the garden of the Birla House by a Hindu nationalist that opposed his stance on Pakistan and his doctrine of non-violence.

The spot where Gandhi-ji was killed. Notice the footprint, the path traces his last steps.

Flashy Interactive Museum!

And, oh yeah. We had tea with his granddaughter. (far right)

Our run continued past another commemorative site, the site of the assassination of another famous Gandhi (no relation), Indira. Indira Gandhi was the third Prime Minister of India and was actually the daughter of Jawarharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister (who's death site is just down the road from hers!). She was assassinated famously by Sikh bodyguards who were retaliating for Gandhi's ordering of Operation Blue Star in 1984. The house is also now a museum. I still haven't visited it, but writing this post reminds me that I only have a little time. I think I will make this a mission.

We continued running, chatting the whole time, discussing the relative merits and dangers of running in a mega-city. It was as we were crossing the street near Safdarjung's tomb when it happened. I came pretty close to getting hit by a bus. Granted, it was starting from a dead stop at a red light, but it was close enough to encourage me to have a quick discussion with the driver and to (probably) scare Melissa off from running in Delhi entirely! Tranquility was restored when we arrived to Lodhi and took a leisurely half-loop in the city's idyllic heart.

RUN STATS

Distance: 7.43 miles

Duration: 1:01:32

April 26, 2017

This was the run that Melissa actually sponsored, an early morning run after a night of wonderful rain! It managed to cool things off a little, but not much. I met Justin at the gate and we set off on an hour-long run where I thought I could show him some new spots and mix it up a little bit. The first hit on this route was the pedestrian over-bridge that crosses the train tracks near the Chanakyapuri Railway Station. To call this a station is a bit of an overstatement. It's really a platform. As you can see, the station itself looks like it hasn't been used in a while.

This run features a few up and overs. First the railroad tracks, then up and over the Ring Road. We continued on through what has been a rough patch in the past, but is now absolutely terrible. Tons of construction, ripped up roads, into bright headlights...and back to the Rao Tula Ram Marg and a dash across the Ring Road at ground level.

From there, I had the idea to try to "sneak in" the front gate of New Moti Bagh. I've never tried to go in the front gate, so I thought it would be worth a try. The guards greeted us with "Good mornings," as we passed through the gate and it was a success! We took a lap around this strange anomaly of a planned community with amphitheater, parking garages and private fruit and milk shops and headed out the back gate.

Then it was all business as we headed home. Running with Justin keeps me honest. He likes to run fast. I know I slow him down, but I like to think he likes the company.

RUN STATS

Distance: 7.23 miles

Duration: 1:01:04

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 Julie!

Today's dedicated run is a very special one! It's for Julie, a fellow camp counselor and friend of Ty Taylor. He's the reason I'm raising money this year - read more about him here.

It's an appropriate donation for today's run, because there are a lot of parallels between camp life and the way we international school teachers live life "over here."

1. We make strong friendships quickly and work hard to maximize time with each other.
2. We cherish time spent together.
3. We push our boundaries and try new things.
4. We have to say goodbye to friends that we may never see again.

Over the three school years that I've been running actively in Delhi, we've formed a great group of running friends. We've covered a lot of ground together, pushed each others' limits and enjoyed hours and hours of oxygen deprived conversations!

Being the second to last weekend before the end of the school year, this was one of the last two chances to run with members of the group that are leaving us this year. Advertised as such on our Google group, I was expecting a good turn out. But I wasn't expecting the final tally. As we were waiting for Lee and Tara (two of those leavers), runners just kept showing up. By the time we left, there were eleven of us! This is by far the biggest group run that I can remember in a long time.

A ten miler was planned through some of the usual scenic spots in the neighborhood. Lee wanted another chance to see the familiar sites that have propelled us through the miles over the last few years-I can't blame him. It's like the last lap around camp before we headed home at the end of each summer. Goodbye Paddle Shack, Goodbye Initiative Course, Goodbye Dining Hall...Goodbye Lodi Garden, Goodbye India Gate...

I'll refrain from getting too mushy (it's that time of year again) and I'll write my goodbyes next week.

The run itself was a good one. After the 18 miler from last week, this was a surprisingly easy-going run. Nothing too crazy happened on the run, lest one small monkey-rich street. This run was all about spending some time together, having a few last conversations and beginning the inevitable countdown.

At the same time we were focused on finishing the run.

Finishing, because we had planned breakfast and pool time at the club. Is that the same thing as a kitchen raid? ;)

Good times friends, good times. More to come next week-weepy goodbyes and all that.

This run belongs to Julie!

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 - 10.05 miles

Time - 1:28:31

Soundtrack - Wu-Tang Clan

May 25, 2013

Saturday's run was sponsored by Melissa and Scott! Thanks a million. Your donation is well-appreciated.

It's appropriate that this run was sponsored by Melissa and Scott because it was the three of us that went for  a run on Saturday. I've had a standing appointment to run with any and all comers this year as I've been training and Melissa and Scott have shown up for several. When I saw their names appear on the fundraising site Friday night, I wasn't surprised. They're very generous friends and we've become closer over the years through the heat, the sweat and the numerous miles.

We headed out for a nice 6.5 Miler, the Lodi Garden run. Lodi Garden is a favorite run for many of us, due to the shade, the wonderful monuments and the people watching. If you live in or near New Delhi and you're interested in a morning walk, jog or laughing yoga, this is the place for you. It can be a lot of fun to run to the park and see all of the people. Saturday was no exception. There seemed to be more people than usual, and finding room to run on the jogging track wasn't easy. No laughers this time, but there were plenty of people doing yoga-in groups, alone or just simply taking a moment to do a simple sun salutation. By the way, this is rapidly becoming one of favorite things to see on my morning jog. A faithful Delhite steps out of the shadows into the sunlight, brings his or her hands together in the namaste and takes a moment. At times, it can be magical. The ancient ruins of Lodi Garden make it even more spectacular. There's something that's so reaffirming about watching someone take a moment to give reverence to something that most of us take for granted. The sun for example. Or a tree.

Saturday's run was a good training run for all of us. Melissa and Scott will be running a half marathon in Milwaukee this summer. The pace was good and the weather wasn't too nasty.

As always, help if you can!

https://www.coloradogives.org/forellis

Here are a few pics of Lodi Garden that I took while not running!
 

RUN STATS:

Distance - 6.5 miles

Time - 1:10:06

Soundtrack - Galactic - The Other Side of Midnight (Live) and Ruckus