The Platform 9 3/4 KM Virtual Race! (or, we are really nerdy runners)

Well, we did it.  The AES Runners converged at Gate 2 of our fine school to engage in a "virtual race" that simulates  taking a fictitious trip to a fake train platform, in order to board a fake train that would take us to a fake school. In a book. That became a movie.

That's right, we did the Hogwarts Running Club Platform 9 3/4 KM virtual race. It's a way to raise money for various charities, encouraging running, and offering the opportunity for crazy oldies like us to plan a thematic run, spout Harry Potter quotes, and otherwise act like giddy young kids on a Saturday morning.

I couldn't resist the temptation to plan a route that was a) exactly 9.75km and b) Harry Potter-Honoring. As this race was honoring the magical platform at King's Cross Station, I knew I had to include the platform at Safdarjung Station. Getting there, I figured we'd do a bit of drawing in the Chanakyapuri grid and pass the Train Museum as an added bonus. I immediately crafted the route and hid it as private on MapMyRun so BludgerNimbus couldn't find it and spoil the surprise.

When we met at 6am on September 5th, I had to scan the crowd to see who had read my email and knew what they were getting into:

Evan and I are running the super-secret Hogwarts Running Club Platform 9 3/4 km run.

You are free to join us, but be aware! There will be significant backtracking and possible Dark Arts at work.

Seeing the trepidation in the eyes of the new members of the group, I hoped they wouldn't mutiny. Analyzing the eye-rolls of the veterans, I quickly calculated the risks, began the run and almost immediately stopped for a selfie.

While not strictly a Flying Ford Anglia, an Ambassador would make a cool ride to Hogwarts...

The stress of leading the run, drawing the map correctly and chatting with Bernie led to several groans from the group as we immediately u-turned from the Ambassador and headed into the grid. Another u-turn, more groans. Also, lots of Harry Potter quotes. I was so intent on getting the route right, that I was convinced we made a wrong turn, cursed myself out (while anticipating a Cruciatis Curse from another runner). To compensate, I went the wrong way, realized it again and made a third u-turn. We had gone a mile total, but we were only 1/4 of a mile from our starting point.

Apologies offered, we headed out and made all of the turns. After running almost half of our total distance we were on the way to the station. We arrived to greet two security guards with "good mornings" and "namastes" and entered my absolutely favorite secret back-door in Delhi. From there, it's up and over the pedestrian bridge to the station. The only thing stopping us was a monkey. Sitting dead-center in the middle of the stairs. I bravely (barely) convinced myself and the group that it wasn't a Dementor,  but that it was actually my Patronus.

We managed to cross the platform, take some great shots of people using Platform 9 3/4 and ran it back home. We compensated some new turns to make the distance and finished happy. The overall response of the runners has assured me that they enjoyed my shenanigans and just might join me on another run in this fine city!

Keep going for pics and the map!

RUN STATS:

Distance - 9.75 km

Time - 59:19

Soundtrack - Mostly friendly ribbing from friends, also the Entourage Soundtrack

For Bamlani!

This run is for Brian! He donated a while ago, but I was holding out for a DC run to dedicate to him, as a former denizen of the Nation's Capital.

I'm going to go ahead and call the trip to DC the final excuse in a late burst of roadblocks to my effective training. Early wake up calls, late nights, travel days, etc. are cramping my style and leaving more holes in my running calendar than a Michael Bay plot line.

Anyway, four days in DC yielded only one run. Due to work business, other AESers were in DC too.  Gene planned a great tour run. (For once I didn't have to plan the run!) How great is it to run in 'Merica with friends from Delhi? You're the greatest, Gene! I'm so glad that we were able to do this run together. It was an absolutely awesome day, humid as hell (that's DC in summer), but breezy and early enough to avoid the crowds. Having lived in Metro DC, it was a lot of fun to get out and see the sights again, and visit the new monuments that have been built since my last trip.

Gene and set out by Metro early Tuesday morning to avoid having to do a loop and to maximize our ability to sightsee along the way! We arrived to Capitol South Metro stop, passed the offices of Congress and headed toward the National Mall via the Capitol.

Tried to grab Gene in this pic, but he's too fast!

As soon as we passed the Capitol, I had to stop and take this picture of the sun rising over the Nation's Capitol like the dawning light of new hope moving forward. "God Bless the U-S-A!" Can you stand it? The patriotism one feels in DC is awe-inspiring! Let's pass some laws! Let's test some constitutionality!

Pictured: Metaphor for new hope

 We ran along the mall, passing other early-morning do-gooders, running tourists, congressional interns,  and various other fitness buffs. The city is full of runners. It's quite a change from Delhi, where often the only other people running are in flip-flops, trousers and button-downs on their way late to work. The highlights here were the US Botanical Garden, the American Indian Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, Air and Space, the future African American Museum, Smithsonian Castle, Freer Gallery and the USDA(!). And that was just on our left. On the right, were a whole slew of other Smithsonians. All the while we had eyes on the Washington Monument dead ahead.

Stoplight selfie! Everyone in DC waits at red lights. Weird.

We turned left at the former World's Tallest Structure (damn you Eiffel Tower!) and headed toward the Tidal Basin. On our left, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum was opening for the day. A beagle on a leash was patrolling the premises, making sure it was safe for another day of operation. Skirting the Tidal Basin, we came upon the Jefferson Memorial, marking new DC territory for Gene. Excited by the chance to play tour guide, we detoured up the steps and inside.

TJ: Simpsons quote-"Nobody ever comes to see me."

 The next stop after the Jefferson Memorial is the FDR Memorial. This has always been one of my favorites in DC. The layout is so great, very park-like with lots of fitting tributes to a great man. Gene was equally impressed with the stop.

Moving along the Tidal Basin, the next two stops were new to me. I was excited to check out the MLK memorial. It is indeed impressive, and reading about the controversies that surround it doesn't take away from it's imposing presence.

Washington Monument as seen from the MLK Memorial.

 The next new stop was the also controversial World War II Memorial. I thought it was tastefully done and not an imposition on the Mall. Especially considering that we entered from the Mall, then could barely see it from the Lincoln Memorial.

The next stop was the Lincoln Memorial, complete with folktales about the American Sign Language "A" and "L" in Abe's hands and the optimistic/pessimistic profile views. Obviously, we reflected this in our selfie.

Lincoln Memorial Steps Selfie! Who's who?

One more stop in the National Mall area: the Korean War Memorial. This one has always blown my mind and the geometry of the space involved got me to thinking about how much of the meaning and planning of Memorial/Monument architecture must go unnoticed by us. For example, after reading the Wikipedia article, I learned that there are 19 soldiers in this field. When they reflect on the granite wall, there are 38, which represents the 38th parallel.

 

From the Korean War Memorial, we headed across the bridge back into Virginia, dodged highway traffic and found ourselves on the lovely Mount Vernon Trail. Most of this trail was a wooded boardwalk through the forest. It passes Teddy Roosevelt Island, which I should have run the day before, but couldn't motivate myself given the excuses in the beginning of this post.

All in all, it was a great day running in DC. Thanks to Brian for the inspiration and Gene for the company and for planning the route!

This run belongs to Bamlani with special shoutouts to Gene!

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 - 6.80 miles

Time - 59:30

Soundtrack - Not sure, too much great convo with Gene-O!