Sunday, January 04, 2009

Running the Mumbai Marathon

I will be running the mumbai marathon on 18th Jan. Have run a full marathon there in 2007. This will be my third full marathon.

Emil Zatopek, Czech runner; winner of four Olympic gold medals:

"We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."

Steve Prefontaine
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."

Steve Prefontaine
"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."

Bill Rodgers, winner of four Boston and four NYC marathons:
"The marathon can humble you."

Hal Higdon, running writer and coach:
"The difference between the mile and the marathon is the difference between burning your fingers with a match and being slowly roasted over hot coals."

Rob de Castella:
"The marathon's about being in contention over the last 10K. That's when it's about what you have in your core. You have run all the strength, all the superficial fitness out of yourself, and it really comes down to what's left inside you. To be able to draw deep and pull something out of yourself is one of the most tremendous things about the marathon."

Mike Fanelli, running club coach:
"I tell our runners to divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart."

Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ:
"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed."

John J. Kelly, winner of the 1952 Boston Marathon:
"Marathoning is just another form of insanity."

14 comments:

Aditya Kulkarni said...

You are too fond of Mumbai these days, and you have the perfect reason to go there - Margaret...

--
Addie

Alistair D'souza said...

hmmm... margaret will be in hyderabad that weekend on work... but I'll be heading off to hyderabad the weekend after that :-)

amritevil said...

all the best man. So whats ur target this time? 4 hrs ?

Alistair D'souza said...

well just wanna complete in a sub 5 hour time... sub 4:30 would be good... last ran a full marathon 2 years back :-)
have done a couple of 10k and 21k runs in between.

Goli said...

Alice,
Very very good luck. I also want to do a full marathon sometime in my life. :)

Aditya Kulkarni said...

Did you finally run the Mumbai marathon?

--
Addie

Ketki said...

So..did you complete the marathon..?.How was it..?

Alistair D'souza said...

@ goli
run goli run!!

Alistair D'souza said...

@ ketki and addi
yup i ran the marathon ...

completed about 36kms and then decided to stop cause we couldn't run in the sun, everyone was walking.. also i've done the full run twice before so decided to stop instead of just walking...
did the first 21 kms in 2 hrs 10 mins..

the experience in mumbai remains the best so far.. the last one two years back was good too.. its the cheering along the route that makes it memorable and keeps you going.... unknown ppl (not volunteers) stand out late into the morning to give you biscuits and bananas... everyone cheers from small children to old ppl... from the rich localities to the slums which are lined with children who want to give you a high five...

we were allowed to start at 6:50 about 50 mins before the professional runners... midway those guys passed us with a pace that makes you wonder where they get their energy from...

Aditya Kulkarni said...

Amazing stamina you have man. Well done Alaboy...

I am getting tired with 4kms of daily running :-(. Muscles go into a spasm :-( By the end of this year, I will surely cross the 10km mark :-)

Addie

Alistair D'souza said...

@addi

the good thing is that i didn't feel drained out after the run... so thats an improvement... infact was running around in mumbai till the evening getting preps in place with a couple of blisters to slow me down :)

cycling to office has also helped building leg muscles....

Vaidehi Dongre said...

i am glad u did it this yr as well. i wish i had that kinda stamina! so when is the wedding??

Alistair D'souza said...

@ vaidehi
i wanted to run a full marathon before the wedding... it had been too long from the last time I complete a full one..

wedding is on 15th Feb... all excited about everything :-) had planned to send out the wedding invitation email last week but I got shipped to hyderabad on work... should send it out by tonight...

hows the little angel doing.. you guys must be having your hands full!!

Pitamah said...

Congratulations for your run. I too managed half marathon and and posted my experience on my blog: http://pitamah.blogspot.com/2009/01/mumbai-marathon-conversation-with-self.html

Full marathon is still a dream :).