Marathon strides

He is 71 years old and ran the half marathon (21.097 km) in the super senior veteran category with a timing of two hours, 46 minutes at the Seventh Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) on January 17, 2010. "This has been my sixth consecutive year of participation and I want to compete in the full marathon of 42 km in the coming years,” says Bombay’s Maheli Amal­sad­vala. With the SCMM becoming bigger and more bountiful each year, over 38,000 participants pounded the streets of Bombay, raring to run different distances in the high profile event. Amal­sadvala was among the 11,000 half marathoners in the various age categories, exhibiting a can-do, will-do attitude!

During his 32 years of service with Union Bank of India, Amalsadvala was posted at various centers — Kanpur, Allahabad, Meerut, Bhopal, Delhi, Nagpur, Poona, Bombay in different capacities, rising from branch manager to regional, executive and assistant general manager. "During those years I used to take long early morning walks of 10 km at an average. I continued doing this even after my retirement,” he explains. From 1987 (when he opted for voluntary retirement) to 2007, Amalsadvala practiced financial consultancy and ran a courier business, keeping up the fitness regimen as well. When the first SCMM took place in 2004, "I watched the event with great interest but was a bit hesitant to take part,” he says. In 2005, he felt confident enough to take the half marathon in his stride and "there was no looking back thereafter.”

The senior citizen maintains his 4.30 a.m. practice schedule of runs/walks of 12 km, three days a week, throughout the year. Four months before the event, he increases the distance to 14, 16 and 18 km, averaging 50 km a week. "If you can run 18 km, 21 km becomes very easy,” he states. In December 2008, he joined a professional group of trainers called The Striders to understand better the intricacies of running, but soon reverted to practicing on his own as a matter of convenience.

Amalsadvala is in sync with the cause of charity that the SCMM promotes. "I have not represented any charity or NGO for collection of charities but on my own and from my personal funds have regularly donated amounts from 2005-2009 to Women’s India Trust and others. In the 2010 event, I could not release funds to any charitable organization due to the fact that my wife Zarine and I have spent over one-and-a-half lakh rupees from November 2009 to date for the treatment of our maidservant who has cancer,” he says. The expenses continue as the treatment is ongoing. Zarine is the sister of the late Roshen P. F. Driver (former principal of the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Parsee Charitable Institution) and as trustee manages the Roshen and Phiroze F. Driver Public Education Trust. "We assist needy students with scholarships,” says the septuagenarian.

Running the full marathon (42.195 km) at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) on January 17, 2010 in the senior veteran category, 57-year-old Ervad Aspi Rao completed the event with a timing of four hours, 27 minutes. This was the second year in succession that Rao ran the 42 km distance, having taken part in the half marathon in 2008.

"The atmosphere is extremely encouraging, particularly for youngsters and old runners. This year the half marathoners started from near the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which meant that the load at Azad Maidan (the starting point for the full marathon) was considerably reduced,” he asserts. Hitting the road at 6.40 a.m., Rao proceeded at measured pace towards the Worli Dairy. "That is where the foreign marathoners including the women who take a later start went past me at around 8 o’clock, such is their speed,” he smiles. Running over the Sea Link was great, he says, except that there was no provision for water for the runners on the bridge! "Except for small glitches, the SCMM is meticulously organized. This year the running was very free as there was no crowding,” he remarks. All those completing the 42 km within five hours (as per their timing chips) were acknowledged with small gifts and fruit!

Does not the fatigue factor knock you out at the end of the gruelling race? we ask. "No, a hot bath and supplements soon freshen you up. The pain in the legs subsides in 24 hours,” he replies. This year too Rao took part in an afternoon uthamna ceremony (at the H. B. Wadia Atash Bahram at the request of a senior priest) after the race, as well as the patli raat nu uthi! Rao has been a full-time mobed at the Sethna Agiary from 1968 and a boiwalla at the same place from 1997. His practice sessions start at around 3.30 a.m. after the boi ceremony. He runs the 10.8 km distance from Sethna Agiary to the NCPA (National Centre for the Performing Arts) along Marine Drive three-four times continuously, twice a week in the months preceding the SCMM. "My main guru who encouraged me to take part in this international event is Madhukar Talwalkar, the owner of Talwalkar Gymnasium,” he asserts. Professor Sherlekar has also been a guiding force.

Rao is also a personal physical trainer. He himself uses the facilities at the Cusrow Baug gym for light weight training and expresses appreciation that the gym is totally free of cost for all full-time mobeds. "It is a very spacious gym and it is indeed very good of the committee to charge no fees,” he declares.

"It all began when a friend erroneously registered me for the 42 km run instead of the 21 km. But with the attitude ‘a pessimist finds difficulties in opportunities and an optimist finds opportunities in difficulties,’ I moved forward to begin training for the 42 km run,” says 24-year-old Yazad Karkaria, explaining his participation in the full marathon at the SCMM this year. Viewing the task as "exciting and challenging,” Karkaria took it on. "Unfortunately, all my practice partners who had given me company in my preparation for the previous (half) marathon withdrew due to other commitments/injuries. This was demo­tivating but at the end of it my resolve was firm!” he asserts.

Karkaria completed the 42 km distance in a time of four hours, 52 minutes, obtaining a rank of 253. This year there were 3,500 participants in the full marathon, as per the SCMM statistics on www.scmm.indiatimes.com "I had only about 20-23 practice sessions. I had never practiced the full 42 km, though advised by friends, as I wanted to create excitement and test my skill and will,” he states. Running the entire distance of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link without water (as there were no water stations on the bridge) was "a nightmare!”

The crowds along the route, particularly at Pedder Road, were morale-boosting, encouraging mind and body to stay strong even as the mercury rose!

Karkaria is no stranger to the sweat of competition, having been on the hockey team of his school (St Andrew’s, Bandra) and in the senior division of the National Cadet Corps during his years at Mithibai College. After completing his MBA from the K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Karkaria joined Deutsche Bank but has recently moved to IMRD International, a market research organization. A member of the Youth Wing of the WZCCI (World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce — India), Karkaria has been selected as the Student Involvement Chair, heading student affairs. Karkaria is also a navar-martab and prays at Bandra’s Tata Agiary during the muktad.

Among his varied interests are combat hapkido (science of self-defense) and learning jujutsu, kickboxing, etc with Fighting Fit India, which runs martial arts training and fitness programs. "I enjoy challenges! Initially even the 21 km distance of the half marathon had looked a lot! One of my reasons for running was to increase the participation of Indians in the full marathon and demonstrate our competitiveness to international athletes,” declares the young man on the move.