Premika's experience of Mumbai Marathon 2014

I was very excited to write my experience after the Mumbai Marathon 2014 on 19th Jan, 2014 but due to my busy schedule I am late by more than a  month late to express my experience. Anyway i am very happy and always remain happy to participate in the marathon and to work with Team 'Run with roshni'. I left for my Mumbai Marathon on 16th Jan by flight. My brother dropped me upto Bagdora Airport. When I went inside for chek in , my luggege was heavy 23 kg and the concerned person told me to reduce it by 8 kg. I was in trouble. I was not knowing what to give up. I was turning around, I heard a nepali voice "tapai ma sanga milayera lanu saknu huncha mero saman kamti cha" (I have less lugage, you can adjust with my lugage) he was standing right after me in the Queue. I was very happy to hear those kind words from him and thanked him for his help.

 

I had comfortable journey upto Mumbai. I reached Mumbai by 7:15 pm. Roshni was eagerly waiting for my arrival. I stayed with Roshni . I had nice time with her. Early morning next day, she took me to show around Hiranandani Gardens, her work place. In the evening we both came to Belapur, where team Run with Roshni were staying. I stayed at Mohan Vena's house. As soon as we reached there we were invited for Poonam di's Marriage Aniversery party which was in a hotel. I was little tired but I enjoyed the party.

 

Next day we all did exercises with Roshni. She taught us some new exercises and told us to take full rest and drink three liters of water in whole day and go to bed by 8 pm. But i could not maintain my time as i had a late dinner at didi's house. Roshni got angry with me. Next day was the marathon day . I was little bit tense but there is a saying "Practice make a man perfect" i could proved it though i could not follow my schedule properly because of my work . I use to wake at 4'0 clock in the morning for my practice . I was the only one lady in Kalimpong to run early int the morning . I never found any single lady while practicing on the road. It used to be dark during the winter days and at times I used to get scared to go out alone for my run but i made myself strong to run. I used to get scared while going for run towards Durpin (Army area) but it was my favourite running route. The result was I could do SCMM in 1hr 56mins and I have reduced 6 minutes than SCMM 2013. Improved 8 minutes than Airtel Hydetabad marathon in August 2013. Great achievement of my running history. Wow if you try u can do it. I might run better if there was no stomach pain while running.

 

Withing 2- 3 km of start line, my stomach pain started. I slowed down my pace and started Praying to God for help. I took a long breath and leave. I was little nervous but i did not stop running. I just kept running n running. I think it was around 9 km i felt normal and started to increase my pace slowly. I got lots of encouragements from the supporters on the road, the volunteers and ofcourse the weather. I really enjoyed my 21 km running in Mumbai.

 

Another strange thing is that  i took only one sip of water during my whole run. I just enjoyed my running. Last year I did not see anything while running but this year i enjoyed running in long breeze (Sea Link). I saw 9 km board 15 km, 18 km and 500 mtr 200 mtr and the last 100 mtr to finish line. 

 

I would like to thank to our coach Danial Vaz for his continous support on belalf of our group. Without your support (schedule) we could not do anything.

 

Thanks to all the supporters who helped us by paying our registration fee for Mumbai marathon. We could not meet you up there but you all are there in our everyday prayers. We will never forget you. And also to all the donars who made this Team Run with roshni successful. I want to run full marathon but there is no suitable route to practice in Kalimpong.

 

THANK YOU ROSHNI FOR BUYING MY RETURN FLIGHT TICKET FROM MUMBAI TO BAGDOGRA.

 

IMPORTANT LEARNINGS;

1. FULL BODY REST BEFORE THE RUN IS VERY IMPORTANT LIKE TRAINING.

2. COMFORTABLE SHOES AND GOOD DIET.

 

THANK U ALL WHO DONETE COMFORTABLE RUNNING SHOES TO OUR TEAM.  LOVE PREMIKA

 Premika is too happy to get to touch the prize won by some other runner in Mumbai Marathon ;-)

Mumbai marathon experience 2014 for Uttam Bhujel

Note- Uttam Bhujel hand written note in Nepali is translated by Pranavesh Pradhan.

 

This is Uttam Bhujel. I am from Yang Nakum, Punbo Busty. Since my childhood, I used to take keen interest in marathons. In 2010, I got the first ever opportunity to participate in the 16 km Inter-school marathon in Kalimpong.  Five of us from the same school were selected for the event. However, due to lack of guidance and coaching, I could not take part in any of the marathon races. A glimmer of hope with the help from Mr. Dillip Subba, from my village, who encouraged me get admission at SUMI School with the hope that I can get chances to run in marathon’s as well.

In  the year of 2013, through SUMI School, after the much needed coaching and guidance from the teachers, I participated in a marathon,  from thereon I have become much more confident about my skills and started gaining good positions in  various races.

In 2014, I took part in Mumbai International Marathon where I more than 10000 runners were participating in Half marathon of 21km. I secured the 14^th place in the 21 km long race. I was not overwhelmed but became confident as I worked very hard. For your Kind information, I completed the race in 1hr 19 minutes.

In this race, I ran in the consistent speed for 3 km and increased my speed a little faster hoping to come out in good position. After 11th km, my feet started burning , decreasing my speed due to the faulty feet gears ( my running shoes) and managed to acquire the 14^th position.

I hope to do better in the forthcoming events  in the national level & I am confident that I shall bring glory to my SUMI School and the entire Darjeeling Hills.

I am very grateful to Roshni Didi and Pramila Didi for the constant coaching  and encouragement, I will surely live up to the expectations…if not more.

 

Mumbai Marathon 2014 Experience- Ranjeet Rai

Note- Ranjeet has sent the scanned image of the handwritten note in Nepali. Translation of his note is done by Bishal Lama.

 

On the 8th of Feb, ten of us departed from Darjeeling to participate in Mumbai Marathon 2014(SCMM '14). After reaching NJP, we came to know that our train was late by a couple of hours. It was 4:30 am when we boarded the train and everyone wanted to go to sleep straightaway. But a drama was about to unfold. The TT who had come for inspection brought to our notice that one of the names in the ticket was wrong hence he asked one of us to get down of the train. Everyone got terrified, we tried to persuade him but in vain. We then called Premika di whose invaluable tip helped us to get the TT off our back! He excused us hearing that we were all sportsperson and were on our way to participate in an international event.

 

The journey was a memorable one, we sang and danced all the way to Kurla. Roshni di was already there at the station to pick us up with Mohan Daju. We were overjoyed to see her as she was to see us. We set off for the hostel at Belapur and after reaching we had our dinner and went to sleep.

 

The next day we went to collect our bibs. We met Coach Daniel Vax and Roshni di's other friends at the expo. The point of bringing us to Mumbai early was a week of tapering before the marathon. Morning and evenings we used to go for walk and take rest for whole day. Coach paid a visit to us on 16th Jan and gave us a lot of tips and advice on long distance running.

 

On the D Day, I woke up at 2:30 in the morning, went to each and everyone's bed and woke them up as well. Not just me but most my friends were apprehensive about our performance on the final day. Thankfully our performance was good and I hope we perform even better in the next marathon.

We sorely missed Ramesh and Prabal who were the best performers in last two Mumbai marathons but they couldn't join us this time.Finally I would take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped us with sponsorship, guidance and support.

 

Rajeet receiving the trophy and finish certificate.

 

MY EXPERIENCE - MUMBAI MARATHON-2014 by Runesh Tamang .

Note- Runesh Tamang is 27years old. He does not have any formal education. He dictated his note to somebody and his handwritten note is translated from Nepali to English by Balaram Baral.

 

My name is Runesh Tamang , resident of Mulpala Mandir village. I would like to share my experience of "standard chartered Mumbai marathon 2014" .

It was a cold winter morning of 8-Jan, 2014. I boarded a bus from my village Mulpala for Kalimpong. Other folks from my team joined me during the journey. We reached Kalimpong and started descending towards siliguri leaving the hills behind and reached NJP railway station at around 4 PM in the evening. Our train was supposed to arrive at wee hours on the morning of 9th Jan. Its scheduled time was 1 AM but there was lot of delay for the arrival of the train and it finally arrived at 4 AM . Our long journey to mumbai had just begun.

 

We reached Mumbai on 10-Jan. Roshni didi had arranged for us to stay in a Nair Hostel at Belapur. She also suggested that we take rest for that day as it had been a long and arduous journey. We had our dinner at the hostel that night had a good laugh before retiring to bed.

 

The next day of our reaching in Mumbai, we woke up at 6 AM did our warn up exercises and had our breakfast. We did our usual morning walks, played indoor games and lost ourselves in the glitz and grandeur hardly realizing that the time flew by so fast. We had stayed in Belapur for over a week now.

 

It was 19 Jan, 2014, the D-day of our journey for which we travelled all the way .All of us woke up early got ready and went to the starting point near CST with Roshi didi by taxi. The run was scheduled to begin at 5:45 AM. There were forty thousand people taking part in the competition, it indeed was a very big event.

 

I and Roshni di were scheduled to run a full marathon of 42.2 kms. The run started on the scheduled time, it was an amazing feeling to run with so many people. I completed the marathon in 3hrs 2 mins and secured 9^th position. It was a very proud moment of my life. This was just my second marathon at a national event and I feel proud to have got an opportunity to run.

 

The prize distribution ceremony started at around 8:30 AM. Post that we had our breakfast and returned back to the hostel. We also conveyed our gratitude to Gorkha community from Belapur for their love and support for which we are eternally grateful. Without their love and support, we could not have run Mumbai marathon.

 

The next day after the marathon , we went out to watch a Hindi movie and visited few landmarks of Mumbai.Our fruitful journey had finally come to an end. Early morning of 21-Jan, 2014, we went to VT railway station and boarded our train return home at 6 AM. We reached NJP around 8 AM on 23rd Jan, 2014, safely.

I am grateful to God for the successful completion of the journey. We reached Kalimpong by bus and bid farewell to each other, by the time I reached home it was already dark but I was very happy and excited to be back.

I would like to conclude by saying Happy and prosperous year ahead to everyone.

Thank you ,

Runesh Tamang .

Mulpala Mandir Goan ,

Kalimpong , Darjeeling

 

My experience at Mumbai Marathon 2014 - Bikram Thapa

Note- Bikram's handwritten note is translated by Maneesh Shrestra from Nepali to English.

Firstly,

I consider myself lucky to have gotten an opportunity to participate in the Mumbai marathon. I am extremely thankful to Run with Roshni team for giving me this opportunity. If Run with Roshini team wasn’t there, we would not have been able to show our hidden talents and without them I would not have got this platform. Hence I would like to sincerely thank the Run with Roshini team from my heart.

Experiences;

 Unfortunately, this year’s Mumbai marathon was not very good for me. Last year I finished the half marathon 21.097kms in 1hr and 23 minutes but this year even though we got an opportunity to rest prior to the marathon it took me 1 hr and 26 minutes. I think one of the reasons for this drop in performance was my diet. I had never before had 4 eggs and 2 cups of milk in one day. For some reason my body was just not feeling right the day before the race. On race day, I thought that I felt ok but as soon as the gun went off, I felt like going to the toilet. So all my attention went towards where I should go to the toilet. With this, I also forgot what coach had told me. Coach had told me to run the first 5 kms easy but instead I ran the first 10kms easy. So picking up speed after that point I had already made the mistake. Coach had also told that at around 9 – 10 km I should have a 5 start chocolate but that too I forgot. I think that these were the reasons why I could not run better this year. I feel that if I had been able to follow what coach had said, I may have been able to break my record from last year. I cried as I could not break my time from last year. I felt useless and sad that even after getting proper rest prior to the marathon, I could not better my time. But 2015, Mumbai marathon I am going to do very well. I am going to put even more effort than I did this year and will run a much better time next year.

Thank You.  

The Experience of Mumbai Marathon 2014~ Binod Tamang

Note- Handwritten note of Binod is translated from Nepali to English by Mr. Bharatmani Pradhan. Binod is the fastest among Half marathon runners of team 'Run with Roshni'. He completed 21km in 1hr 17mins.

The Mumbai Half Marathon that was conducted on Jan 19, 2014 was of 21.097 Kms. This was my third run of this distance. I had participated in Pedong and Hyderabad before this. I came 15^th in Pedong and 25^th in Hyderabad. My timing in Hyderabad had been 1:27:17. Because of that good performance in Hyderabad, I got the opportunity to participate in Mumbai Half Marathon. For Mumbai Half Marathon I was helped a lot by Roshni Didi. Didi did the registration for me and had sent me the schedule for practice, which is prepared by Coach Daniel Vaz. I practiced according to this schedule only.

From Darjeeling District we twelve runners had gone for Mumbai Marathon. In which there were ten boys and two girls.

We departed on morning of 9^th Jan, 2014 from NJP for Mumbai and had reached Mumbai on 10^th Jan’s night. We had been permitted to rest without practicing till 19^th Jan, 14.
 

On 16^th Coach Daniel had come to meet us all the runners. Coach gave us good tips for the 21.097 Km run of the 19^th. Coach told us that we should run slowly till 6 Km and increase our pace from 7 Km.

 

Mumbai Marathon was my first run. Prabal Chettri who had come from Darjeeling had a very good timing in this run. His timing was 1 hour 16 minutes. But my dream was to achieve a record of 1 hour 14 minutes in this year’s run. I had thought of completing this Mumbai Marathon by running upto 6 Km in 1 Km/3 min and by completing 15 Km in 50 minutes and 21 Km in 1 hour 14 minutes. Night before the marathon, I could not sleep. On 18^th Jan, night I could only sleep from 11 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.
On 19^th Jan morning when we reached the starting point for the run, I was a bit nervous. Even then I got determined to complete this run in 1:14 without becoming nervous. The run started from morning 6 o’clock.

Up to 6 minutes, I had not seen the KM board. At that time I thought that I was running very slowly and I increased my pace a bit. When it was 10 minutes I saw the 3 Km board. At that time I was at a bit faster pace than I had thought. But it had not been all that difficult for me to run. So at this rate when I completed 6 Km, it had taken 22 minutes. Even at that moment, I was ahead of my calculated pace. When I finished 17 Km it had taken 1:01 minutes. Now I had only 4 Km to run. At that time I estimated that I shall now run each Km at the rate of 3 minutes. By doing this, there was a possibility of completing 21 Km in 1:13 minutes.

When I completed 19 Km, it had taken me 1hr 7 minutes. At that time I thought that I would be able to complete 2 Km in 6 minutes. But suddenly my pace started slowing. Even then I kept on trying to increase my pace. From 19 Km I had not even seen the Km board and once again I looked at the watch which had already become 1hr 10 minutes. I had thought that I shall increase my pace from remaining 1000 metre but because of my inability to see the Km board, I could not also increase my speed. Again, I looked at the watch, it had already been 1:13 minutes. At that time I was running on bridge. Again I thought, even if I could not complete in 1:14 minutes, I believed that I would be able to complete before the record kept by Prabal. At that time, I suddenly saw 300 metre board. And I looked at the watch – 1hr 16 minutes had already passed. Even then I increased my speed and when I reached the finishing point it had been 1hr17 minutes. I felt very bad and I knelt on ground and cried. Again I controlled myself and got up from there and moved a little further. There were only seven, eight runners and I saw the Indian women elite runner, who came first was touching the finish line after me. At that time I felt a little happier and realised that I had done quite well.

 

Binod receiving the best runners trophy from Mr. CB Chettri for running fastest among the team 'Run with Roshni.

 

SCMM 2014 : My Running Experience by Nitesh Ghatraj ,Run with Roshni.

Note- Nitesh had sent the scanned image of handwritten note, which has been typed out by Mohanraj. Nitesh's mother is ill since last 7 years and she has to go for dialysis every week. After the marathon, Nitesh was saying that around 15km, he remembered her ill mother, whom he had left for 14 days to come to Mumbai and could not run faster. However, he says, regular running gives him the strength to take care of his ill mother. God bless you Nitesh.

 

Runnnig Mumbai Marathon was a Dream come True for me as it is the Asia's most prestigeous International Marathon. Mumbai Marathon was held on 19^th January 2014. The Members of my Team " Run with Roshni" were running Half Marathon (21Kms) and Mr. Runesh Tamang & Miss. Roshni Rai were running Full Marathon of 42 Kms. All the Members of the Team were wearing the T-Shirts with a Slogan " We are Gorkhas and We are Proud to be an Indian, Jai Gorkha Jai Hind ", printed at the back side of T-Shirt. It Indicates that We, The Gorkhas are also the Part of India.

On 19^th January,everyone wok eup early around 2:30 AM . Everyone got freshed up and Started getting ready. After Getting ready before moving out of our Hostel all of us got Together for a prayer at 3:15 AM and we left our Hostel. Our Team was headed by Mr. Puran Rai,the Senior Runner and Mr. Ranjeet Rai. We went to the Spot as instructed by Roshni Didi, from where the Bus came to Pick us and take us to the Bandra fire Station, the Starting point of Half Marathon. After reaching the Starting Point,almost Half and hour was left for the Race to begin. We were told to do warm-ups which was headed by Premika Rai. Roshni Didi and Runesh were not with us as they were running Full Marathon (42kms), they by Taxi to their Starting Point, which was VT.

Around 6:00 AM, The Half Marathon started and we all began to race. While running, Dilip told me and Uttam to be with the Indian Girls Elite runners.I gave my best to be with them but I could not compete with them after covering the distance of 15 Kms. My Timing was good ,but after that my Body was restless and mentally tired. I was feeling tired but I did not loose my hope and gave my best by running at my own pace.I was sure that my Timing would not be same as of 2013. Somehow I reached the distance of 19 kms,I heared everyone shouting and cheering for me. When I heared them shouting, my enrgey boosted and I increased my Speed and reached the vinish line in 1 hour 34 Mins & 10 sec.

After Reaching the Finish line, I kissed the Floor and thanked God for giving me strength to complete the Race. Sadly, among the Boys in the Team I was the last one to finish, I was very sad,but I am determined to do much better than this in SCMM 2015. After receiving the Medals we took Group Photos. Many other Runners came to click pics with us.  We made many friends out there. On our way back to the Hostel after the Marathon, we Stoppted at a point and Had 'Pav-Bhajji' (a Famous fast Food snack in Mumbai ). After reaching the Room, we took Bath and slept for an Hour.

Next Day, on 20^th January, as Planned We went for outing and watched Movie " Yaariyaan" with Roshni Didi. Everyone was tired, but we all enjoyed our outing with Didi. It was our Last Day in Mumbai, So, We were invited for a Dinner by our supporters, Poonam di, Jaya di, Mohan da and their family in Mumbai, whom for us are like our own Family. The way they helped and Loved us, we all felt we were at our own Home. After the Dinner, we were gifted a Small Token of Love from them. We all enjoyed our time together.

 

Next Morning, The Time had come for all of us to say good bye to Roshni Didi. Roshni Didi along with Sandip Dada, Mohan Dada came to drop us till the Railway Station. My eyes were full of tears as I don’t know how to thank Roshni Didi for Helping us with so much of support & Love. With tears in our eyes and a Promise to come back stronger next year, we boarded our Train at 6:00 AM and returned to the Place we belong to.

Thank you again everyone who stand by us.

Dilip Subba -Experience of Mumbai Marathon 2014

Dilip had written his note in Nepali and it is translated by Anishjyoti Bhandari.

My best timing of half marathon was 1:21:59 hrs. Keeping it in mind; I set a standard timing of 1:13 hrs for Jan 19; 2014 marathon. I started following the schedule provided by Coach Daniel Vaz, to meet this target of 1hr 13mins. But due to my knee problem; I had to take rest for four months. I resumed practice on 9th Dec 2013. We left for Mumbai from Darjeeling on 8th Jan. We reached Mumbai eight days before the race and my knee was recovered. I was worried thinking that my knee might creat trouble. In spite of that I was quite sure that I would finish within my target of 1 hour and 13 minutes, which is a good timing. Total distance of the marathon was 21.097 km. My breakup of the distance was; 1st 5 km; 4 min per km; next 10 km; 3.30 min per km and last 6 km with 3 min per km. This way I will complete the race within my time limit. But practically I did it only twice during practice session before marathon.

On the day of marathon; we reached the venue at 5am. The race was supposed to start by 6am. Other things apart I was just thinking that my knee should not creat problem. Our team " Run with Roshni" recites Gayatri Mantra before starting of any race. Once the marathon started I set a target of 1:13 hrs even though thought of my knee did not go completely out of my mind. I started with 1 km per 4 min. I completed first 4 km in just 16 mins and started speeding up to attain 3:30 min per 1 km mark. I was within my scheduled timing in 6-9 km also. I thanked my knee for not creating any problem. I completed 9 km and reached for 10 km mark. I was in 10 km mark when I realised that my left ankle; which I injured while practicing before; started paining. Still I continued and reached 18 km mark. Pain went on increasing and ultimately it was unbearable. Before that when I reached 16 km mark I checked my timing which was 1hr 6 min. I realised that if i cotintinue in this speed; it will take at least 1 hr and 30 mnts. I continued. Till then I had the energy to complete it within stipulated time. But as my ankle was paining; I slowed down and speed became 5 mins per km. When I reached 18 th km mark; I started facing problem while taking long steps. Even after my best effort; I couldnot improve my timing of 5 minutes per km. for rest of the race. I finished the race timing 1:25:27 hrs. When I experienced pain for the first time; I thought that I wouldn't finish before 1:30 hrs. So I was relaxed to clock 1:25:27hrs.

Somewhere inside though I was bit unhappy for not achieving my target; still I was satisfied. Our Run With Roshni's performance was not up to the expectations. We used to do much better before. In our earlier half marathon; out of 10 members in our group; only 3 i. e. Binod; Uttam and Ranjeet finished before me. They used to do extremely well. Had we given more time in practice; we would have done much better. This gave me more confidence. After observing the timings of other members I came to the conclusion that next time with more practice; we defenetly will outperform others. But in this process we need help from people. In our team of "Run With Roshni" we have very good runners. But all of our team members are students. So we require financial assistance. Provided it; I assure a world level competition from our team in the years to come.

MENUKA'S EXPERIENCE IN SCMM 2014

Note- Menuka had written her note in Nepali and it is translated by Mohanraj.

My Journey to Mumbai started on 7th January 2014. Before leaving for Mumbai, I stayed in Siliguri for few days. I was little bit disturbed with my Family Problem. My sister was facing prolonged sickness which resulted in a financial problem for us. I was due to pay rent for the room which I rented for study in Siliguri. I had to pay my Travel expenses too. I somehow managed to pay my house rent but I was not having enough money to pay for my food expenses, while traveling in train to Mumbai. I had only Rs.1000 /- left with me which I gave to Ranjit and promised to give him remaining 500 later on.

 

After that I had no money left with me. 9th January we boarded the train to Mumbai.I borrowed some money from Puran and gave to Ranjeet, who was collecting money of the entire team for eating food in the train to Mumbai.

 

I had no money left with me. I went to Pay-Toilet in NJP Railway station ,but fortunately I was not asked to pay money. I was feeling so helpless and sad for being into such a worst financial state. I was crying from inside for being in so worst condition ,while others were better than me.

 

Anyway, we boarded the Train and reached Mumbai on 10th Jan, 2014 at 11:30 PM. We were 11 Runners and I was the only girl. So, I went to C.B. Uncle's House and other 10 boys went to stay in a hostel. It was a wonderful stay at C.B.Uncle's House. I had enough time to rest than last year . During my stay I learned many positive and good things from C.B.Uncle , Aunt and Didis.They taught me about the best and better way to lead a disciplined lifestyle. They guided me with so many good and positive things.The environment was very positive and homely for me. I used to exercise everyday. Infact I was very happy being there.

 

With such activities my days passed happily. 19th January was the Mumbai marathon. On 18th January I went for early sleep after dinner , but couldn't sleep. Trying hard to get good sleep, I don't know when I fall asleep. I woke up at 2:45 AM as we had to catch our bus. I got ready and went out for bus. The Boys were already there.We boarded the bus which took us to our Starting point at Bandra. We did some warm up exercises before run.

The Marathon started at 6 AM. I ran first 5 kms slowly as instructed by the Coach and increased my pace only after 6 kms. After 6 kms I was into good speed. I covered rest distances with ease and without any physical difficulties. Uncle's words were striking at my mind that at any cost I had to give my best result.

 

I was running at a very good speed. When I reached 18 kms, unfortunately I got cramp in my leg and my speed decreased due to pain. I was trying hard to overcome this situation and pulling hard to speed up. I was trying not to give up as I was very close to the finish line. I tried to run the last 1000 meters at a very good speed but I could not do that due to the pain in my leg. I felt extremely bad and humiliated when a fat Girl ( Women I think) crossed me. Seeing her I too ran with full stamina and commitment as I was determined to give my best. I completed my half marathon (21km) in 1hr 55mins 59sec, which was my good performance though not the best. My personal best is 1hr 54mins for half marathon.

 

I was very happy and satisfied with my timing as my previous timings were very bad. In Hyderabad Marathon my timing was 2:15:10 and in Sikkim Marathon it was 2:04:50. So, My SCMM timing was much improved which made me very happy and motivated. I learned that how important it is for a runner to follow proper rest and diet before running any marathon. In Hyderabad we had no enough time to rest and the food was very spicy. I could hardly eat those spicy biryani. Because of these, I was very low in stamina during Hyderabad Marathon which resulted bad timing for me and everyone. But In Mumbai , We had enough time to get proper rest and the Food was home cooked.

I would like to Thank everyone who supported the team 'Run with Roshni'. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. "

 

 

Mumbai Marathon, 2014- Partous experience.

Note- Partous has send the scanned image of the handwritten blog, which is typed by Mohanraj.

 

Firstly my Journey from Kalimpong to NJP was good.We had to wait for the Train as it was late by 4 hours. I was very excited, as well as nervous too because this was my first Train Travel. During my travel I had to deal with many awkward situations. It was very hard to deal with beggars and enunch. I gave some money to a begger and one enunch started to harrass me by asking for more money. When I refused they started scolding me, after hearing which I cried too.

Somehow, with such experiences I reached Mumbai. I liked Mumbai very much and the weather was just perfect for us . All the boys stayed together in Nair's Hostel.

My Experience in Mumbai Marathon 2014 was great. It is  the most prestigeous International Marathon in Asia and I was fortunate to participate in it for the First time.On the Main Race Day, at starting line, I was very nervous to see a Large crowd of runners. I was afraid of getting lost in the Crowd. The Marathon started at 6am and I started to run with my best speed.

On my way I over took many other runners. I was trying give my best. I saw Roshni Di cheering me by saying "Come on Partous !" Getting her encouragement I was recharged with more stamina and increased my pace. While running I was thinking that I was running for my Community and to make them proud. I completed my first half marathon (21km) in 1 Hour and 30 Mins.

As it was my First International Marathon, I was satisfied with my performance and learned a lot from it. I didn't get needed support from my family because of our financial problem, but it is our Roshni di who supported me with her guidance and love without which I would not have Mumbai Marathon.

Thank you Roshni Di for everything you did for us and giving me a chance to run this Marathon.Lastly I thank everyone who contributed with their support to the Team. JAI GORKHA..JAI HIND ! "

 

 

Experience of Puran Rai in Mumbai Marathon 2014

Puran has written his expereince in Nepali, which is translated to English by Bishal Lama.

 

Since 2012 we have been running under the slogan "We are Gorkhas and proud to be Indians, Jai Gorkha, Jai Hind" and hope this continues. Among these 3 years the performance of team "Run with Roshni" has been the best this year. The best timing of the team 'Run with Roshni' in Mumbai marathon 2014 is 1hr 17 mins and the average timing is 1 hr 20 mins. The credit goes to the sponsors and Roshni di for bringing us early this year which was not the case before. Tapering the last week before the marathon, helped us immensely to bring out the best in us. Till last year we used to reach Mumbai just two days before the marathon. The day before the run we had to collect bibs and by the time we reached our homes it would already be too late. The exhaustion probably slowed us down on the final day!

In my opinion, if Prabal and Ramesh were present this year they would have definitely finished in the top 10. First of all, we reached mumbai a week before and the bib collection was done the very next day. We had proper rest for 8 days. We are thankful to Coach Daniel Vaz and Satish Sir for giving us invaluable last minute tips before the marathons. We are grateful to Mohan Daju, NK Pradhan Sir, Poonam didi and Jaya didi for all the support, they have provided us during our stay in Mumbai. We got to learn a lot of things from them. On 18th night, we were all biting our nails in anxiety as to how our performance would be the next day.

We went to sleep early but I could not sleep. It was aournd 12 am when finally I went asleep. My alarm woke me up at 2.30am on 19th Jan, 2014. Although it was hard to get out of bed so early having slept very less, we all lined up for the bus and set off for Bandra from where our marathon started. After reaching the starting line, we all did some warm up and stretch a bit to get ready for the marathon, which started exactly at 6am.

Coach had advised us to go easy for the first 5 kms which I did. Sixth KM onwards I increased my speed, but then my legs began to pain! Till the 17th km I ran at a speed lower than my normal pace and after that I again increased the speed. I completed the SCMM 2014 half marathon in 1 hour and 32 minutes 25 seconds. I am proud of my team's performance.