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In the running

Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Cause centric George Abraham hopes to run 21 kms at the Delhi half Marathon to raise Rs. 5 lakh for projects for the blind

As a young school boy, I loved waking up and going out for a run. The feel of cool air on the face, the early morning light of the rising sun, and chirping of the birds from the trees was simply exhilarating. My friends and I would run round the 400-metre track at the Bhoomreddy Engineering College grounds at Hubli, Karnataka.

When I got to the high school level, I enjoyed the sprints. In fact, I had the opportunity of running the 100m for the Karnataka schools in an inter-state athletics meet. A few years later I switched to running the cross-country races. I represented my college in the inter-college cross-country race during my Master's in 1981.

Since then, I have not really done any kind of serious running. However, when the Delhi Half Marathon began way back in 2005, I made it a point to walk or run the 7-km race to raise funds for Score Foundation, the NGO I run that works with the blind. The 7-km run, to be honest, is no fun since most of the time one is forced to walk.

Inspired by my wife Rupa, who ran 21 kms in the last year's half marathon in two hours and 30 minutes, I have taken the plunge this time and have registered to also run 21 kms. It goes without saying that I am running this year to raise Rs. 5 lakh for the projects I am doing with the blind. I have entered as a Dream Challenger, which means that I have to raise a minimum of Rs. 3 lakh for my NGO and also complete 21 kms.

This being my first attempt at 21 kms, I am just about aiming to complete the race — not really looking at breaking any records. I will be happy if I am still standing at the end.

Over the past two months I have been working out at home. The workout focuses on building stamina and losing weight. I do spot running, the treadmill, skipping and crunches. On November 13 and the 16 November, I hit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to see how far I could run. This was more a confidence-building measure than any kind of workout.

I was hoping to step up my preparations for the event in October and November but then, all of a sudden, I had to travel extensively on work. My practice has been confined to the breaks between the travels. On my last trip to Bhubaneswar, I had taken my running kit, but then I could workout only on the last day.

But I say, I take inspiration from the tortoise — slow and steady and complete the run — and that should be great.

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