This was the first marathon of my life. I have missed a couple of them before due to some or the other reasons. I had pretty good reason to give up this one as well but I made sure that no matter what happens I am gonna attend this one.

With a lot of zeal and enthusiasm I reached Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium at sharp 7 am in the morning, just like it was mentioned in the instruction pamphlet. At the venue I felt as if the whole city was there. It was such a delightful scene. A school bus arrived and I see a big lot of kids getting down from the bus. I saw middle aged women all geared up for the marathon. I then realized this was worth my morning lazing around. The entrance looked something like this.

We were thoroughly frisked to make sure that all the necessary safety precautions were followed. Men marathon was scheduled to start first and after then it was women’s turn. I was very excited as the flag off was to be done by the one and only Sachin Tendulkar. Someone who doesn’t need an introduction.

Finally our turn came, we lined up and we entered the stadium. After the wait of another 15-20 mins, I heard the announcement welcoming Sachin. The whole stadium started shouting and roaring. I saw him, he was right on the stage. It was an awesome feeling, witnessing the God of cricket live in front your eyes. Along with Sachin, Vijyendra Singh was also present there. I didn’t manage to click his picture but I did manage to capture the stadium through my phone, posting some of the pictures for you.

We started off with our marathon and it was an adrenaline rush which pushed us all to shout out loud while we exited the stadium. It was my first marathon, the arrangement and the management was so impressive. There were water stations at regular interval, mobile toilets and mobile ambulance to take care of causality, if any. More than this, what really left a mark was the encouraging slogans recited by the CRPF men standing on the way. They would clap for you, cheer you which really lifted the energy level.

I always knew that I am not going to win this marathon, I had gone there with a target for myself which was 10 kms, and to my surprise I did complete the target. When I came back to the stadium, the closing ceremony has already started and I knew some eminent personalities were suppose to come. I entered the stadium and I saw John Abram on the stage along with Nana Patekar. There was one more television personality was also there, I could recognize him but didn’t know his name. If you want to have a sneak peak, refer to the picture below.

I was hell tired, my leg, my ankle were hurting like anything. I sat on the ground, saw the closing ceremony and the winners receiving their awards. It was an enriching experience for me and I have decided that every year I will take part at least in one marathon. So what about you, are you still to have your first experience and if not then how many marathons have you ran yet ?

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