The Fun Run

Like all corporate citizens caught up in the daily rush to create and deliver great products and services, TIS-ites are also prone to some amount of social guilt. The ‘I wish I could do something for my country, city, neighbourhood’ thought is something most of us have toyed with. The Kolkata Marathon, held on 25th February, 2007, which invited people to run for their city, provided the opportunity to convert those thoughts into actions. Even then, the process did not begin smoothly, and the reason was this.

“6.30 am on a Sunday morning?? You must be kidding!”
“The last time I ran, there was a mad dog behind me”
“I can run 10-hour programs but running 4.2 kms…no way!”

Amidst all this, somebody said the magic words “Don’t be boring” and that did it. Because ‘boring’ is one of those unforgivable states of being as far as TIS is concerned and one by one the employees rose to the occasion, like crusaders on the march to spread the religion of the interesting. We decided to take this opportunity to increase awareness about Learning Disability in India, LD being a key community that TIS supports. The slogan for the banner read ‘Use Your Feet to Lend a Hand’ and our T-shirts sported the Learning Disability logo. If, at this stage, anyone was still wondering why they had registered, they had their reason and a good one too.

The TIS group, which was over 40 people strong, arrived at the venue around 6.30 – there were people who apparently woke up at the ungodly hour of 3.30 am to be there at 5 am and then there were those who battled minor mishaps (like failing to hear the alarm) to be there by 6.45. The area where we assembled near Fort William is one of the prettiest parts of Kolkata, with an abundance of green and long stretches of good quality roads. Seeing thousands of people gathered there to take part in the marathon lifted our spirits immediately. Chaos and confusion, the usual side effects of mass participation, greeted us; but soon people managed to find their groups and were waiting eagerly for the race to start.

The wait proved a tad long, since we were participating in the Fun Run, which got underway after the main races – the general marathon and the women’s marathon. Some of those gathered for the Fun Run were so eager to get going that they actually started running with the marathoners! Announcements followed and those who thought they had actually missed the beginning of the Fun Run, were reassured that the ‘fun’ had not begun! Amidst speculation about what happened to those who took off with the marathoners on the 42 km route, we took our positions. There was fair amount of interest in the Learning Disability banner and the general boisterous nature of the TIS group got them a fair share of newsbytes.

And then, it began. Most of us had laid our cards openly before the start – we cannot run and will only walk. But in the excitement of the moment, we found ourselves running and it felt just great! True, we slowed down to a brisk walk after some time, but the adrenalin rush was worth missing the precious hours of sleep on a Sunday morning. The prankster in the Kolkatan soon surfaced, and people started taking short cuts, tempting others with offers of a sumptuous breakfast at K C Das, which was on the way. But we resisted and marched forward, and surprisingly, the older members of TIS (above 30 years, that is) proved more energetic than the younger ones! The youngsters decided they had to make an impression too, and in a great burst of energy, they started sprinting with the LD banner, almost knocking off a fellow runner’s cap when they swept the banner over his head!

Towards the end of our route, the women marathoners passed us – we were mortified, as much by the sight of their rippling muscles and steady breathing as by the thought that they had already run 12 kms while we were still to finish 4.2!! Maybe it was this or our talent for showmanship that showed its influence as we were nearing the end – we decided that we must run to the finish. So we ran the last half km and as we approached the finishing line, we found people actually cheering us on!! 

As we rested, all energy spent, the rumblings in our stomach reminded us that we had missed breakfast. Being in the vicinity of Flury’s, the most favoured breakfast destination of Kolkata, the idea struck instantaneously. With renewed energy, we descended on Park Street and found, to our chagrin, that all the other marathoners had the same idea. Flury’s was packed. Not prone to give up easily, especially where good food is concerned, we landed up at T3 (short for The Tea Table), the old Flury’s shop. Then followed a great exercise in self-gratification and sinful self-indulgence peppered by liberal doses of laughter, leg pulling and wisecracks.

After satiating ourselves with some great food washed down with Darjeeling tea we returned home, happy in the knowledge that we did our own bit, however small, for the city and for the cause of Learning Disability awareness. I’m sure all of us are now agreed on one point – there is no better way to spend a Sunday morning!

(Poushali Chatterjee is Senior Specialist - Instructional Design with TIS)