Corbett Marathon-2016 is the 6th edition of Corbett Marathon, organised by Running and Living. I got to know about Running and Living for the first time, when I was searching for some information on how to choose the right running shoe, several years back. They still have that article online, which introduced the word pronation to me. I have been following their runs since then, but never got a chance to run one. March to June/July are kind of dry months for Marathon runners in India. As I look forward to doing one Marathon every month, I ended up checking all the runs in India, and Corbett Marathon in March did fit the bill.
The location of the run is quite unique and remote for someone in Bangalore. I flew to Delhi and got into an overnight train to Ramnagar, a small town in Uttarakhand, that's a gateway to Jim Corbett National Park. Though I am not a wild life enthusiast, I love walks/treks/safaris in forests to just enjoy the serenity. So, I got into a Jeep right at Ramnagar railway station for a few hours of safari into Jhirna Range of Jim Corbett. Apparently, Jhirna was one of the man-animal conflict zones till a few years ago and people from this village have been completely relocated now to other places, and left that area to animals. There are still some remnants of the village. Despite the very high numbers of wild life boasted by safari guide, we couldn't spot much animals during our ride.
Marathon expo and start/end points were at Mapple Resort, around 10 KM from Ramnagar station, towards entry gate of National Park. I checked into a cozy room, right next to Mapple in Parfait the Roar. When I went to collect my bib, I was surprised to see just 6 registrations for Full Marathon (with no-show and on the spot registrations, it turned out to be 7 by the next morning), and some 50-60 for Half Marathon. Most of our regular weekend runs have more runners than that. It may be due to the Holi weekend, which people in the north may prefer to celebrate with families/friends than with elephants/tigers. But, that didn't deter the organisers and they received us with full enthusiasm.
It was a 10.55 KM loop and Full Marathon runners had to do 4 loops. Run started at 5 AM, while it was still pitch-dark. 3 cars were arranged to help us, with their headlights on, during the first loop. It was the most interesting 10 KM run for me. It was completely dark (but for the headlights of a slow moving car behind me), on a road that cuts across a thick forest (outside the Safari entry gate of course, but not sure whether animals know about that). We could hear various sounds that are typical to a forest, in the early morning chill as it's winter/summer transition. Just 7 of us cruised through, immersed in our respective worlds. Weather was great for the next 2 loops too. I had to face a bit of heat for the last loop. Well stocked support stations reflected that the organisers themselves are runners and understand what a runner needs on the course. Later on, I found that Rahul, founder of Running and Living, has run 37 Marathons across several continents.
Along with a couple of Runners for Ever friends, I have been training for Comrades Ultra Marathon, an 89 KM road run in a hilly terrain, on May 29 in South Africa. The last few months of training seems to have helped me, as I was very consistent through out the 42 KM course, without the usual drop in pace that I used to experience towards the end.
There was a post-run brunch at Mapple, where I could interact with a few crazy runners with varied interests. One of them is a local guy, who got to know that there was a Marathon and just came and ran. It was his first Marathon and he finished in an enviable 3 hr 34 min. But then, he is a Lieutenant Colonel in Indian Army. Respect! Another one is a 50 year old guy, running 4 Marathons a month. He had another Marathon in Delhi on the following day, and was traveling to Delhi right after the run. One guy flew from Bahrain for the run, who is training for London Marathon in April, and this is just one of the training runs for him.
It was a long travel to get there and get back to Bangalore. But, at the end of it, I felt it was worth it. I will be looking forward to more runs by Running and Living in much more exotic locations.
