Pinkathon Bengaluru 2014: All that they claimed and more!

As mentioned earlier, the Pinkathon event is a celebration of fitness as a lifestyle and the Bengaluru leg 2014 was as expected a roaring success. The Promo events included the signature Beer Bash, the treadathon, Duathlon and pretty much a new activity every week. We also had Zumba sessions at the Pink Carnival mixed with a few Flash mob performances to keep the energy levels up. With about 2000 participants from IBM, We also conducted workshops on running and Zumba at the IBM Campus.

With Rahul Gandhi making an impromptu trip to the city, permissions to have the event as per plan on the 16th Feb were revoked and the event was then postponed to 23rd Feb, a week later. A big shout out of thanks to all of the participants who were considerate enough to understand the helplessness of the team in having to postpone the event.

The day before the event, 22nd Feb, was a complete flurry of events, from setting up the route to aid stations to route confirmations, setting of the dias, the grandstand, the start and finish points, placement of the timing mats etc. If I had to list down all the minor details that were to be looked at, we would probably take the rest of the day. Basically, it was a lot of work to be done! – Kudos to Team Maximus which has worked day in and day out to make this event a reality. After a fun-filled lunch with the girls ( which included painting our nails PINK), I went on to meet the team of Proton volunteers at the stadium. We were all briefed about the route and the plan by the race director and after an interactive session, we all headed back for the evening.

It was around 9pm and I had just completed my training run for the day when my phone rang. It was Ankush. He called me to inform me that he had met with an accident and I would need to get him back home. On reaching the scene, I saw him sipping coffee with Sharath Raju and a few friends. After loading the cycle in the car and an initial consultation with the doc, we got back home around 12am. The initial diagnosis was that of a ligament tear.

Next thing I know is that it is 4:30am, Narayani is home and my phone is ringing off the hook. I was meant to be at the venue at 4:30am. Oh boy! I slipped into my Zumba wear hurriedly and carried a change of clothes for the run. Narayani, my mum and myself all piled into the car and headed straight to the venue. As we reached the venue, my team of Zumba instructors started trickling in. Soon, it was 10minutes to the start of the event. As we walked up on stage, the sleepless nights and insane work behind this event seemed worth it all.

In response to ” Good Morning Bangalore, Are you all excited? ” I had a cheerful 3.5K odd women going “YEAH!!” – Now THAT gave me goosebumps and made it all so worth it. And with that started our pre-race warm up. After the warm up, we had all the 10K participants move to the 400m arena start point. Harsha was to run with me and all the other girls on the One hour bus. We allowed some space ahead for the faster runners to get their head start for their PBs.

This was a fun run  for me, one which would give me the pleasure of taking a lot of runners to their own PBs while enjoying the race route and helping the runners along the route in any way I can. As we started, the pace was a little faster than intended but thanks to the gadgets of everyday use, it was easy to keep an eye on our pace and stick to a consistent 5:55-6:00 min pace. Once the consistent pace had been set, it was easy to keep talking to all the runners in the bus and keep them motivated to continue at the pace. I have to say, it was a pleasure to see the grit and determination in each of the girls to reach their own personal goal.

As we were running, there were a few issues that we faced and tried to overcome the best we could. These were the same issues that had been foreseen in our briefing session and they were all the more magnified due to the numbers on the route. As we were ran, it was easy to see that the aid stations had still not been setup, with only 4-5 bottles of water displayed on the table and no one handing them out. Since we were just the 10K runners and relatively faster than the rest, I could see a big pileup happening once the masses were on their way. Divyanshu and Shamik cheered us all on as we made our way to the U-turn. As we took the U-turn after Chinnaswamy stadium and made our way to the Hudson circle entrance to Cubbon Park, the sea of 5K runners were on the opposite side. These guys soon took over the entire road making it really hard for the 10K runners to be able to make their way onto their route. I clearly remember Harsha and myself screaming at the top of our voices asking the 5K runners to stick to their side of the road. I could foresee a lot of confusion on this route especially as the numbers were only increasing with each passing minute.

It was heartening to see the Bangalore running community coming together – the photographers, the volunteers and the on-lookers not only to cheer but also to strategically place themselves on the route so that they were able to provide the runners with the best directions that they could to avoid them from losing their way.

This was a personal run for me. My girls were hanging on to their pace. Priyanka, another Zumba instructor had been really excited as she was looking forward to clocking her first sub 1 hour race at the Pinkathon. My entire Zumba crew ( my students who are now runners Shikha, Vijaya, Uma and the entire PSN gang – make me so sooo proud) were running with me for their PBs. Viji had been sick with viral for 2 days before the event but had wanted us to run together so had pulled herself and made it to the venue. Seema, a sprinter was aiming at a sub 1 hour. As we ran, she told me that she would be ok for the first 5k but would need motivation for the last 5 as she fizzles out at that distance. She asked me if she could take off now and if I would be able to coax and cajole her for the last 5. “Not an issue doll, we will get you a sub 1 hour today! You go!!” And so many of the girls who had reached out to me wanting me to help them reach their PB – I have a personal connection with them all and wanted to see them through to the end – even the little 10 year old who was running her heart out in the hijaab.

As we took the turn to the right of the library on the 10K route, I saw a 5K runner pass by. I sprinted upto her and held her by the elbow advising her to go back to the 5K route. The volunteers and on-lookers were doing a fantastic job cheering us on. The girls kept their pace. We continued on the path, took the left after Queens statue, ran down the road , took the U turn and continued back. This was the point where most of the runners would need the cajoling and the coaxing. So there we were, cheering on loudly as we ran, high fiving and flashing cheery smiles to each other. As we took the right back into cubbon park, the view was positively vibrant. A sea of women taking over the roads of CP – the home of running in Bangalore – warm fuzzy feelings of joy and pride!

This is how we continued up until the end. To help some of the girls push themselves to complete a faster time, I had sneakily upped my pace for them to keep up. I told Harsha to stop just outside the stadium as we let the girls run in – 3 mins earlier than their target time. Him and me stood at the gate cheering the rest of the girls on telling them that they were still on track for their 1 hour finish. 30 seconds to the hour, Harsha and me took the 1 Hour bus flag and sprinted to the finish line bringing with us the 1 hour Bus.

Yes! my girls – most of them met their 1 Hour target. Some of them missed it marginally and almost all got their PBs. This was obviously followed by a photoshoot and fun times. We then proceeded to the Archery ground for the prize distribution. All in all, a success. Yes! as always, with events of such scale, things could definitely have been managed better. But again, there were a lot of last minute issues which cropped up.

A big thank you to Team Maximus for an event which has bought a lot of required attention to women and fitness. I have seen this team work tirelessly day in and day out to make this event a reality – Dhanraj, Radhika, Aditi, Khushboo – your beautiful smiling faces are a treat for sore eyes. Milind, the man who leads his team by example – he is on the ground interacting with people and getting his hands dirty for a cause very dear to his heart – Thank You. The volunteers who came together at our call and were generous with their time, energy and vocal chords  (cheerleading) – Thank You. Each and every person who became a pinkathon ambassador themself and spread the word about this event – Thank You. A big heartfelt thanks to Giridhar – who has always gone above and beyond in his efforts to make this event a success. Sharmila, who travels to each city in order to be part of this event and brings her zealous energy – Thank You. My fabulous 5k and 3K pacers – Bhumika Patel and Vaishali Kasture – Thank You. All the men who have been pillars of support in the background – Thank You. Dharma, for spending just as many sleepless nights to make a lot of the promotional events a success – Thank You, Ankush who juggled his cycling, full time job and his role as trainer to the first time runners at the event – Thank You. My Zumba instructors who came together from all across Bangalore for this event and this cause – special mention of Rekha Nair who is also a breast cancer survivor and travelled all the way from Ooty to be part of the Pink Carnival – Thank You. The photographers who capture all these precious moments so we can cherish them always – Flashbulbzz ( Anju, Archana, Karthik, Bharath, Arun, Srinivas), High on Marathon (Vijay), good ole Rohith Sarcar and each individual who took it upon themselves to capture some candid moments – Thank You. The joy that this event bought out, the celebration of life and strength of spirit is unparalleled. I think I would speak for all when I say that it has left a sense of solidarity and belonging in us all.

TOGETHER WE DID MORE!!!

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