TCS.run - The surreal second 10k !!!

Something kept me awake till about 1am and finally managed to doze for about a couple of hours only to be woken up by thunder and lightning. The next thought was, will the 10k run happen inspite of the prevailing weather conditions? Will the event be postponed? Will I be able to run all of the 10k and not walk for any of the distance? Too many questions and a sub-conscious mind and I fell back into the power nap mode for yet another 2 hours. Thanks to Eddie George (A consistent RFL runner) who is one of the reasons that I've managed to participate in the TCS 10k. 

Flashback - (1 month ago) :: Originally, the registration for this event was to run along with a colleague. Not aware of any other HPite running this 10k, I thought individual participation as my colleague had missed the last date for registration. Then Eddie mentioned why not have Kiran register on my behalf. So Kiran got us registered, bib and goodie bag collected on time. A part of my thoughts were against this event as the I had travel plans the same evening as the TCS 10k. With all the logistics and practice in place, I excitement and the anticipation doubled due to the combo package on 27th the wait had begun...!!

The 27th May :: The fresh showers early morning was a promising factor for a great superb show. Entered Kanteerava stadium for the first time and a mad crowd was almost certain just by looking at the sheer BIB numbers (#27000 is the highest that I've managed to see on any runner).Soon made our way to Gate C and entered the stadium. Group A and B had hardly any crowd. This was segregated based on the timings of the runners. Fast and medium fast runners were put in Cat A and Cat B. Cat C pretty much was the general compartment :-). People who've never run before, runners from last year's Majja run graduating to 10k. Soon the CM and Puneet Raj kumar made their presence felt and surprisingly just in time as mentioned on the website. The event started with an official BMW car with timer board leading the elite runners. Then it was a flag off for the elite women. Followed by group A and group B. The group C was so huge and the start so crowded that my friends an I decided to start once the track was clear of the crowd and this happened only half hour later. Then Venkatachalam, Kiran (tusker), Venkat Mackintesh and I started at a slow pace and then settled into rhythm 1km into the race. The crowd was such that one couldn't find a straight line to keep the rhythm. Time to apply some pin ball machine tactics and of course without bumping into other runners. When the NH-7 wasn't ready I remember the two lane stretches between krishnagiri and dharmapuri the roads were potholed and to find a smooth line to drive was certainly a lot of work. This run was almost similar as I was in the switchback mode weaving across the crowd and sometimes running small stretches on the pavements. The route chosen was fantastic as there was plenty tree cover and the weather keeping the sweat in check. The start line or should I say the entire track in Kanteerava stadium. Group A and B started after the elite runners. Group C was the most crowded. The cleated warrior runners decided then to start towards the end when the track was near empty so we wouldn't waste time due to the crowd for the first 200 mts. The sheer number of participants for 10k alone would've given many the adrenaline boost to complete the run. I grabbed two bottles of water enroute but didn't stop in-spite of the crowd at the water stops. As I entered the Cubbon Park via Vidhan Soudha there was a slight downhill and I increased my pace to overtake as many as possible only to realize that there still was 1km to the finish line then reduced the engine speed and set to cruise mode for another 800mts then increased the pace back again and heard the familiar beep of the official timer at the finish line. There were so many runners that instead of a short beep
for any one person crossing the line the machine went nuts..!! Itwas a constant tone :-P. Here are some official stats ::

Overall Rank    564
Category Rank    374
Gender Rank    556
Net Time    00:54:36 at an Avg Speed of 10.99 Kmph


Credits :: 
Special thanks to Kiran who registered on my behalf and collecting goodie bags and bib kit. Thanks to Ajith with whom I tagged along in an Innova to reach the venue. The return trip was a comfortable one too. Thanks to Sri Ram who gladly obliged to drop me home.  

What next?? May be KTM !! The mind's funny, finicky and deceptive.