Edition 189 - Satara Hill Half Marathon, a quick visit to Nandi Hills

I ran the Satara Hill Half Marathon (SHHM) last Sun and wrote about it here. The run was a fun experience and something I am unlikely to forget in a hurry. I ran almost exactly to expectations and also got a prize. The former was important and the latter less so, but it doesn’t hurt. I was more pleased by the fact that I didn’t lose much conditioning despite a week’s forced break as I fell sick and recovered just about a week before the event.

The organization of the SHHM is a lesson in community building. The town which has a population of barely 170,000 people is able to attract 6000+ registrations to the race which isn’t an easy one at all. Additionally it is able to attract good talent because of the prize money on offer. It also follows some best practices from popular events like the Comrades (South Africa) by giving medals of different colours to finishers in different times. And on top of all this, the organizers have got their PR game spot on, by creating a fair amount of hype about the event.

I also got to meet a dear friend in Pune, on my way back and our brief meeting was also very enjoyable because I always learn from interacting with him. Meeting him/talking to him always leaves me wanting more. So I ration my messages to him.

And this morning, as if one visit to a 400m hill in a week wasn’t enough, I went up another - this time to one of my favourite places, Nandi Hills, via an old path using steps, in stead of the usual road I take to run up to the top. And this one was in the company of a new friend, who had never been there. This was fun too.

Overall, buoyed my experience at Satara, this has been a good few days - I am back to running, swimming and if all goes to plan, will start going to a new gym which opened in my neighbourhood just a few days ago, from this evening.

What new things are you up to lately?