Auroville Marathon (14 February 2010) Report

This is a guest post by Ravi Abhyankar, a passionate runner from Mumbai, on the Auroville Marathon 2010 experience.

If you wish to go abroad without leaving India, meet Germans or French who speak fluent Tamil, enter a temple not attached to any religion – simply in order to practice concentration, and run a marathon on red earth inside a forest; please reserve the second weekend of February next year. The place is Auroville, a township whose purpose is to realize human unity. In this age where bombs blast bakeries, it’s a refreshing concept. Here is a short visually worded report of my visit to Auroville last week.

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Auroville is an experiment in Human Unity. In an age where bombs blast bakeries this is a refreshing concept. Auroville is an international township, perhaps the only one of its kind. Any spiritually inclined person in the world can come here and, if found acceptable by the community norms, can start residing. Currently 44 nationalities live here including French, Germans, Italians, British, Americans, Russians, Ukrainians, Japanese, Chinese and of course Indians. The name Auro-ville comes from Sri Aurobindo, the visionary Indian philosopher.

In Auroville, on Saturday, 13 February, a day before marathon, Andy is the first person we bump into. (Originally) a German, Andy came here in 1974 to visit his uncle, fell in love with the place and decided to make it his home. He speaks fluent Tamil and we use his interpreter’s services to talk to our Tamil driver (with whom we have no common language). I don’t know if people like Andy can be called foreigners. We think we will impress him by calling ourselves professional half marathoners. On 14 Feb Andy himself finishes the full marathon in 4.45!

How to go abroad without leaving India? Well, visit Auroville. Seems like the cheapest way to visit forty-four countries in one go.

We notice that the residents of Auroville have lost their original identity. The boys in this picture are playing together and maybe talking in English, Tamil or even French.

Matrimandir, the symbol of Auroville, is a rare temple that has nothing to do with religion. (In fact, the documentary shown asks you to renounce all religions). It is a place for concentration.

The bib-collection happens under a tree. (Saturday) The ambiance is spiritual, and weather pleasant. The thought of goodies bag does not even cross our minds.

In the same place (Visitors’ centre) in the evening, we are given pasta dinner (Rs 90 only). Marathon runners like to fuel themselves on the marathon eve. We are disappointed that only one portion is served (pasta or lasagna) and no refill please. We go back to the hotel and have another dinner. Organizers should charge more, but make the dinner unlimited next year.

Our group has arrived from Mumbai. But in big numbers are runners from Bangalore and Chennai.

The start line early in the morning. The full marathon start time was 05.00 and half marathon an hour later.

Part of our group from Mumbai: Ravi, Sayuri and Pierre posing before start of the half marathon. All three of us clocked two and a half minutes slower than the Mumbai marathon. Quite spooky that! It can be attributed, most probably, to the uneven surface and the twisting and turning roads. In places like Mumbai and Delhi, on straight roads, you can forget everything and let the legs do the running. Here in Auroville, you need to be alert – for all of the 21 kms (and 42 km is simply two loops of half marathon). You never know where the road is going to turn, where your ankle might twist because of unevenness, where you have to watch your step on a cow gate, or climb a couple of steps. In short, in Auroville, you are on your toes all the time. So enjoy the run rather than run for your personal best. Pierre, seen here with his fuel belt, is wise. In Auroville, the volunteers offer water and electral in paper glasses. I try drinking it; the water goes everywhere except my mouth. Next three times, I reluctantly stop to drink, something I have never done during a race. The organizers may want to consider offering small bottles next year.

We are given disposable torch lights. Full marathoners used it for almost an hour. Quite an enlightening experience.

The first hour of run is the most magnificent running experience of our life. The trees protect us from any sunshine. Birds are singing softly. A eucalyptus aroma infiltrates our nostrils. With a cool breeze an occasional flower drops in front of us – this is nature’s way of greeting us. At this moment, I want the marathon to go on for ever. I am not counting down at all.

On the way, you see houses of all types. In many places, despite it being a Sunday morning, the families are standing out to cheer us.

Sometimes, the path is brightly lit by sunshine. But mostly, we run in shade surrounded by birds’ singing, eucalyptus smells, occasional barking of a dog.

Everything is picturesque – even the windmill.

No matter how addicted you are to marathon, you always meet others who are crazier. We meet Bhasker Sharma, a software engineer from Bangalore, who has run 12 full marathons in the past 12 months, including one in Washington. He started his full marathons in Pune in 2002 and never stopped. In Auroville, he came to enjoy the run and still finished comfortably in 4:35.

White arrows mark the route most of the time.  Also, the best thing is to follow the runners faster than you. Only once or twice, you may come across a fork with no volunteers and no markings. If at such a fork, you take a wrong road, you are lost. Some local residents are riding bicycles, guiding the runners on directions and cheering them as well.

The running surface is changing all the time – red mud, sand, concrete, leaves, even cow gates and steps. In parts, the route becomes extremely narrow. Only one person can run on it at a time. If you are a runner who always wants company, you may feel lonely at some patches in the Auroville forest.

In some patches, the runners come out in the open.

The shoes have already become red. We know the sun is out there somewhere. But we are happy to keep running sheltered by the tall trees.

Sayuri is part of our running group (with no name) from Mumbai. She topped the list among women by clocking 1:52. Well done, Sayuri! Here she is a few hundred meters from the finish line.

Not only adults, but children are mesmerized by the marathon mania.

Every runner is rewarded with a medal and a massage. You can see here how relaxing a massage can be after running like mad in a forest.

The master of the marathon ceremony. He is on microphone since 04.30 in the morning and six hours later, tirelessly, keeps making witty comments.

Don’t forget the marathon was on the Valentine’s Day.

It may be written in four languages but what does it mean?

An All Women Police Station.

See you Auroville in February 2011 now!

If you plan to visit and run at Auroville next year, remember this:
(a) Book Auroville guest houses at least three months in advance. If you miss it, stay at Pondicherry and travel the 15 kms every time. (200 Rs per rickshaw charged by drivers who refuse to speak anything but Tamil).
(b) Don’t rely on the organizer’s buses. They may not come at the time specified, or not come at all. On the marathon morning, certainly must have alternative arrangements.
(c) Be ready to have another dinner after the (limited) pasta dinner by the organizers.
(d) Carry a fuel-belt for marathon if you can.
(e) Wear dry-fit clothes. By the end of the run, clothes are completely wet.
(f) Read Auroville website before, and take appointment for Matrimandir if you plan to visit it.

Thanks Sameer (left) for your Cannon and your eye. Sameer’s injury meant he couldn’t run this year, but he was everywhere with his Cannon taking some outstanding pictures. If you run the Auroville Marathon 2011 as a result of this report, blame Sameer for it.

Ravi Abhyankar
21 February 2010

(Ravi can be reached at ravi.abhyankar at gmail dot com)

Tagged as: Auroville, India