The IIT Bombay campus in Powai is everything that the city of Bombay isn't: the campus is green, has broad roads, well-paved sidewalks and gorgeous nature. It's a plesant place to be in any season. The i-Race was held in the campus this morning in the best possible conditions that you can have in the city. It rained just before and just after the run but the rain gods were kind to the runners.
Despite the fact that several new buildings have popped up in the campus since the late-1990s, when I was a regular there, there is an unbelievable amount of peace. It was a great feeling to take 2 rounds of some of my favourite areas on campus, including lakeside and two of the hilly areas. The enthusiastic volunteers made sure that no one was dehydrated and no one lost their way.
It was also wonderful to run under the cloudy skies and to be protected by the trees during the moments when the Sun popped out to say hello. Since I am now a veteran of 21 kilometre runs, I didn't find this race particularly challenging but I played my part in encouraging people who stopped to get moving. A large number of runners were alumni of the great institution. In fact, the alumni association, which celebrates 10 years, were kind enough to gift all runners a t-shirt. It was inspiring to see a senior executive from a multinational, who studied at the IIT more than 30 years ago, taking part in his first long distance run. Bravo Parimal-Uncle!!
Having praised the run, I find their method of calculating the winners on some mathematical formula quite confusing. It reminds me of the Duckworth-Lewis system in one day cricket. I doubt Mr Duckworth or Mr Lewis ever played competitive cricket. I am baffled by the height/weight/age/sex calculation.
On the whole, I can say that there aren't too many better ways to start off a weekend. Thank You IIT for hosting this event.
