Frequently Asked Questions

Orlando (Florida, USA) i-Race Solo 

By Nitin Kaulavkar

Short version:  

i-Race Solo: Orlando, FL: August 8th 2009,  8:30PM

Nitin Kaulavkar: 42 years: Male

10.02KM: 01:04:03 hours

Effort level: Moderate to high

Weather: Very hot and humid

Long version:

When I first got an invite from Prateek (or was it his facebook wall), I was disappointed that I won't be able to run again this year (as I was travelling to Taiwan last year around too) till he told me that I could do 'Solo' run wherever I am :) Though I was still a bit disappointed as the registration site, despite my multiple attempts in desperation, won't let me register for 'solo' run -- till Prateek and Madhur gave me a respite by asking me to just run :)

So, when I saw that Prateek and the gang are going to run on Saturday morning in Bangalore, the devilish thought came to my mind to run with them - but just a few light-milliseconds away - at the same time. But then, it would really have been 'late' so settled on starting earlier than them. Don't they say “if you can't beat them in speed, beat them by starting way earlier”? :)

I have been running on this particular road  - called International Drive (http://tinyurl.com/m62k92) (laced with all the self-respecting restaurants and hotels - for the lack of any other quieter road. I looked hard for any parks nearby where I can run without getting a thought in mind by getting run over by a truck desguised as utility vehicle! I asked a couple of folks around at the work place (yes if anybody asked me if it was 'Disney' parks!) but they couldn't help either.  

I have no major complains with this road for running - except that the walking revellers many okay most of the times refuse to give way for runners and it is still me who has to apologize even though I know by any rules in any country it is they who should be more sorry than me. The second complaint is the heavy heavy vehicular traffic entering/leaving the hotels and restaurants at every 50 meters or so.The next complaint is the hard/cement concrete pavement - man they are hard on your knees - especially you have been warned by your sports doctor not to run. And the last complaint is the weather - but then it would be much much pleasant than running in Chennai or Hyderabad. Alright, despite all these complaints, I still like running here -- especially when it rains and that it does almost everyday. Unfortunately, it did not rain on the i-Race day.

I started running at about 8:30PM (just after the official sunset here) and though I had marked the route using gmap-pedometer, I still decided to count on my Garmin 305 for counting distance. In anticipation of avoiding the north most end of the International Drive where the traffic gets really heavy -  I started taking every quiet road deviation that I came across knowing very well that I would complete my 10K much before the start line. I wasn't feeling exactly fresh and relaxed due to weather and frequent stops. I ensured that I hydrated myself sufficient - and I why not since I have been test-driving my newly purchased 'Fuel-Belt' filled with water and gatorade. As anticipated I finished the 10K much before I reached my Start line - but I guess everything is fair in running and love!

So overall felt great despite loaded with at least a gallon of sweat on me - so much for the anti-sweat / clima-cool, sweat-wicking running gear! A great yoga-strech session and warm tub-bath helped alleviate the pain and not to mention the left-over pasta and some belgian westmalle trappistenbier (no it's just post-run (liquid) carbohydrates)!

Thanks for everything!

Distance : 6.0 miles

Time: 59 minutes 14 seconds

Weight: 139.4 pounds

Birthdate: July 24 1969

Age: 40 years and 16 days

Average temperature: 18 C

Humidity: 50%

Altitude: Don't know exactly but the path is in Evergreen hills climbing down and up the hills.

Now the juicy experience stuff. I had chosen the path close to my house in Evergreen Hills, San Jose. Had to torture the route a bit to get it to exact 6.0 miles. I was supposed to start the run at 7 am but got up late and paid the price in terms of temperature. I started the run at 8:18:52 and finished it at 9:18:06. It was getting quite hot by the time I finished.

The area around my house is very hilly. Since my path ended at the same point it started, one could argue that the ups-and-downs cancel out. But as any runner would know, that does not happen. One, I can not speed up on the downslopes to protect my knees and ankles. Two, the upclimb was all in the second half (last 3 miles) when it was getting hot. Even the 6 mile run exhausted me quite a bit.

Apart from the heat, the run was good. I am preparing for a marathon in late October and this was a good restart for my preparation. So thank you for organizing the iRace. I don't have any pictures of the exact path but I am attaching a picture below of Evergreen Hills and valley itself.

Nashville (Tennessee, USA) i-Race Solo

By Vishwa Ramachandran

I had a good solo race on Sunday. Unfortunately, it was a day of culmination of 2 weeks of blistering heat, with temperatures at around 35 deg C at around 7:30 pm when I finished! And to say that Nashville has humid weather would be an understatement. But all said and done, it was a nice excuse to keep running! My 5.46 mile finish time was 57 min 22 sec.

Belle Meade is the richest neighborhood in Nashville. It is home to music stars, TV personalities and affluent people in general. As you run along the boulevard, you see mansions (read, houses) on both sides of the street with their beautifully manicured lawns and gardens. There is traffic but it is not heavy since it is a residential neighborhood.

Being 2.8 miles long (5.6 miles out and back), it ends into the entrance of Percy Warner Park, a 2058 acre park with one of the best hills for running - it has three loops, 1.6, 5.8 and 11.2 milers. Very winding, but paved trail. A total of about 2500 feet of elevation. There's even an (uncertified race-course) marathon held on the hills every year just to challenge people!

But back to Belle Meade Blvd. It has gentle slopes all along - first 0.8 miles, b/w 1.5 and 2 miles, and then at around 2.5 miles from the start. Around 125 feet of total elevation. On a final note, cops patrol the area very frequently. While running, one must (a) run in a single file facing the traffic and (b) wear a reflective vest half an hour before sunset and after sunrise. They usually let you go for the first time, but it's a $90 fine if you are caught again! They even gave me my reflective vest for free last winter!

Portland (Oregon, USA) i-Race

By Harsh Arora

We had 20 runners / walkers at our i-Race. More walkers than runners but everyone had fun and want us to participate in more races in the future. Weather was good - about 70 degree F. 

Matheran (India) i-Race Solo

By Rajat Mathur

I ran the i-Race in Matheran.

Did a distance of approx 8.5 kms in 1 hour (8.15 to 9.15 am). Don’t think will get any prize for it!! but it was a beautiful trail run with numerous ups and downs. In fact, I strongly recommend the place I stayed at (called Verrandah in the Forest) - it has numerous great trails starting right from the resort that take you through lush green vegetation to different view points.

Mumbai i-Race

By P Venkatraman

Today’s i-Race is an event that I will remember for a long time to come.

The TopGearMIG team members arrived between 6 and 6.15 am and by 6.16 am we left MIG gate. We may not run very well, but we like to consider punctuality as one of our virtues :-)

A few took the longer WEH and JVLR route while I took the more familiar Bail bazaar route so as to arrive there by 6.45 am. By 7am all cars in the convoy arrived and we did the registration process.  Jatin, Eshwar, Mittal, Sumil, Ganesh Krishnan and his wife Mohana arrived separately. Height / weight were taken, Bibs collected, bathroom visited.

At the weighing scale, my weight registered at 64.5 kgs. I was amazed. I had just got myself down to 62 in the Weight Loss challenge. Yesterday at MIG I weighed in at 63.2 kgs and I was not pleased with the accuracy of the scale :-). And today it was at 64.5 kgs. But unlike some other members of our group who I am to argue about the accuracy of measurements? I quickly accepted what the scale dictated as my correct weight. It did not escape me either that a higher weight meant a better handicap in the mathematical model. Acceptance was immediate :-). Talk about the power of positive thinking.

I then had the opportunity to meet with many runners who I have only had e-touch with. Sunderesan, Kingshuk, Veeramani, Madhumita and her gang were the few that I recall off hand. I also met with Ganesh Krishnan and his wife Mohana and I confirmed what I had suspected. His pharma firm was my client during the days of my practice as a CA. Giles was also there and I learnt that his name is pronounced with a soft J as Jiles and not hard G. I also had the opportunity to meet with Chintu Karia in person. We had so far only been on phone and courier touch.

Ajay soon got the TopGearMIG team into place and we did a good round of stretching and warm ups. We assembled for the mandatory group photo that we like to have before each run. Vishwas had come after his night shift, and was doing what I normally end up doing. Taking photos.

Here is what he captured. Nice photos. Nice group.

We were ready and with Madhur taking over the mike, the Blue bibs ( 5kms ) were ready. Vinay Shetty had turned up as a volunteer and he held one side of the rope.

And soon they were off. Amongst our team members were Samson, Mythili, Usha, Vighnesh, Rahul Tandon, Ganesh Krishnan, his wife Mohana, Mittal, Manish Rohan Kataria and Nupur Patil.

The red bibs (10 km) then lined up. And soon we were also off.

The route was beautiful. Wish I could run here more regularly. No traffic. Serene Campus environment. Wooded trees. Lake front. Slight slopes to give you the challenge. No noise. Just you, your regular thumping of the shoes and your breathing. Bliss.

The arrangements were also great. Hospitality was very nice. All turns were marked and there were volunteers to see that we do not get lost and stick to the route. There were two water stations enroute, just where we needed them. There was a choice of water and also Electral. The volunteers were very very nice and it was pleasant just to be there. The Kms were also nicely signposted, though I had my Garmin to tell me the distance elapsed.

Before starting the run, I had set two parameters for myself. I wanted to set a heart related parameter and I said that my average HR will be > 80% of my MHR. I wanted to push myself. Earlier I had always tried to keep it within 60 to 80 % range, out of caution. In terms of time, I had decided that if I did it within 90 minutes that would be good. I had reckoned that if I did the marathon in 3 hours, 6 months back, then with minimal training in between, doing it in half the time would be good. Ajay came to me and challenged me to do it in under 80 minutes. I told him that I had already programmed myself for sub 90 min.

The two loops were a breeze. Come to think of it, I could have done even better. I finished strong and did a sprint for the last 300 m to the finish line. There were quite a few of our group who were behind me and I was happy to note that I had also not acted as the Guard of the TopGearMIG train :-)

IIT hospitality was again at its best at the free breakfast counter. There was a choice of very good dishes and we all noted that most items were protein rich. Matki, Milk, eggs were on offer besides rotis, chana and tea/ coffee. The fact that I had registered 64.5 kg a hour or so before, was lost on me, as I celebrated my victory by overeating.

I then had time to look at my Garmin and noted the following stats:

Distance: 10.10 km

Time 1:22:38

Average HR: 93% of Max

WOW. I had surpassed myself on both parameters. HR > 80% and Time < 90 min. My stats are uploaded here: http://connect.garmin.com/player/10777909

I had a very nice run. And I enjoyed it tremendously. I did well and registered a personal best. Isn't that great?

Thanks Madhur and the IIT team for an excellent Sunday morning run.

Pune i-Race

By Sujit Kolke

This was my first experience. Great organisation and wonderful atmosphere giving enthu to junta for running the extra mile :-) Hats off to the kids who gave the adults a run for their money.

New Delhi i-Race

By Melvin Barreto
We had a good race in Delhi. I was organising Delhi.

The highlight was a small little 7 year old kiddo who polished 5 km in under 24 min!! My friend, Dr Rajat, who is an extraordinary runner paced him from the 2.5 km mark. To his credit, this kid rose to the challenge. I ran alongside him up to the finish, and it was amazing that he could keep pace with adults, despite his stride length being less that 1/3rd of the ours!!!

He was wearing the white canvas shoes that most of us wore to school. This kid was from Manesar. His father had brought him to Gurgoan for the race, as this chap is fond of running.