Run to meet the challenges

Gaurav Kanthwal 

• Kharar, September 16: One person was killed, while three others were seriously injured when they were hit by a car at 5.45 am on the Mullanpur-Majri road, while on a morning walk. 
• Chandigarh, September 14: A 94-year-old cyclist died after being hit by a scooter in Sector 49 on Thursday morning. Victim Hukam Chand used to go for cycling daily.  
• Mohali, September 10: A 41-year-old woman Inderjeet Kaur and her younger brother Amandeep Singh (37) were killed after being hit by a car around 5 am. They were returning home in Phase 11 after a morning walk.

Morning walkers, runners, cycling enthusiasts are increasingly coming in the harm’s way while pursuing fitness. Day in and day out increasingly there are news reports about how the simple act of pursuing fitness is inviting fatal consequences. 

And this is causing concern among this growing community. Consequently, there is an increasing urgency to find new and safe ways to keep pursuing their passion. Some measures like finding ‘safe’ routes or doing it as a group activity could resolve some problems but not all. 

For men, options like running or cycling on secluded tracks can be a solution, but for women, even this is off limits. For them even this remains an everyday struggle. Women runners, cyclists, etc. face the fear of the added problem of harassment.

Honking, being yelled at, lewd gestures and comments are part of almost daily harassment that women walkers/runners endure early in the morning or late at night. “You have to be constantly aware of what is happening around you. Are you being followed? You have to be mindful of unruly drivers, stalkers, stray cattle, etc. This means using headphones are a strict ‘no’ while running, making the activity a lot more demanding. 

“A woman cannot even think of trail running on her own as it leaves you vulnerable in an unsafe territory. Even in public places, I try to keep an eye on every man I see coming from the opposite direction,” says Renu Bajwa, 22, a Chandigarh-based runner.

Women, be aware

Twenty-five year old Deepshika Kalita, a Bengaluru-based IT professional, is an avid runner. She says, “At the back of mind there are always concerns for personal safety which take away the fun of running to some extent. Sometimes, it is frustrating to begin the day with such incidents that for a moment you feel, is it worthwhile? But then you realise, of course, it is.” 

Be it Chandigarh, Gurugram, Bengaluru or Mumbai, women everywhere have same stories of harassment and frustration to share. It is one of the reasons why there is this perplexing sight in metros where women and girls prefer taking walks in the veranda of their houses. On the road, they walk on the wrong side, opposite to the traffic, to meet every eventuality. Even in countries like the US or the UK, this grim reality and challenges that women runners face remain the same. There, too, the onus is on women to be careful while out for a run. Suggestions like carrying pepper spray, not using headphones, avoiding running after dark are peddled frequently.

For some, running is a meditation, and they prefer to do it alone. Others, who do it to experience the adrenaline rush, and to socialise, runners clubs is one solution where a group of like-minded people provide a safe environment and encouragement to each other to push one’s limit. 

There are two types of runners: The self-motivated ones, who do not need external motivation and can push their mind and body from within by themselves. These lone wolves like to run alone. They form the 20-25 per cent of the community. Then there are those who would need the external stimulus to hit the track. Running per se is not that physically tiring but can be monotonous. Runners may get bored of doing the same thing again and again for months. For such weary souls, group running and runners’ club play an important role.

A tribe of your own

Chandigarh-based Dharmendar Sharma (49), an Indian Forest Services officer, says he started long distance running at the age of 37. “I have taken part in many national and international marathons. Four years ago, a group of like-minded people formed the club, Chandigarh Runners. The idea was to start a culture of running and encourage people in the city to take up this exhilarating activity. Now there are four more clubs in the city.”

Many runners have come across some interesting things during their run. Many say that they have spotted snakes like a python behind the Sukhna Lake; some others have come across a sambar; and one runner even saw a porcupine. These surprise encounters early in the morning are the added perks of this outdoor activity. 

The only initial difficulty for some was getting out of bed so early in the morning but that was before they tasted the adrenaline, the exhilaration and the eventual bliss. An experienced runner becomes an early bird by default (if s/he is not one to begin with) and is back by the time the sun rises. Long distance running, trail running or even sprints are ideally done in cooler times and climes with minimum possible distractions.

Rewarding experience

Contrary to the conventional belief that women are not suited for hard laborious activities, long distance running and marathons are actually more favourable to women than men. Sunita Godara, a former international marathoner, who holds the record of running the maximum marathons run by an Indian, says, “It has been scientifically proven that women have more pain-bearing ability than a man. Marathons and half-marathons are not only physically gruelling but these are mentally challenging, too.” 

Running maybe synonymous with exertion and pain but once a runner overcomes all these challenges only then he starts getting the adrenaline high or the feel-good . Chafing (rashes due to friction between clothes and skin), blisters, damaged/black toenails, hamstring injuries, cramps, stomach aches and tanning are everyday problems which a runner learns to live with happily in the long run. 

International race walker Khushbir Kaur says, “People think that running is simple. Get up from the bed, put on your shoes and start running. But that’s not true. You need good running shoes and an expert coach who can guide you about the correct technique and keep pointing at the flaws that creep in when the body gets fatigued. In small towns, it is almost impossible to meet these basic requirements.” 

Neeru Saini, 48, a Chandigarh-based government schoolteacher, finds running quite liberating. She says, “I used to be a sportsperson in school but left sports after marriage. At 31, I lost my husband, who was suffering from cancer. I raised my two daughters single-handedly. Four years back, after they moved out, I started feeling bored and lonely. So I took to cycling and running. The experience has been liberating. It is as if I am living my childhood again. When you are running or cycling you are gasping for breath and the only thing you hear is your pumping heart. There are beautiful sights all around. It’s a whole new world out there. Fathers, brothers should encourage women in their family to go outdoors. Instead of being protective, they should be supportive.”