I think I first connected with MRR (Mumbai Road Runners) on Facebook when I was planning to do my very first 10k in 2012. I had registered for the Pinkathon that year. Unfortunately, I ended up skipping it due to a Family Emergency. Anyways, along with some other Runner Groups, MRR soon became my Go to place for every little Running query. Initially I had the Fly on the Wall approach simply skimming through the posts, garnering knowledge and trying to inculcate whatever was feasible.

In 2015 post my first FM, by when I had moved on from being a Solo Runner to connecting with other Runner Friends thanks to my buddy Roshni Rai, I met Ultra Couple Sunil and Sangeeta Shetty. They were nice enough to take Anupma Diddi and me for our very first Run with the MRR Gang in June 2015. We went directly to NCPA and ran about 12k or so returning with the Bandra-NCPA Runners. Both of us didn’t really know anyone but Samuel Chettiar made sure we were very much a part of the Gang ?.

After the Mumbai Ultra on 15^th August, 2015, I got to know a lot more other Runners. After all Misery loves Company Right ?? We were all a bunch of crazy people going back and forth in loops. Needless to say it was wonderful to actually meet and even run along with some of my MRR friends from Facebook ?.

Getting connected to more Runners helped me get the additional support in terms of Transportation. It was always an issue venturing out alone in the wee hours of the morning. Finally I had a whole Gang of people who were happy to have me tag along with them. Yup, my life was definitely more interesting and fun now thanks to MRR. From running in one event in the neighbourhood I graduated to running around all over the place having a gala time ?..

We did crazy things like play Dress up for the MRR Halloween Run. Runner Photographer Indy Jadhv actually managed to look like Cowboy Amalesh Karle and I were enacting Shootout at Wilson ? . Oh Boy, that was hilarious.

Finally I managed to do the monthly Bandra-NCPA 21k post SCMM 2016 along with Salaj Singh as we edged Amalesh Karle on to finish strong at NCPA amidst loud cheers and applause. Sure makes you feel like a Star every single time ?. .

Being associated with MRR we even got to be a part of the Yoga Session by Beverly Mathews channelling our inner Yogis. It was a really informative session by Beverly with Neelam Vaswani and Kanishk Pandey demonstrating the various poses as the rest of us did our best to follow them and avoid toppling over ? . Yup, sure isn’t as easy as it looks.

The Ultimate Frisbee Game organized by Swetha and Amit at Juhu Beach was a laugh riot. All of us were running around, giggling, shouting and falling around like Big Kids. And the mad moments rolled on with the Ultimate Blast at the MRR Awards Bash. Volunteering was just another way to get to know people and making like-minded friends ?.

Oh yes, how can I forget being part of the Famous MRR Runner Speak Video. Viv and Sam had a ball pretty much ragging us :P. Needless to say each of us was super thrilled as soon as we were done. All in all we had fun, though the less said about my over-animated video the better ? .

So happy to run and be a part of the very first MRR 10-Miler recently arranged at the Eastern Express Highway. Nice to have another MRR Run so close to Home. As always the Fun and Camaraderie is unmatched ? .

Feels unbelievable that two years have flown by.   I am very much part of this wonderful group. From simply reading up and gaining inputs and information, I am now actually giving advice, encouragement and freely sharing my views with others. Of course the biggest and best part has been the amazing people I have met and wonderful friends I have made thanks to MRR ?.

So Happy to see, learn and be a part of the Selfless work done by MRR including supporting deserving Runners from the low income bracket, giving away running gear to charitable organizations, organizing Charity Runs and many more such wonderful initiatives. Sure feels wonderful to be a part of such a Vibrant Community which believes in Sharing, Caring and giving back to others. MRR definitely Rocks.

My first volunteering stint with MRR was way back, on 7th June 2015.  Incidentally it was also a Farewell run for Andrea Stadler. Though I had joined MRR fb group in Sept 2013, my involvement was limited only to reading posts and questions posted by fellow runners & answers to these questions given by experts in group.

I used to always wonder how these guys run 21km for practice and that too every month, as till that time I used to participate in only 1 race (SCMM) in a year .So decided to join all like-minded people for a race.  Initially, I felt a bit scared as running 21km every month was not my cup of tea and was also not familiar with the route then ( The route maps were not posted then ) , hence decided to volunteer and get acquainted with members of the group & to know the entire route . 

Ram Venkatraman added me to the volunteer group which included other runners who had opted to volunteer during the run. All sorts of question were running in my mind as to how the hydration will be served, how we would know when the runners require hydration etc. Rupal Shah who was coordinating for that run had already shared few instructions for us in the group. This made me bit comfortable. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that is required to conduct a run, keeping to account the weather, no of participants, their finish timing, post run snacks, hydration (water) and coordinating with people coming from various parts of city etc.

However meticulous planning & execution by Rupal and admins made it look easy as the further instructions started flowing regarding spots/water stations assigned to volunteers and procurement of hydration( water ) for their respective stations based on the number of volunteers , baggage’s collection and other instructions for Andreas farewell like getting placards prepared , cakes etc. 

I was confused with so much instruction and was wondering how these guys arrived at hydration (water) figure just by taking into account the no of runners registered. (This doubt got cleared after I had few more volunteering stint with MRR and also thanks to calculation xls shared by Viv Menon). Subsequently a detailed instructions for runners & volunteers were shared for the race day runners thanking the volunteers on the volunteer post even before the start of day made me realize that this is gonna be an awesome experience. 

So as planned and instructed I landed up at Otters club at 05:00 am and was quite amazed to see so many runners in colorful clothes (few in MRR neo green ) turning up early morning for a practice run ( though the number was not quite huge as it is now ). As I personally didn’t know anyone there, I  started looking out for other volunteers by checking their FB profile pic and soon  met Subhash Putty and Rupal who introduced me to Sukhjeevan Singh Bhimber (Sukhi Paji )  , as I was stationed at mela with sukhi .Then there was a warm-up session followed by a briefing by Samuel Chettiar(Sam) for runners and  volunteers just before the run ( a practice which he still does before start and after finishing the run ), the briefing also included a Jumla of getting Hugs & Kisses ( The later one, I have never received during the run as said by Sam and hence a Jumla :) ) .Few runners had by then started painting their face with lipsticks and colors this reminded me of my school & college years were we had similar fun during trips etc. 

Post the start of the race the volunteers grouped according to their water station started leaving for their respective station, After reaching Mela (now China Bistro) Sukhi immediately placed the MRR standee and we started preparing the hydration (Mixing enerzal to water) by the time we had prepared few hydration (now water & enerzal) bottles, runners started coming to our water station. Was very thrilled to see happy faces of runners stopping for hydration(water) and fruits (banana & oranges) and almost every runner thanked us, this continued till 7:30 am.  The camaraderie  was unbelievable though didn’t knew many of them but the warmth in their smile and small talks and hugs made me feel homely and aren’t we a big family of runners ?

At around 7:30 am we wrapped the water station after all the runners had passed our station and we proceeded towards NCPA, the point where the run ends. Many runners had already finished their run by then and Rupal and other volunteers there were helping them with hydration (water) and snacks. 

Post having snacks and after about 15-20 mins Giles Drego started with the cool down sessions, with runners participating in cool down session happily & then we had a small farewell function for andrea including a vote of thanks from her for the wonderful experience she had with MRR .All this and happy faces of runners greeting each other and discussing about run & clamour by runners was no less than a festival, it was an amazing culmination to what had been a splendid morning.

I’d never volunteered in any run earlier and I have never been as amazed by it as I was that day. After this I knew I had gained more than what I had given back and made few good friends too.

My first experience volunteering for MRR monthly run was fantastic and I absolutely loved it and then I wondered why it took me so long to join this group and volunteer and if you haven’t yet had the chance to volunteer at MRR, I would encourage you to do so and here’s why: 

It’s fun to be on the other side of the race. Since I like to cheer people, it was fun for me to do that on just about every runner as they flew by. Cheering on runners is pretty much my favorite thing ever. 

It helps you to connect to other runners including podium finishers, ultra runners etc., listening to new stories of their achievements and get to gain so much knowledge about running, recovery, hydration etc. 

It helps you to better understand why and how certain decisions are made in races e.g. hydration (water) stations, refreshment, snacks etc.  Seeing a bit of the behind the scenes action, can provide the perspective that you just don’t have when you are running.  

Giving back is important. The community requires volunteers. At some point in your life as a runner, one of those volunteers should be you. Volunteering can be a thankless job, but it is an important one and races couldn’t exist without it and it’s a fact.

I started to run in May 2012. I had no intentions to run a race and this changed in two months when I ran my first Bandra-NCPA run with MRR. It was the July edition and July 2012 was the second anniversary.

A background first. Bandra NCPA run as it was previously called, was a 19k run from Otters club to NCPA. The route chalked out by the stalwarts of running like Milton Frank, Giles Drego and Ram Venkatraman did not have the half loop of Carter road and did not take the Worli sea face. As a result it was a 19k route. There were some runners who would take Worli sea face to make it a 20k but obviously I was not one of them. As a complete novice I always followed to the T what my coach Giles Drego told me. So when he invited me to run this one, he clearly said “You do a 12-13k. Run till haji ali and take a cab to NCPA. Or go back if you want but there will be cake at NCPA.” (Typical Giles)      

Anyway so the day arrives and I reach Otters Club all excited. I see about a hundred people charged up, dressed in vibrant running gear, stretching, warming up, meeting and greeting each other. The atmosphere was electrifying. I clearly remember seeing the legends of running there. These were the real stars. Giles, Mani, Ram, Bhasker, Ajit, Puru, Milton, Unmesh etc. I call them the legends of running because they are really passionate about the sport. We look at running now and it is full of limelight. Social Media, Brands chasing runners, race mania, sponsorship, challenges and what not. It has become the ‘in’ thing if I may say so. These runners are legends in my opinion because they used to run even when it was not the ‘in’ thing. So here I was like a little village child who was suddenly put on the streets of Manhattan somehow, looking everywhere in amazement, awe and excitement.

Pani Sir had graced the occasion. He had flown down from Bangalore to be a part of this. I had no idea who he was and it was much later I got to know the kind of respect the man commands in the running circuit across the country. I clearly remember him saying “We will go easy. We will maintain a pace of 6 consistently throughout the run” Again I had no idea what ‘easy’ meant and what ‘pace’ was. I did not own a Garmin back then. I only had to follow my Coach’s instructions and message him my total time taken later on.

The run began and I cannot describe the energy levels I saw on that day. There was a sea of runners and the waves were lashing. My initial thoughts to myself were “Dude… look at them.. they are all champions.. Thank goodness you only have to run till Haji Ali… else you would have reached NCPA by the time these people are eating lunch!”  I barely knew anyone there besides Giles and Kshitij Sharma but by the end of it I had made some acquaintances if not friends. And who would have known that some of these acquaintances would result in deep bonds of friendship.

The 2nd Anniversary edition

So I continued to run and people passed me. Cheering me on when they didn’t even know me. I was amazed again. This was not some group of elite, high and mighty people who had their noses in the air.

This was a group where a slow and new runner like me was welcomed with warm smiles and open arms. This was a pack I would want to be a part of. So happy as I was I continued to run. This was my first long run. I consider distances above 10K as ‘Long’. I had no idea about pacing myself and I continued at a decent speed. Obviously I got steamed out around Siddhivinayak Temple. I decided to walk when I met Aanchal Mundkur. She took out the earphone and asked “first time” I nodded. She said “Awesome.. cya at NCPA” and rushed off. The thing with Ms. Mundkur is you cannot forget or miss her. She is the girl in the orange cap. However, if my memory serves me right, that time the cap was white.

2014 edition

So I ended my run at Haji Ali and took a cab to NCPA as instructed. When I reached, many runners had already reached there and a few were coming in. After sometime Pani sir took the stretches. It was the most extensive stretching session I have ever been a part of. Just the stretching lasted half an hour. A big cake was cut and distributed among runners. And after some crazy group pictures I took a cab and went back home.

What changed in me that day was my reason to run. I saw this bunch of runners who I knew had a story behind their running but irrespective of their different reasons, they had in common real love and passion for running. That day I decided that I will never stop running. The only reason to stop will be losing the love or passion for the sport and I always pray that I stay in love with it. What started as a casual fling turned into a full fledged love affair. In the 5 years of being in love with running I have ran about 30 races with distances ranging from 10k to 42.2k. I may have not lost a lot of weight, I may have not got many PBs and I may have plateau-ed out but what I have gained here is some really good friendships. I have met some extremely motivating and inspiring people and forged a deep bond with some. And that makes it all worth it.

6th Anniversary Edition 2016

MRR is celebrating its 7^th Anniversary on 2^nd July 2017 and many congratulations to them…. Rather us. I have never missed the anniversary edition since 2012 and have been around for at least 8-9 editions each year. I have seen this community grow multiple folds. It gives me immense happiness to share that I was once a part of an edition with only 11 runners and absolutely no volunteers. Today the least attendance is in three digits. There are volunteers, hydration partners, contests, prizes sometimes even sponsored breakfast. The policy of ‘For the runners by the runners’ is strictly followed and a newbie will feel as welcomed as I felt in the July of 2012.

Last year I wrote something on the MRR run. Just ending with that rhyme.     

As the days get hot and nights get warm
I lay awake in my bed before my alarm
Excited as a child on his birthday
I get ready as its the first Sunday of May
The summers are here and its getting hotter
But I have to be in front of otter’s 
So off I rush as I dont wanna be late
With runner buddies I have a date
I park my car outside otters gate 
And find the lively MRR brigade
I meet and greet and hug and kiss
And make sure there’s no lady I miss
A pack of cheetahs all fit and lean 
And so many of them sporting the MRR green
So off they go at half past five

So much energy the dead could come alive
They reach the first water station at shivaji park 
And oh my god.. Its still dark
Water, enerzal, smiles and cheers
They take a sip and thank the volunteers
They continue on their journey south
So much fun there ain’t no doubt
And soon they take a breather at mela
Click some pics and eat a kela
By now its dawn and dark no more 
They are half way done and half way more 
They keep running alongside the sea
With a lovely view of haji Ali
And when the sea view comes to an end 
On pedder road they start to ascend 
Puffing, panting with all the might and will
When the hell are we gonna get a downhill

And so they hit the marine drive
At Wilson greeted with biscuits and high five
They tell you that you are almost there
NCPA ain’t that far from here
Continuing to run along the bend
They will run till the roads end 
And when they see the faster ones of the tribe
They will get a triumphant vibe 
And so they dash with hands in the air
Welcomed by applause and cheer
They stretch and plan breakfast and beer
And off they go to an Irani place near.

It was a sultry April morning in 2015 when my husband and I landed up at Otters club for our first MRR (Mumbai Road runners) run. As we got out of the car, we looked around at the jovial faces feeling initially quite at sea. We then noticed a cheerful faced person walking up to us and introducing himself as Samuel Chettiar who instantly made us feel at home.

I remember the weather being excessively warm considering it was the month of April. However the reception that we received during and post the run was undoubtedly warmer as I recollect going back home with pleasant memories and some new friends. It was no looking back after that and we sincerely dedicated every first Sunday of the month to our new family of runners.

Month after month, as we clocked our long runs, our camaraderie with this community only grew. It was interesting to see people from varied age groups, several parts of the city and different professional backgrounds come together for this occasion. MRR has managed to connect individuals with a similar passion from different corners of the humongous city of Mumbai which wasn’t feasible otherwise given the erratic schedules and mind numbing travel times.

It is due thanks to their vibrant Facebook page that encourages runners to post their queries, car pool with fellow runners from similar or neighbouring localities to reach a particular destination for an event, talk about their experiences of running on different trails, read the story behind every runner and engage in a healthy discussion.

Fun is definitely the USP of every MRR run as sincere efforts are taken to ensure that no runner is discriminated or judged based on their pace, distance or timing. Volunteers are stationed in plenty offering a kind word or two along with the necessary hydration. Every runner is given their due appreciation and included in the group photographs- a reminder of their memories on the roads.

Breaking the monotony is believed to be crucial and hence the off season months of March, April and May are utilized to engage in different kinds of sports besides running which includes Football and Ultimate Frisbee. Yoga sessions are also conducted on a regular basis barring the monsoon months of June, July, August and September. While running forms the core of MRR, activities like these brings people of other varied interests together which in turn has led to the growth of the community every year.

The glittering MRR awards function held on an annual basis post the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is an occasion for people to let their hair down, engage in a lot more effervescent activities like a skit or a dance and build a deeper bond with their fellow runners whom they would usually just wave out to during their long runs.

It has been 2 eventful years since I joined the Mumbai road runners and the camaraderie has only strengthened over the several months. Having been running since 2012, it was initially a lonely haul for both my husband and myself who would spend long hours on the road without a single person to acknowledge.  Today it’s a different scenario where we eventually bump into familiar faces thanks to MRR.

Having been residents of South Mumbai for over ten years, we haven’t been able to make that many friends in this part of town  as we have by the virtue of just being in a community like Mumbai road runners within a short span of 2 years. Today we have far more friends from other parts of the city than the uptight locality we are residing in.

Pondering at this irony, I often tend to dwell in remorse and regret that I didn’t join this vibrant community earlier. However the saying goes ‘When the student is ready, the master appears’. Perhaps there is a time for everything. Probably in April 2015, I was ready to learn, love, accept, empathize and not judge – the principles which MRR operates with.

It is sheer platform where everybody is a student and a teacher as this gigantic network offers something that everybody can learn from-be it a new comer, amateur or a veteran. The large-heartedness of the Mumbai road runners breaks barriers and distances by welcoming runners from all over the country and the world-a bond which is what makes runners feel at home and establish that connection. The rapport eventually  goes beyond running and I term this as a Karmic connection!!