Run!

Last week at The Wipro Chennai Marathon, I ran a distance of 21.63km at a pace of 8 min 15 sec per km.

That run was my longest and fastest (so far), and probably the hardest.

Maybe!

But it was nothing as compared to the runs that were actually hard at a totally different level!

The run from the tight grips of an uncle, when I escaped from his dirty hands and thereby dirty mind at the age of 4 was hard!

The run from the hormone induced overtures from a bunch of eve teasers in the bus stop, at the age of 14 was hard!

The run from a wayward loner in a deserted street which was unusually lonely after my tuition, at the age of 17 was hard!

The run from a flock of pigs dressed decently yet who tried indecent acts under the cover of darkness in a multiplex, at the age of 19 was hard!

The run from one compartment to another begging the TTR to allot a different seat fearing a co passenger and his uncalled for advances, at the age of 20 was hard!

The run from the stalkers who were trying to show off their “manliness” in a not so manly way, at the age of 21 was hard!

The run from the moving bus packed with a bunch of hooligans ever ready to let their filthy hands brush against the lady passengers in a not so “oh I am so sorry, that was accidental” way, at the age of 23 was hard!

The run at ungodly hours from the hoots and whistles of the ruffians in their bikes while training for the upcoming races, at the age of 25 was hard!

The more I wanted to fight, the more I wanted to run!

Run from the menial attitudes!

Run from the “easy to label victims” society!

Run from the fact that I alone cannot scare(however loud and bold I maybe!) anyone enough to change!

Thanks to the Marathon training, I can now run faster than before making it easier to escape from many a lewd intention!

So the next time I am about to call for an Uber ride, I will trade off the comfort of having “my own private driver” for my own safety and would consider running to my destination! That way I would save some money (a lot in fact!) also!

At this rate, I would soon be a Full Marathon Runner with no additional “training” per se!

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