Some thoughts about running - 1

Sunil Gopal made me a runner.

We met in the early days of college, probably introduced by a common friend. He was India Junior No.1 in squash (and had played Jansher Khan), an established runner and had built some pretty darn good amateur loudspeakers in boarding school. I was a middling cricketer, an accidental goalkeeper and had Walkman speakers which sat on top of empty beer cans.

I had run a bit before, like most kids of our generation. I'd even done a 3000-metre race, because it meant that I'd officially get to skip school and go to a meet with my pals who were proper athletes. But I wasn't a runner, not really.

For reasons that aren't entirely clear, Sunil decided that I needed to run long distance. He would come to my room at the crack of dawn, pop a cassette of a live concert (Supertramp, Dio, Genesis, The Doors...) into my Walkman and inform me how much we were going to run. We started modestly, 5 to 6 kilometres. In a few months' time, we had run from Delhi University to Defence Colony, eaten breakfast at a friend's and taken the University Special back to college, all before 8:40am.

I've been running ever since.

I'm competitive - mainly with myself - and have raced a fair bit, marathons and half-marathons. It's obvious that running is good for my health. I have a valued community of running friends. But the truest explanation for why continue to run is just that it makes me feel good. Others realise this as well: more than once has my wife told me to get out and go for a run to get over a sulk or a temper.

I can't imagine not being a runner.

Thanks Sunil.