Run 4 Fun

Running scene in India is growing at an explosive pace and every weekend there are tons of races across various towns. I ran/race quite regularly in Houston for many years and observed the running scene very closely. I can't help comparing running in India Vs Running in US in my mind. Moreover I have noticed some socio-economic trends which are peculiar to both countries.  In USA, the running scene exploded in 70's where it became mainstream to run marathons. However, the runners were motivated by almost "Rocky" type self-motivation and grit and it wasn't much later when corporate houses like shoe/apparel/nutrition companies became a dominant force in running. In India, however the explosion of running scene is happening with clever and active drive of these same/similar corporate houses trying to entice upper middle class to lighten their wallet for the glory that comes with running.  For the following socio-economic analysis, I have made the following assumption...

I hesitated to write this post about 6 weeks back because I didn't want to jinx the rhythm I had found.  As much as I enjoy many aspects of running, I struggle to blend it into a lifestyle as many runners seem to have achieved around me effortlessly. I keep falling off the wagon like an incorrigible  alcoholic :) I tried to prepare for TMM Half 2023 in haste and overconfidence which resulted in a unique recurrence of injury called "Calf Heart Attacks" (three separate instances so far in my running career, all happened when I tried to return to running from a break in haste). I still ran TMM half 2023 because I didn't want to miss the marquee event of Mumbai running. I finished the race in 1:52:xx but limping with pain.  I examined the cause of the injury and a pattern emerged. I was simply too reckless as shown in the table. Not only I squeezed in three half marathon races without adequate training, I ran them comfortably hard as well. I also squeezed in few speed wor...