Pune to Aurangabad to raise funds for Isha Vidhya

I ran from Pune to Aurangabad to raise funds to educate the rural children of Isha Vidhya. 

Mukund Bhogle eminent industrialist from Aurangabad and one who actively involved to help to organise MIT Aurangabad Heritage Half Marathon , met me in Satara after my "Vashi to Satara" run and invited me to be the part of MIT Aurangabad Heritage marathon in whatever capacity.

I was keen to raise funds for the rural children’s education of Isha Vidhya by running from Pune to Aurangabad, for which Mukundji instantly agreed and assigned a team to support my run . Next day I received a call from Nitin Ghorpade, a well-known respected runner from Aurangabad, asking me for details. We both discussed and over a period of few days, we finalised all the necessary requirements.

MIT Aurangabad Heritage Half Marathon was on 26th of November2017.  The organisers wanted me to inaugurate the expo on 25th morning.  I was also supposed to give a motivational speech to Nagar Raising Running group Ahmednagar, Pune Decathlon and a few companies on my way to Aurangabad to raise funds for my charity. So I planned my days running schedule accordingly and had applied for 4 days leave out of my PL from my office.

Day 1 - 22nd November 2017 - Pune to Shirur Bypass - Distance Covered 72 km

I reached Pune the evening of 21st November & checked into the hotel which was booked for me. Waited for Nitin Ghorpade and his team to arrive at the hotel. They reached the hotel around 10pm , delayed because of the traffic. We were joined by Ashish Kasodekar for dinner. By the time, we kept everything ready for our next days run it was 11.30 pm. We hit the bed .

We left the hotel at 5.30 am to Pune University main building for the race flag off which was at 5 am.  

Mostly the multi days runs are hard core type of runs. A week before the run I prepare myself mentally. One always trains one's mind to be ready to face any kind of situation.

One can’t complain about sleep, terrain, weather, food etc. In all such situation, one has to be in a positive mind frame. If you are the senior or the only runner then you have to set an example for others. The driver who has to drive in snail pace and the entire support team feels mentally tired because of monotonous journey.  So you have to cheer up the team as you run and create a positive environment for everyone. That’s what I learnt from these kinds of runs. As they say “Tough Times don’t last, Tough people do “

As we reached the university main building, Mr.Mukund ji and his team from Aurangabad were already waiting for us. I was very happy to see our Comrades and Nikhil Shah, Arvind Bijwe & Kalyani Tokekar. 

Without much delay, I welcomed all the runners and briefed every one about the purpose of this run, distance and in how many days we will cover the distance. Mr. Mukund Bhogle ji briefed everyone about the marathon and he also mentioned that along with promoting MIT Aurngabad Heritage Half Marathon, I will be running to raise funds for education of Isha Vidhya children for which their entire team will be supporting me.

I also thanked Kishore Dhanukude , Ashish Kasodekar ,Arvind Bijwe , Nikhil Shah , Sujata , Kalyani Tokekar , Dr. Sandesh doshi , Anirban Mukherjee , Anand Thakar and all runners from Run buddies  for coming and wishing us good luck . Their support meant a lot to me .

Mr. Mukund Bhogle ji flagged off the run. After few meters we were joined by Run buddies team. Mukund ji along with members of Black bucks Aurangabad team Dr.Mahesh Siddheshwar & Mayuresh Dabri ran with us for some distance. After they left , we had the company of our comrades runners, who were eager to run till Aurangabad if time permitted. 

Its always a pleasure to be with two times Everest Summit & two times comrades finisher Kishore Dhanukude , finisher of Khardung La 111 km and many more other ultras Ashish Kasodekar , Sujata Raygade who is going to run comrades in 2018,

and Dr Sandesh Doshi who organises Sinhagad Bike And Hike and he is also an Ultra Marathoner himself . Its an honour to run along  with these elite runners .

Our next stop was Pune Decathlon which was at Wagholi, outskirts of Pune around 20 km from Pune University. This visit to Decathlon was arranged by Abhijit Nargolkar .   

Meeting with the Decathlon staff was supposed to be at 9 am, to adjust our time, we took our run a little easy. As we reached Decathlon we had breakfast, shared our running experience with the staff, answered few of their queries and left them after a group picture.  Our Comrades Sujata, Kishore and Ashish bid good bye to us. Thank you Kishore and Ashish you guys are always very supportive.

These kind of multi day runs, one should capitalise on morning weather and traffic by covering maximum distance. But we lost out almost one hour in the morning.

Mid-day I was little down because of the harsh dry sun. This weather is unlike any of my past multi day’s runs. So we stopped at Shikrapur for early lunch. While Nitin Ghorpade ordered lunch, our physio gave me a good stretch. And I took a nap before the lunch was served. This lunch break really refreshed me.

Now the task ahead of me was to cover the time which I lost in the morning. So after a little walk I started gaining momentum, added to this, later in the day it rained which also helped me run strong. It was such refreshing to run in the rain. Magic of nature is really amazing.

First  day target was to finish 80km but at the same time , we got message  from Organisor’s that we can’t run till hotel Windsor Castle because of heavy traffic jams , so we had to stop 20 to 25km before Aurangabad City. So accordingly I rescheduled the distances which I had to cover each day . Keeping in mind, stopover in between to address the gathering to raise funds. 

So I realised more than the total number of kilometre I had to cover, reaching Aurangabad by running and raise funds for Isha Vidhya was important for me.

It was becoming little scary to run on the road without a backup car . One can’t run on the side of the road because of pebbles and uneven terrain. The truck drivers drive very rashly. Few instances when my backup car lagged behind, the truck almost brushed past me . It’s very scary even when the bikes zip pass you in the opposite direction. So it was very risky to carry on running till late evening.  

First day after covering 72 km I called it a day at Shirur bypass. After physio’s stretching, we had dinner at Ghod Nadi bypass. We stayed at Sangram Shirur bypass for our first night.  

All in all, it was a great first day. It was nice and chilled in the morning, later in the day weather became very hot and  in the afternoon it rained for some time. So I experienced all the seasons in one day :). 

I had to catch up with some good sleep because I hardly slept Day before the run . And again I had to get up by 4.30 am on day two.  So with the thought of my next day schedule I fell fast asleep. 

Day 2 - 23rd November - Shirur to Jeur Toll Plaza , Ahmednagar - Distance covered  69 km

I started my run from Shirur .  The place where I ended my first day’s run .  Second day’s run went off very well till sunrise. But later around 9 am onwards weather started getting hotter. Every now and then, I literally poured water to keep myself cool. Whenever I used to feel tired and dejected, I thought about the poor children and their education, this gave me some positive energy.  

  

As we reached Supa ghat I could see few runners warming up to join us. I came to know later that they were from Nagar Rising runners group. It was such a great gesture from them to give me company. After few distance we stopped near Shirur – supa toll plaza hotel kamat for breakfast. It’s was so nice of them to pack some homemade breakfast for me. After the photo session I bid good bye to them.  I also met Abhijit Nargolkar of Pune Decathlon. 

As I started the run , I was joined by Zavareh Nagarwala & upcoming Ironman young Shaunak Kharade of  Deccan Wanderers Cycling Group.

Both of them escorted me from Supa till Hotel Iris Ahmednagar. 

The temperature started to increase again . In that process I somewhat lost my appetite and was not able to eat anything. 

Thanks to Zavareh & Shaunak’s company, I was able to divert my attention for some distance. 

 

As we were entering Nagar we were received by Nagar Raising runners. Sandip Joshi and his team joined me till Iris hotel . By now it’s 2pm and I could able to cover 54 km . 

Nagar Raising runners felicitated me and handed over the donation cheque for Isha Vidhya . Then later I addressed the gathering and answered few of their queries, thanked them from the bottom of my heart for joining me for helping rural children’s education. 

Nagar raising runners are bunch of enthusiastic group of young runners, they organise half marathon called Nagar Raising Half Marathon which is going to be on 4th of February 2018 (http://www.nagarrising.com/index.html )

The interaction and lunch took almost 2 hours and by 4 pm we were all set to leave.

As I came out,  I started to walk and jog for some distance . Since I had taken a long break and moving from air condition to dry hot climate, my legs started troubling me .  It started getting stiff & started paining . So I had to stop.  Physio put the mat at the side of the road & gave me a good stretch. 

By now few of Nagar raising runners left me but Zavareh Nagarwala was accompanying me on his cycle. He was cycling by my side and kept on motivating me and made me eat a banana, small piece of water melon and used to refill the water , that got me going. After a little while, slowly I got back into my rhythm.

I started pushing another 8 to 10 km and Nagarwala made me cross the hill in the dark. We stopped at Orange Valley hotel , Jeur Toll Plaza , Ahmednagar . Nagarwala was like a god sent to me. I could not thank him enough for the support. 

My physio  gave me a good stretch. After a live FB post along with Zavareh Bhai I thanked him again and checked into the hotel. Hit the bed after shower and dinner.

Day 3 - 24th November - Jeur Toll Plaza , Ahmednagar to Aurangabad Citi Limit - Waluj Toll Plaza - Distance covered 72 km

Since it’s a last day of the run. Thinking of reaching Aurangabad and finishing the task made me feel nice and better.  I was out on the road at 4.30 am for the last day :) 

After few kilometres of running, I was running all the way down the Pandhri pool  ghat . Weather was nice and cold. Now my body also was getting used to the run. I was almost sprinting down the ghat . I started getting my appetite back n I began to feel hungry. 

Now I was feeling fresh and nice as if I had just started my run. That’s the magic of human body. After few days you will get used to the routine but one needs to have patience & not to lose focus. 

By sunrise we reached Godegao near the famous Shani Singnapur and we stopped for breakfast.

I had missal Pav . This Missal Pav was not so spicy like the ones you get in Nasik. Enjoyed the taste, had a nice cup of tea too. Felt much better than the last two days.

Felt as if I can continue running for a few more days. I didn’t want to be over confident so I maintained my pace. I know I have to be at the office on Monday morning. 

After breakfast, walked for some time then again started my run.

As I was getting my stretch under a tree on the road side, Akshay Rathi of Kaygaon Paper Mill and Dr Mahesh Sidheshwar came to check on us, it’s so considerate of them.

It’s been the case since the day I started my run, Mukund Ji and his team were very concerned and they really took a good care of me. Mukund ji himself called and asked me if I needed any help. Nitin Ghorpade who was taking care of the support the team was of a great help throughout the run.

Akshay and Mahesh invited us to have lunch as well as visit Kaygaon Paper Mills.

After we had lunch at Hotel Pravara Sangam , we walk / run towards the paper mill which was just 2 km from the hotel. As we came closer to the Mill . I could see their staff standing in line , clapping and cheering for me . I was touched by their gesture.

 After a brief intro they took me inside the mill .  We had something to drink and in the meantime I nicely iced my leg . Then later I had a brief interaction with their staff. We heard later that , around 50 staff ran the Sunday race , instead of 10 staff enrolled prior to my visit . Its such a motivation for me.  

As we crossed the river Sangam of Pravara Godavari, we were inside Aurangabad district.

Now I could see that I have entered the heritage city. On my left in the water I could see a shiva temple built in black stone. The name of the river where the temple is situated is known as Pravara Sangam.  Later I learnt that the temple is called Siddheshwara Temple, build in the period of the Peshwas.

We reached the city limits of Aurangabad and it was almost 6 pm. Around 7 pm we had to reach the Hotel Windsor Castle as we had planned earlier, so we decided to call it a day and took the car and drove to hotel.  

As we reached hotel Windsor Castle, I could hear sound of drums. At the entrance of the hotel Mukund ji and his team were there to welcome us . Mukund Ji congratulated us and garlanded each member of our team. As a tradition we danced a bit and they took me inside the hotel.

Krishna Murthy from Isha had called me earlier so I knew he , his wife and Isha Volunteers would be there to receive me at the hotel . After the meeting, we discussed about our next day’s schedule. I checked into my room. Later me and Nitin went out for dinner.

Day - 4 - 25th November - Hotel Windsor Castle to MIT college - Distance around 9 km

Morning around 7 am I met Priyadarshini before the start of the run .  Later Ajay Aghav Ji, 
Dr Mahesh , Sachin , Nitin and many more runners from Black Bucks Runners group joined us from the Hotel towards MIT College were I was supposed to flag off the expo , which is around 7 km or so. But in between I was  to address a gathering of runners group called Young runners at Garkheda Stadium Aurangabad. 
As we reached the entrance of the Stadium all the runners from the young runners group were standing on both sides of the stadium and welcomed me by clapping and cheering. Their gesture was overwhelming. 

There was a big gathering of young and energetic runners around the ground. As I reached they tied Pheta (Tie around the head) for me . The person who tied pheta was a professional guy, who tied Pheta even for our ex PM Vajpayee. It’s really an honour. 

Dr.Ajit Dule introduced me to the runners and handed over the donation cheque on behalf of the Young Runners as well his personal cheque. I was touched by their gesture.
After sharing my running experience and few selfies with the runners, we proceeded towards the Expo.

I inaugurated the expo by cutting the ribbon. Later I was called on the stage along with other dignitaries. They honoured me with a flower bouquet and handed over the donation cheque on behalf of MIT Aurangabad Heritage Marathon.

I spoke about my Pune Aurangabad run, how useful running is for our daily life . I also told that it will be a great idea to organise a tour for the outstation runners & their families around the heritage sites so that the runner’s families too can enjoy the event. 

Expo was very professionally managed. It was located inside the MIT compound which was surrounded by trees.  There were many stalls at the expo. Amod Bhate Comrade Runner had his stall of innovative hanger medals. 

Later I had a talk show session with Priyadarshini one of the well-known runner, who asked some very intelligent questions covering almost many things, which I enjoyed.

They also had an exhibition on Heritage sites of Aurangabad in which they shown all the monuments around Aurangabad, Conservation of heritage sites around the world, old Aurangabad cultural heritage, what happens if we don’t protect our heritage etc . 

Place to visit in Aurangabad. 

Aurangabad is a tourism hub , surrounded by many historical monuments , including Ajanta Caves & Ellora Caves , which is UNESCO World Heritage Sites , As well as Bibi ka Maqbara and Panchakki . 

Bibi Ka Maqbara it is replica of Taj Mahal build by Aurangzeb 6th Mughal emperor build in memory of his first wife.  

Panchakki also known as water mill. Displays the scientific thought process put in medieval Indian architecture. It has designed to generate energy via water brought down from spring on a mountain. Typical example of medieval engineering built in 1744.

It’s also called as city of Gates. Other tourism attractions are Daulatabad fort , Aurangabad Caves ( 12 Buddhist Caves dating back 3 A.D ) , Grishneshwar Temple , Tomb of Aurangzeb . 

Day 5 - 26th November - Race Day - MIT Aurangabad Heritage Marathon - 25km

Next day morning Priyadarshini picked us up and dropped us at the starting point of the race.  Me along with Atul , Aniruddha and few other runners reached the starting point of the marathon around 5 am. I could see already the ground was full of runners warming up on zumba beats and just few seconds after 6.30 am the 25km and 21km run flagged off.

As the run started there was slight incline. Incline was gradual till 3 km and later it was little flat but again there was a climb. All in all the terrain is of ups and down and it's a loop of 12.5 for those doing 25kms . I could see the water stop tables were neatly spread with good quality big black dates, peeled oranges, jaggery, On the Run Energy Bars, Small water bottles, candies, Salt, Banana and ORS. Volunteers were very helpful and cheering the runners, there were many local bands playing music, awesome weather to run, Route Km was marked properly. No doubt it’s a challenging route but I could see that the runners were enjoying the run. Last few kilometre of the loop, we entered the cave area with very scenic roads. They had blocked the traffic, so it was pollution free and traffic free throughout the route. There were many international runners participating in the run.  I was running with local Aurngabad runner Shrinivas Moliyele , Shekhar Thosar & Narayan Patil for few kilometres, enjoyed running with them. 

On the return loop last 3 km was terrain was downhill till the finish line. So I sprinted all the way down to the finish.

Post run breakfast was hot delicious, they served  Dalkhichdi, butter milk, water bottle and some laddo . There was a recovery zone with many Physio’s.  One could stand in the queue to emboss one's time and name on the medal. This was one of the best organised event. 

Even though this was one of the difficult terrains with lots of ups and downs but still the results were amazing.  21km winner Male time was 1:08:44 sec , Female in – 1:29:37 min , 25 km overall male winner finished in 1:27:31 sec, Female – 1:42:45 and 10 km overall male winner
32:55 sec , Female - 47:02.

I being a sports person myself & citizen of this country was astonished that ,  time and again our athletes performance match with that of the world class athletes  but still there is nobody to nourish their talents . By not supporting them, we ourselves are responsible for destroying these talents at the budding stage.   Hope one day government and corporate companies will open their eyes and we will have many runners getting Olympic medals for our country. 

Lastly I am very happy to inform you all that I have almost reached the target of 5 lakhs for the rural education of school children. From the bottom of my heart I am thankful to all the donors who donated and supported me for the cause.

www.ishavidhya.org , www.aurangabadrunning.com