Ijeoma Anusionwu proudly shows off her Comrades Marathon 2016 medal. She was among the 22000 runners who participated in the 89.2km run in South Africa on May 29. “In the medical camp, which I’m told is the largest outside a war zone, you’ll see runners passing out, throwing up, administered intravenous fluids and barely able to move. There’s a joke that to find out if someone is alive, gently pull the medal and the runner would spring alive and grab it back,” she laughs.
Ije drew inspiration from Devyani Haldar, the only other runner from Hyderabad to have completed this ultra marathon, in 2015. Ije ‘garu’, as she is referred to by fellow runners, says she owes it to Hyderabad Runners (the group is in its tenth year) for making her do the impossible. “They are always ready to help; someone will accompany you for a long run or motivate you,” she says.
Work brought Ije to Hyderabad in January 2015. Back home in New York, she had never run. “I remember doing sprints in high school,” says Ije. She stumbled upon an announcement for Harithon – The Green Run, 5k, in February 2015. She enrolled and was proud to cover the distance. She wasn’t aware that one had to train to run.
As runners know, you never stop with one run. Within a week, Ije found herself finishing a 7k and then a 10k. “I finished the 10k partly fearing the traffic. That was the first time I was running on a city road and didn’t know that traffic isn’t stopped during runs,” she guffaws.
At the end of it, the organiser of Pinkathon asked her if she would sign up for a half marathon. Ije nodded. “I realised I had made a mistake. My legs wouldn’t move after 12 km and my pacer Andy, to whom I hadn’t confided that I had never run this distance, motivated me and said I should finish in the top 5,” she recalls.
Ije pushed herself and nearly made it to the top five when someone ran past her. Later, she came to know it was Devyani. “She told me she was doing a practice run and was preparing to run 89km. I thought she had made that up!”
The difference between other ultra marathons and Comrades is the 12-hour cut-off limit. “You could miss the cut-off by a few minutes or by a few hours, it’s the same. You are out of the race and get nothing to show that you participated,” she says.
Later, Ije heard a talk by Devyani and casually remarked that she would also like to run the Comrades marathon. “Devyani said, ‘oh yes, you should’, and I made up my mind. Several others felt it was a bad idea since I had just begun running. Devyani, of course, didn’t know this. But each time someone tried to talk me out of it, I got more determined,” says Ije.
Once she began working towards Comrades, runners Sunita Tummalapalli and Anuradha Kalidindi showed her roads with inclines where she could practice, since the route in South Africa was not going to be flat. Ije’s work required her to be in office from afternoon. She spent her mornings running, doing strength training, yoga, reading about practice sessions and diet, or listening to pod casts. On Saturdays, she ran long distance and walked to get her legs tired. She spent Sundays running on tired legs. “When you have to run 89 km, you will be running on tired legs, drawing every bit of energy possible,” she reasons.
Ije ran marathons in Hyderabad and Mumbai, ultra marathons in Ooty and Darjeeling, learning to navigate tough terrains and better her timing.
Despite all that training, she knew it wouldn’t be easy in South Africa. For nearly 20kms, in between, she struggled to pick up pace. Out of the blue, she remembered a tip from Devyani. “She had told me that she picks up pace in the last few kilometres. I managed to do that. The adrenaline rush and people cheering along the path helped.” Ije completed with seven minutes to spare.
A fortnight after the feat, Ije is contemplating Comrades 2017. “It would be great to do it back to back. Once you are there, you realise how many runners have done it more than 10 times and are a part of the ‘Green Bib’ club and are treated like royalty,” she smiles.
Running knows no limits.
Devyani Haldar: Driven by love for running
Runners in Hyderabad know Devyani Haldar as a soft spoken woman who rarely courts the spot light. As the first runner from Hyderabad to have completed Comrades, in 2015, she didn’t brag about it. “I gave a presentation to runners; that’s about it. I run because it gives me joy,” she says.
Devyani began running in Bangalore when she was pursuing her Ph.D with Indian Institute of Sciences in the late 90s, did her first half marathon in 2001 and ran a full marathon in 2004. “Many of my friends run a lot more than I do. I’ve only done 11 marathons so far,” she says. She hadn’t participated in ultra marathons before Comrades, which she knew was going to be a different beast.
“The terrain is tough and there’s a cut-off time, so I had to train specifically. I finished Mumbai marathon in January 2015 and trained till early May for Comrades,” she says. Devyani ran nearly 1200 kms in four months in preparation. “Anyone who is disciplined and motivated can do it,” she affirms.
During the training, she had help from Hyderabad Runners. “Sandeep Krishna and others would run along when I trained to run uphill, Romil, Udit Joshi and others would accompany me for long runs, more than 32km, 4.30 a.m. onwards, and Rajesh Vetcha lent me his copy of Amit Sheth’s book ‘Dare to Run’ which made me realise how tough my path would be and how I needed to train,” she says.
Devyani also sought help from Mumbai pacer Prateek Desai and Dilip Patil (a five-time Comrade finisher). Devyani draws a parallel between running and her area of work, scientific research and says, “Both require discipline, perseverance to keep training unmindful of failure and mental strength.”
