I never knew how the city looked at 5 a.m. I have woken up early to catch flights but I have never soaked in the sights, sounds and smells of the morning.
When the members of the Chennai Trekking Club asked me to be at the venue — Ottiambakkam quarry, located beyond Sholinganallur — for their triathlon at 5.30 a.m. on Sunday I said, ‘That’s like midnight’. “You won’t regret it,” they assured.
The triathlon is an athletic contest comprising three levels — swimming, cycling, and running, where the participants finish all the three in this sequence. While on Saturday they had two races for the beginners — Enticer and Sprint, Sunday was meant for the professionals who would compete for the Half Iron Distance (1.9-km swim, 90 km cycling, 21 km run) and Olympic Distance (1.5-km swim, 40 km cycling and 10 km run) races.
I wonder if it’s even human to achieve such feats but I’m told that some of the participants have completed more challenging triathlons. In fact, it’s getting popular among fitness enthusiasts and CTC itself has organised 12 events in a span of two years.
The fact that 70 participants, including children, women and senior citizens, had registered for the Sunday’s event, only proves the point. They gathered at the venue much in advance to familiarise themselves with the terrain. Some of them even reached the previous night.
The buzz was palpable but it was the location — the 150m- long, 50m-wide and 100m-deep open-water quarry — that made me sit up. Hidden from the city, it’s surprisingly clean and a treat for those who want to float amidst Nature.
“I discovered this spot by chance and thought it was perfect for a triathlon event. It is convenient as it is away from the city traffic. After swimming here, the participants will ride on the OMR and return to start the long-distance run around the quarry,” said Peter Van Geit, the founder of CTC.
The Half Iron triathletes get into the water first and the Olympic-event swimmers join them half hour later. “The Olympic participants have to complete 15 laps and the Half Iron, 18. There are volunteers at the mouth of the water body who note down the details,” explained Peter, while pointing at the rope tied across the length of the quarry. “Swimmers are asked to stay close to it and they could hold the rope if they want to rest.”
The rope is not the only precautionary measure. Apart from rescue volunteers in the pool, five surfers associated with Bay of Life from Kovalam are stationed at various points. Above them all was a drone attached with a camera that flew time-to-time to capture the moments. Also, the friends and family of the participants generously cheered and kept a keen eye on the swimmers. They eagerly waited for them to finish, so that they could help the athletes prepare for the cycling round.
Within almost 30 minutes, the first swimmer emerged and hurried towards his cycle. After drying-up and grabbing a quick bite, he was set to hit the road. Others followed soon. “To cover 40 km, they will ride till Tiruporur and back. Those covering 90km, will pedal till Kalpakkam and take a U-turn to the quarry. On the way back, they will do the running along a 3.5km double-loop, where the Olympic and Half Iron man will run three and six laps respectively,” explained Aravind K., a volunteer, who quickly marked the starting points for the long-distance running once everyone was out of the pool.
The volunteers were stationed at various points to not only supervise but also provide refreshments and sometimes even cheer the competitors.
However, the centre of attention was 12-year-old Aditya Sharma who was the youngest participant to compete the Half Ironman. He said his father, Anil Sharma, who also participated, is his inspiration.
The cloudy weather worked in favour of those running and the event wrapped-up by around 5 p.m. A sporting event like this is not just a test of your physical stamina and endurance but also your mental strength. “An event like this gears you up for the challenges of life.”
And the winners are
In the Olympic Category, Chirag led the race as he completed in three hours and two minutes. He was followed by Thomas Brouns (3h 41 min) and Vishwanath Narayanasamy (3h 53 min).
Among the women, Chiai Uraguchi finished the race in three hours and twenty-seven minutes.
Amit led the race for the Half Iron race as he completed it in six hours and sixteen minutes. Sai Harsha followed at 7h 41 min and Raghul at 7h 58 min.
