Triathlon consists of 1.5 km swimming, 40 km of cycling and a 10-km run. This is the Olympic standard triathlon and distances are more in some other events but the AP Police is embarking on a triathlon that has a distance of as much as 765 km, consisting of 25 km of swim in the sea from Bheemli to R.K. Beach here, 695 km of cycling to Hyderabad and a full marathon (43.195 km) on the roads of Hyderabad.
The event is starting at the Bheemunipatnam beach in the early hours of Saturday and will conclude at the AP Police Officers Mess in Hyderabad on the New Year day.
“This Police Triathlon, the ultra endurance adventure is being conducted as part of the celebrations to mark the 150 years of modern policing in the country and to display that the police has the tenacity, capacity and diligence, confidence and courage to achieve a difficult task. We want to show that the police can do it,” Additional Director General of Police (Sports) Rajeev Trivedi, who is leading the adventure, said at a press conference here on Friday.
Commissioner of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy said it was a prestigious event and glad that it was happening in the city.
Along with Mr. Trivedi, Deputy Commandant of CIST from Goa S. Jayakumar, Balasaheb Ramachandra Ghadge, a DSP from Maharashtra, constable from Nizamabad district N. Srinivas and an engineer from Microsoft (Hyderabad) Sunil Menon would participate in the triathlon in full distance while an Olympic probable Mandar Anand Divase, a BSF Sub-Inspector would take part in the swimming leg only. Hitraj Singh, a BSF Inspector and constable from Nizamabad, Ramesh Nayak would do the cycling stretch and five would run the marathon and three will participate in cycling and a marathon.
Two women, Udaya Trivedi and ASP of Jagtial R. Rama Rajeswari will run the half-marathon.
Mr. Trivedi, who swam the Palk Straits, in March last year, along with Ramachandra Ghadge, and the English Channel and Straits of Gibraltor several years ago, has been planning this event, working out logistics, sea and weather conditions by checking on Internet every day, and doing everything necessary. He went to the sea on Thursday and found that the tide (between full moon and the new moon) would not be dangerous. Though the jelly fish presence in the sea is more here, he is hopeful that they would not harm the swimmers.
GPS navigation
A GPS-aided navigation facility would guide the swimmers. Support boats on the sea and vehicles on the coast would follow the swimmers. Kiran Kumar and Srinivas would act as navigators. Help from the fishermen, the Coast Guard is being taken while the city police would provide the backup.
The swimming event is expected to conclude between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. On first day the cycling event would be held up to Anakapalle, and from the next day an average of about 100 km would be covered.
Mr. Trivedi quipped, “Some said today is Yugantam (December 21) and we are starting a new Yugam on December 22. We bring greetings and best wishes on New Year Day in Hyderabad.”
