100 Days of Running – HDOR Running Experience

First of all, weather was very hot this year and it is never advisable to run in the temperature greater than 35 degrees, even some days the temperature during morning time was above 30 degree and in the night it was almost touching 40. Thus running during these months require lot of efforts in terms of keeping sufficient hydrated and protection from potential heat stroke.

Secondly, the level of pollution in the city is very high which makes it difficult to run. Whichever location it may be in Delhi and whatever the time, pollution and smoke was very high which makes it difficult to breathe during running, so I don’t know whether running in Delhi is helping, to keep healthy or it is having a negative impact.

The availability of parks are limited in Delhi and all residents can not have access to those parks may be due to locational disadvantage, small size of park or unavailability. So. The option left is to run on streets, which is a problem in Delhi owing to pollution caused by countless vehicles on roads. I was surprised to see number of peoples smoking on road during morning and evening time and I was the one who was affected due to passive smoking.

Lastly, running in parks was another big problem due to encroachments and lack of civic sense. The track was occupied by chatters and the park was occupied by pet lovers. Even after complaining to statutory authorities, no action was taken. Even running on streets at night was a risky affair as many times I was chased by street dogs. On roads, people had no respect for runners as obstructions were common while running, which were in the form of encroachment, wrong side driving, etc.

In a nutshell, running continuously for 100 days provided good experience and helped me to develop the stamina for long runs. I tried to combine running with swimming which was a new experience for me and it was more or less like an Aquathlon.

The initiative of HDOR was a good and unique concept and I will try to continue the habit of running after some days of rest due to my inquiry. But for next year, I will re-think, whether or not to participate, since I didn’t find Delhi a favorable place for running in open air.

But for the time being, I achieved….