The track offers familiarity and repose.
The time on feet in lane nine feels like home. Ashwini, Sujit, Gokul and for some part even Coach Ravi.
Perhaps familiarity falls short to describe the track. The track is known. The geometry seems innate and intuitive.
Sujit and Ashwini just half a step ahead leading seems as if this is how it is meant to be.
Meanwhile, we can see Suryansh doing a 5000m time trial in lane one. Monu is pacing him. And then it’s just Suryansh. Then Sujit leaves us and paces him for his last lap.
His time is 16:42 and he has smashed his previous time. I see him finish and stumble to the side, clearly spent, exhausted.
I clap while I continue on. Good for him, I think, brimming with pride and joy for him.
The pace shifted in the second half, as if willing for the run to draw to a finish, as if reaching to Suryansh’s victory today.
After I finish, I walk away to the exit, Suryansh comes bounding up and we give each other long hugs.
I look up at the cloudless night, no dawn in sight, but light everywhere.
Writing about Running 