Stay with them

I had slept under four hours the previous night. The young boy and I made our way to Nehru Park alternating music. That and the coffee somewhat woke me up but I knew I would be nowhere near form today.

We ran a steady, easy few rounds that felt just right. He got plenty of smiles and encouragement for his effort as he often does. After that – bundling him into his car – the sun already making its way up – I had the not so easy task of completing the rest of the long run ahead of me.

Piyush, who I’ve seen and nodded at for years but never run with motioned to me to join him and his tidy group running at what seemed to be a fairly fast pace. I joined them, grateful for the company, hoping the company would help.

It turned out to be even faster than I had imagined and sure enough the kilometres were flying past. It was like the track gang except older and on the road. Piyush and one other person must have been the youngest – perhaps in their twenties. Couple of others were my age and one with coach emblazoned on his jersey was fifty eight.

He had asked me to guess his age and I tried to joke with him between breaths. Kilometre after kilometre, I kept pace – surprisingly fast for a Sunday long run considering the heat and that I was woefully under slept. Stay with them, I muttered to myself.

Just like with the track gang, I owed a giant debt of gratitude to Piyush and his group that they invited me in.

This is running, and what a morning it turned out to be.