Runners' Manifesto

First, a very happy and belated festive season to all the readers and fellow runners. I hope most of you, like me, craved up and ended with many more calories than you could burn up.

I did my bit to wash off the festo-calories with limited success.

Gone to Run this week in Lutyens’ Delhi, the power center of India. Started around 630am from Raisana Road and witnessed the pristine charm of Delhi in twilight. I had intended to run right up to the presidential palace gate. No, not to serve referendum to President Mukherjee but to accomplish a long coveted dream of running straight as an arrow from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Expectedly, though, Delhi Police played spoil sport barricading the way just before the road climbs up to the North and South blocks. The men in uniform did help as well by blocking a section of Rajpath till 8 in the morning. I wish they’d block the entire stretch and for a little longer.

In Delhi, politics is evergreen. With Delhi Assembly and pan-India General Elections coming up soon, political park is in full bloom. The air in Delhi is heavy with promises as political parties have literally taken over the air waves. Radio stations frequently boom with representatives of various parties peddling past deeds and future projections. Well, I think that probably explains the constant haze in the capital city!

Whatever the outcome, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wins hands-down for innovative election campaign and events. AAP has even customized manifestos to focus on the specific challenges for each constituency.

As I ran across Lutyens’ Delhi, I wondered what sort of manifesto would appeal to runner community?

Here’s my basic list. Any political party willing to commit to these gets my vote.

1.     Running tracks. This should be simple. If cyclists can get dedicated tracks, I think it is only fair that runners are allowed to either use them or have a lane dedicated to them. After all, there is hardly any space left on the foot path besieged by hawkers, if the path is not already broken or under construction.

2.     Stop Poop. Imagine you are moving about in a steady rhythm and building up a nice tempo for long run, and all of a sudden – puchh! Your foot lands in a freshly minted animal poop. Traffic, strays, broken roads - as it is we runners have enough to worry about! Let’s make sure poop is not one of them. Penalize defaulters or setup a separate landfill for them to walk their pets.

3.     Weekend Liberty. As in some countries, declare a few roads in the city out of bounds for traffic for early part every Sunday. This should be easy at least in cities like Delhi and Bangalore where there are enough arterial roads (even if broken, I call them roads) to channelize / manage the light weekend traffic. Mumbai, due to restricted space, might be harder to implement, I get that.

4.     Pissoirs on Priority. Long distance running is not just about running but also about eating and drinking on the way. And let’s face it – runners, just like anyone else, can hold up only so much in their bladder. How about installing mobile urinals, also called Pissoirs in Europe, at strategic locations? Not just runners, but this initiative would be boon for community at large. Runners and non-runners will equally appreciate the direct impact this will have on improving air quality and paint longevity across the boundary walls. Also, a certain Mr. Modi would be elated with this proposal as it aligns with his vision of prioritizing toilets over temples.

I do have certain luxuries such as water stations, FDI in retail for better shoe options at reasonable price, etc, to add to this list but I shall put them up at an appropriate time.

For a start, just get us basics. Did I miss anything?

P.S: Thanks to you all - the readers - gonetorun has now registered over 1000 hits in about 100 days of launch. I am delighted and celebrating with a 21.1K on Nov. 9 (Saturday) in and around India Gate. Anyone in Delhi reading this and willing to join, just drop in your comment.