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So, here’s someone who doesn’t deem Mumbai conducive enough for her growth. And sadly, it is a damning assessment of the city which hosts the country’s richest marathon, and is said to be perennially on the run .
Its climate and topography, of course, cannot be helped. Smaller cities like Nagpur and Sangli known to produce the best crop of long-distance runners hold a natural advantage which cannot be negated in those matters. But Mumbai’s pathological curse - the traffic often forces those like Patil to take to training at ungodly hours - hers’s 3.30 am. “Dodging people is not a part of cross-country, so training here in routine hours in useless” quips the Kandivali (West) resident. So when Patil trudges out to train, sleep-walking or running, becomes a literal condition. “If I don’t wake up at 3, that’s a training-day as good as wasted,” says the 22-year-old.
But much before Mumbai aims at a national representation for one of its runners, there is the absolute dearth of athletes even wanting to take up the sport. Patil’s coach at the Dr Naravne Sports Club in Kandivali says retaining runners’ interest, is the biggest challenge for the lonely discipline of athletics in this city environment. “I need to get them started on khokho or kabaddi before I can even get them to give running a try. Then convincing the parents is another long haul,” he adds.
The presence of a single athletics track at Priyadarshini Park for the entire city is depressing. And then, by the time those from Virar and Vasai get to PDP, they’ve logged two hours already - making further training in distance-running a dreary monotone. “I try mixing it up - on school lawns, or hill-work at National Park Borivali or sand-training on the Aksa or Juhu beaches, but it is not the ideal way to go about things,” Patil says.
For her coach, even the food his wards consume is slotted as all-wrong. “A daily diet of 4000-5000 calories is a must. But more importantly, it is the Mumbai’s habit of living on junk food with no consideration for nourishment which will never give you serious contenders from Mumbai,” Naik says.
Her best timing for 4 km - 14 mins 7 seconds - is a standard Patil is expected to maintain for the next two years if she is to be taken seriously by her employers at Railways, whom she joined in 2007. “If she can’t maintain that level, the promotions will suffer. She comes from a poor family, and as such, earns while she runs,” explains Patil’s coach, who adds he had to be careful before even broaching the talk of better shoes, since she wouldn’t be able to afford this basic gear. At the fag end of the dialogue, there’s Anupama Patil’s murmured dream of an Olympic representation. Voiced sincerely from a city, that can at best be the best training ground for hurdlers.
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