Chennai Runners – & others

by A Special Correspondent

From the Marina lighthouse to the War Memorial and back!

Over the last few years, the number of the city’s residents engaged in a daily run has seen a steady increase, despite Chennai’s weather, with 365 days of summer seemingly an impediment to the experience. The most prominent of the clubs mushrooming in the city is Chennai Runners, which has over 2000 active members and 18 chapters across the city. It is an open-to-all club that uses many tools to keep its members updated – Facebook, Whats­app, Twitter, and Google groups. Almost every location has a dedicated running group in its surroundings which will train, mentor and motivate you to run. Other groups in the city include Zen Runners (employees of Cognizant), Dream Runners (a community of families from Besant Nagar) and Cool Runners (a group of runners from the YMCA).

Chennai’s is a lovely running community, cosmopolitan to the core. Even if your legs are not strong enough, various running groups will train them to become strong. Once you are part of any of these groups, you will get hooked to running for life. They will guide you and advise you, help you run better and faster.

Isn’t Chennai too hot for running?

We have four months of pure bliss for runners. November to February, when the weather is just perfect for running. The preceding four months, from July to October, are not bad either because it is the rainy season and it hardly rains in Chennai for 20 days out of those 120 days. That leaves a hot and humid period from March to June, but early mornings between 5.00 and 7.00 is still bearable. You have the roads all to yourself, and the sultry and warm Chennai weather is the coolest then But the good news is that if you train in the tough conditions of Chennai, you are assured of doing well in an event in any other city in India/World.

Where are the places to run in Chennai?

For starters, there are the beaches. From the iconic lighthouse at Marina Beach, you can cut a straight path all the way down past the Napier Bridge to the west, Theosophical Society for an enjoyable five-km run. The sea breeze and the potential for people-watching make this a great option.

On Sundays, while the rest of the world sleeps in, many runners meet at the Anna University parking lot at 5 a.m. By 5.15, the parking lot is empty. They pass through the Boat Club, and then move ahead to Elliots Beach via the quiet lanes of Theosophical Society. This 10 -16 km (depending on where you turn back) running route brings you back to Anna University. There is inside the University a well shaded 2.5 km loop that is quiet and beautiful, with proximity to the 400 m track for speed workouts.

If you are a beginner you may have many questions?

What do we wear? For short-distances and short duration (say 30 minutes), a loose-fitting cotton shirt/kurta and exercise shorts/pants are good enough. For long distance, you may be better off spending on a couple of synthetic shirts that have the ability to rapidly wick sweat away. As for shoes, you need to experiment a little and follow your body’s cues.

Is it okay to walk during a run?

Absolutely! There is no requirement that you should run continuously. In fact, most runners, irrespective of the race category, invariably take walk breaks. Also, many a time, walking is a great way to begin.

Am I too old or heavy to run?

Pretty much anyone can run. Running seems to arouse all sorts of fears in people like is it bad for my knees? Consult a doctor, ease slowly into the activity, practise moderation, and take precautions for specific conditions. Runners across ages, gender, weights, and those with ashthma, diabetes, etc., swear by how much running has helped him.

Running is a great enabler and a great leveller. Enabler because it opens your eyes very quickly to benefits of being fit and taking care of your health, and Leveller because any one can run, the roads are free, you don’t need fancy gear or gadgets (jump stop by at Marina beach on any given morning and you will catch sights of mamis jogging in a salwar/saree and a maama running barefoot in a veshti/lungi.

The Wipro Chennai Marathon

Some of the most enjoyable running events are conducted in Chennai. These included the Dream Runners Half Marathon, Dawn to Dusk, Dusk to Dawn, Cool Runners Half Marathon and Chennai Trail Marathon and the marquee event of the city, the Wipro Chennai Marathon.

In a short span of time, four years since the first edition of the Wipro Chennai Marathon was started by Chennai Runners in 2012, the event has grown leaps and bounds. While close to 6000 runners participated in the inaugural edition, the 2015 edition saw over 16000 runners hit the streets!

The success of this event has also resulted in other events getting popular. On any given Sunday you can be assured that the Marina Beach area will be hosting a running event! Many of them in aid of social causes, like the Terry Fox Chennai run (for Cancer awareness) and the Dawn to Dusk Marathon held for the causes of Liver Diseases. – (Courtesy: Matrix, the journal of Sanmar Group.)

Latest on the Cheyyur Project

A report from the Madras Naturalists’ ­Society which had opposed the project because it threatened to degrade the Cheyyur Lagoon.

The 4000 MW coal-fired Cheyyur Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) will be financial disaster for the consumers, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd (TANGEDCO) and the State government according to a report by the US-based Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). It suggested that Tamil Nadu abandon the Cheyyur project and focus on eliminating the transmission and distribution losses.

It said the issue was not the availability of power generating capacity, but the grid transmission and distribution losses. For the year 2014-15. The Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses were 24.4 percent which was much higher than the global grid average (6-8 percent). Loss incurred in transmission and distribution of electricity is one of the important factors of TANGEDCO’s indebtedness,” said Jai Sharda, a financial analyst at IEEFA, and one of the authors of the report. He was speaking at a media meet early by August, in which activists fighting against the project also took part.

According to the report, India’s overall power deficit had fallen from 3.3 percent in 2014 to 1.2% in 2016 and Tamil Nadu would not face power deficit for the next three to four years. “Tamil Nadu is set to become power surplus and has no need for such a massive baseload capacity enhancement,” said the author Sharda.

The report estimated that power from the Cheyyur plant would cost Rs. 5.93 a unit, which was higher that the average per unit cost of power generated from the solar power plant (Rs. 4.01).

“Apart from land acquition, the fuel-cost pass-through would expose consumers and the electricity board to tariff volatility and further increase in coal cess would add to this votality.” Jair Sharda said.

This was necessarily reported by the Madras Naturalists’ Society Bulletin. The MN’s was one of the the NW, that had appeased the project stating the private plan would degrade the Cheyyur Lagoon.

Please follow and like us: