The basic rule of running is to respect the distance. Whatever it is a long track, a short trail or a marathon, the distance must be be respected. This, I learnt from the Salomon trail held on the grounds of the agricultural university at the area which houses the the dairy cows.
This time around, what used the playing field of aspiring veterinary students was our running ground. Tuned to most appropriate tunes of the 'Best of Eagles' country rock tune befitting the environment, to the smell of decaying cow manure and early morning dew, running in the muddy and sometimes slippery, sometimes uneven ground of latterite soil, we struggled through the trail of country road to the amusement to the masticating bullls and cows! Probably, they must be amused at our follies at running fast but wary to the deceiving slippery wet trail.
The trail initially took us through a puddle of mud as seen above. Some how, most runners managed to keep their feet dry by going around it. On the way back, however, most runners did not bother. What is a trail run if you do get dirty. Anyway, they all had splatters of mud on the calf and back and the shoes were all in different shades of brown.
If running the miles is not difficult enough, running on this kind of terrain makes it triply difficult. It was made even more difficult by the never ending climbs. If you think coming down is easy, it is not. You are afraid of losing grip as the soil was slippery. And the mud that sticks to the sole of the shoes ensures that grip is at minimum.Some of the runners still managed to find time to take photo shots of the cows which they would have never seen in their lifetime. They would only know them by taste!
The initially promised 10km run turned out to be 11.3km but it was in good fun. As like in any police drama series, where the cops would gather in the local pub to celebrate the solving of their case, we ended our day by stopping at a thosai shop.
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