Last night I was totally drenched.

It is monsoon, but it did not rain last night. I did however run the “Run the night” Chandigarh runners half-marathon. And it was “mildly” humid. Water and strength seems to drain out of a runner in about equal proportions. Or maybe it was just the extra weight that comes with the wet clothes that slows one down. After the first round I had to work a lot harder to maintain my target pace of 4:35 minutes / kilometer.

Thanks to the excellent work of the Chandigarh Runners and everyone they involved (MyFM 94.3 among others) it was well organized. Well done, guys! I cannot wait for the full marathon. We even got a glimpse (in fact two glimses) of the Chandigarh symbol  (The open hand) at the Capitol Complex  which just got UNESCO World heritage status.

Open-Hand-Monument

There was plenty of water and sports drink. There were enough volunteers to make sure no-one gets lost. (Like I tend to do…) The medal is awesome!

dsc_0095

I was 6th overall out of a field of about 500 runners. I may be wrong, but this is probably the biggest number of participants in a half marathon in the city. I also equaled my recent personal best for the distance which I am particularly happy with since the weather was so challenging. half marathon route

I was also drenched in a more figurative way by the support I received on the way. There were so many shouts of “Come on Stephan!” or “Well done, Stephan!” that it was like soaking in a warm bath of good-will. To everyone of you, thank you. And sorry that I could not always answer.

But again, the praise belongs to my Friend and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Keep running

Stephan