They say organizing a marathon is as rewarding as running one. OK, may be no one has actually said that and may be running a marathon is tad more rewarding but, as I found out this Sunday morning after working for organization of the first Hyderabad Runners Club Run, the assortment of emotions you feels at the end of both are not entirely different.
You feel the same sense of accomplishment, satisfaction and exhaustion after both. There's the same feeling of relief that it's successfully done; mingled with that contradictory sense of void at the loss of an immediate purpose. And eventually you internalize both as a mix of fond memories and lessons learnt and look forward to do them again in a better way.
Personally, the August Run has a special significance for me as a runner. As I wrote exactly a year ago, this was my debut half marathon where I first discovered the joys of long distance running. And it was at this run that I got introduced to the Hyderabad Runners - a group of enthusiastic runners with whom I later ran my first full marathon at Auroville. So it was doubly satisfying to work along with this same group and successfully organize this year's Run.
However any discussion of the event will be incomplete without mentioning the enthusiasm and passion with which the volunteers helped in organizing this run. From event photography to the runners support at aid stations it was these volunteers who woke up at 3:30 on a Sunday morning just to make sure that the runners got as much support as possible during and before the event. And as is evident from the numerous testimonials that we received from the runners, the volunteers did an excellent job.
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