{"id":2699,"date":"2016-01-29T17:30:06","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T12:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goheritagerun.com\/?p=2699"},"modified":"2020-03-12T11:37:25","modified_gmt":"2020-03-12T06:07:25","slug":"hampi-run-report-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goheritagerun.com\/hampi-run-report-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"GHR Hampi 2016 Run Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hampi,\u00a0land of the legendary monkey kingdom of Kishkindha\u00a0and\u00a0erstwhile seat of power of the Vijayanagar Empire has always been one of our favorite run destinations. Even more so because Hampi was where we conceived the idea of\u00a0fun runs at\u00a0heritage sites over two years ago. We conducted our first test run\u00a0in 2014 \u00a0and have planned a run vacation here every year since. And participation has grown exponentially – \u00a0this year’s run had over 600 runners and their families participate!<\/p>\n

PLANNING AND ROUTE RECCE:<\/h2>\n

Returning to a destination to plan a run is always fun. Through\u00a0previous\u00a0runs at Hampi, we’d built relationships with the offices of the Archaeological Survey of India<\/a>, District Collector at Ballari District<\/a>, the Anegundi Chapter of\u00a0INTACH<\/a> and the local police, identified tour partners\u00a0and guides to team up with, and contacted local hotels. We made a trip to Hampi right after our run in Bidar<\/a> to re-establish contact, seek permissions, find local partners and to run the\u00a05K, 12K and 21K routes<\/a> to make sure they were just as awesome as they were in years past!<\/p>\n

PROMOTION:<\/h2>\n

We announced the run dates in late November so participants could freeze on their Republic Day weekend plans or their post-Mumbai Marathon recovery run\u00a0– whichever the case may be! This was one of the few runs where we did not use sponsored\u00a0ads to spread the word. Word-of-mouth ensured we had a steady stream of registrations – online, local and offline – from Christmas until the very day before the run. The thought of running at a destination like Hampi has that effect on runners and their families, we imagine!<\/p>\n

DESIGN COLLATERAL:<\/h2>\n

We announced early on that all our run collateral was inspired by the monkeys of Hampi as well as the local Lambani embroidery artform – runners got to see these designs against a Red-Brown-Orange color palette. For the first time, we\u00a0debuted <\/a>bright red\u00a0technical t-shirts featuring a\u00a0monkey print in the Lambani embroidery style and they sold out really fast in the lead-up to the run! We also decided to get creative with our finisher medals<\/a> – which were laser-cut renderings of the Lotus Mahal temple on wood. \u00a0As an extra, we also inserted some\u00a0fun Hampi stickers into the runner kit.<\/p>\n

RUN DAY:<\/h2>\n

Early Sunday morning, \u00a0over 600 runners set out along the 5K, 12K and 21K run routes. They ran along Hampi’s snaking roads and trails traversing UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites, local banana plantations, rocky and sandy trails and the Tungabhadra river. Many took part in the heritage treasure hunt organized by Orion Orbit<\/a> – and we thank them for playing! This was the first time we tried something like this and were encouraged by the constructive feedback we received! Also in attendance were school children identified by the Hospet Round Table who received free entry! Our youngest participants were children of amateur runners who ran the 5K themselves!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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