{"id":3050,"date":"2016-04-06T11:41:27","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T06:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goheritagerun.com\/?p=3050"},"modified":"2017-05-16T09:54:53","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T04:24:53","slug":"first-run-go-heritage-run-ooty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goheritagerun.com\/first-run-go-heritage-run-ooty\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Run: Go Heritage Run in Ooty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ooty \u2013 the scenic, but commercial hotspot in Tamil Nadu. This was not my first trip. I had been here before, twice over the last decade. Running across the hills of this Nilgirisque beauty hadn\u2019t ever crossed my mind, not in my wildest imagination \u2013 such scenes were the stuff we saw in the 1980s artsy Tamizh movies \u2013 hero, heroine running, to songs in the background et al, but for slightly overweight mortals here, well\u2026. But, last year, in 2015, after many missed attempts to be a part of the Go Heritage Runs<\/a>, the dream run finally happened.<\/p>\n

\"gO<\/a>
The beautiful, beautiful trail at the Go Heritage Run in Ooty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Good things should always come in small packages. I tread cautiously on my maiden run\u2014deciding to pick on the 5KM. What if I dropped off exhausted midway, if I attempted anything more, said my analytical mind and I opted for the entry level. No laughing matter, this. I had taken up the process with utmost zeal.<\/p>\n

One Saturday morning we show up there. It was happening now and for real.<\/p>\n

Drinking in the beauty of the hill station, we walked by various sites till we reached a point and then were taken to and were lodged in the girls\u2019 wing dorms of the St Lawrence residential School. Ah\u2026 I saw my childhood fantasy of going to boarding school complete as I drank in the dorms, the washrooms, the passages – this was a dream fuelled by Enid Blyton \u2013 blame it on her St Clairs and Malory Towers series that ate up most of my primary school years\u2019 imagination. A dream that was fulfilled vicariously only through the books \u2013 I was always a home raised kid who compensated for her mundane urban family existence through the sheer thrill of Blyton\u2019s girlie series.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Lawrence School, Lovedale Picture Courtesy: Shubhra Rishi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the excitement still young, my friend at whose behest and due to whose inspiration I shed some of my inhibitions to be a part of this, I got ready for the heritage trail. Part of the program, the old guard of Ooty \u2013 a clique of well-heeled local residents took a bunch of us through lovely sites across the hills \u2013 interesting insights of history \u2013 the English and the Parsi influx in Ooty since the late 18th<\/sup> century, the grave of Sam Manekshaw, the old post office, among others, capped off by tea at the State library.<\/p>\n

The \u201cRun Kit\u201d was impressive \u2013A logo T Shirt, a souvenir customized for the runners made by the local Nilgiri Toda community. Most importantly, the passport \u2013 a track record of all your Go Heritage runs \u2013 remarkable attention to detailing, I felt.<\/p>\n

At the crack of dawn, the next day, early bath and the adrenaline rush\u2026 warm up to lively emcee’s jhatkas and matkas wala music, then the groups geared — on your mark, get set, GO!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
All set to run. Shantheri Mallaya at the Go Heritage Run in Ooty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I started running \u2013 my god, I was running, slow jogging, after years. In school, I was a runner, but that has been ages ago. Age hadn\u2019t really caught up, as I discovered to my relief and joy; the trail was hilly, so we were briefed that even walking was okay, running was not mandatory. Drinking in the beauty of the 5 Km trail, passing by the famous Lovedale station (Tamizh cinema has benefited immensely from this picturesque locale) and then making it to the finishing line in a relaxed manner has been that experience that makes me want to take more time out and make more such trips.<\/p>\n

Aspiring runners, seasoned ones and others, don\u2019t think too much. Just run – for fun, for fitness, for the adventure, for heritage, for whatever, but yes, run. Will I do this again? That is a rhetorical question.<\/p>\n

So, have you gotten your passport stamped as yet?<\/p>\n

Shantheri Mallaya is a senior tech writer with a publishing house in Bangalore. In her free time, she reads and sings classics. If you have run at a Go Heritage Run and want to share your run experience, please email editor at goheritagerun dot com.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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