Last night we were invited to a hospitality night by the staff here at the Taj. So we went to The Blue Bar and had some wine, canapés and nibbles. We sat chatting when one of the managers came over and asked us about the ultra. He was quite fascinated as had never heard of an ultra marathon before. He had been told we were doing it by one of the reception staff when he asked why we had wanted to change rooms. We spoke for a considerable time before he left to talk to other guests also having extended stays here at the hotel.
It wasn't long before I could hear snippets of conversations behind me, such as... Yes, it's 75 Kilometers... They will be running for 13 hours.... It's the only ultra held in India, have you heard of it?
Needless to say we got a lot of people asking us all about it, asking when we would be back at the hotel on Sunday, etc etc! I felt a little embarrassed as I was sort of enjoying the whole quietness of this place where most people believed we were just here on holiday. This attention continued on this morning as another member of staff came to our breakfast table to introduce herself and say how amazing it must be to have the stamina to run that far. I have to agree with her.... I certainly won't be able to RUN all that way, and I said as much. It's nice that they are kind enough to take an interest but I'm not doing very well on the anonymity of it all! Like I have previously said, if it hadn't been for Jills' paralysis and the desire to get some sponsorship together, there would probably only be a handful of people that would even be aware I'm here doing this. I could easily go on Facebook here, as Internet connections are good... I just don't want a big fuss. When it's done, I'll probably say something along the lines of, "Cheers for the sponsorship everyone, I managed to get round the ultra without dying". Well, I'd like to think I'll be that magnanimous about it!
So, we went for our race numbers today and walked about 2 miles to get to thd registration venue. It was pretty hot today and much more muggy than it has been. Graeme said he could notice how different it was. As we waited in the queue for our envelopes, an Indian bloke in front asked us were we running Ultra. He seemed surprised I think.
As we got to the front we were given our packs. I had an issue with mine in that my number had the name 'Sumedha' instead of Claire. So, it will be reprinted and I can pick it up at the race on Sunday morning. My number is 7029 and Graemes' is 5084. I think the 7 and 5 are the distances, but I'm not sure. The tech race t-shirt is absolutely gorgeous. Mine is yellow and Graemes' is turquoise. It says on the back "It's tough, are you? 5 years and running". On the front is the Ultra logo which is also on the chip... A chip that doesn't need returning so is another keepsake.
It was quite manic out there on the streets today, bug I love the insaneness that is Bangalore. It's such a busy hustle bustle place with a character I've not seen anywhere else before. Getting back to the hotel, Graeme found his foot had the starts of a blister on his left sole. I would be quite concerned if it was me, but he just shrugged it off. We are now just on full downtime. Our plan is to do even less than we have done in previous days. The nerves are kicking in, but that's just the way I am and there would be something wrong if I was nonchalant about the whole thing!
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