Half Marathon through the city

The Kantipur Half Marathon, held on May 31, is one of the most anticipated runs in Kathmandu. I was privileged to be among the runners. As always, the environment was energetic. Although the weather was less ideal, the majority of the runners were participating for fun. I met many of my friends, and I met many familiar faces at the starting point. The drones were hovering above us, and cameras were surrounding us. It was live on national TV, and it was lively.

There were some mismatches. The inauguration by the Prime Minister was a bit of a disappointment. Any sports person would have been a better choice to kick off the run. The PM made the runners wait. He was not on time. He came 17 minutes late. Furthermore, he arrived in the long car convoy. The slogan 'let's run for greener tomorrow' was an unnoticed joke. The crowd was not impressed. They (we) boo the PM. He was about to further delay with his speech, but the crowd was visibly annoyed. The funniest and embarrassing part was that he could not fire the starting gun. My goodness - what a shame. It was laughable, and it was a reminder of how disconnected leadership can sometimes be from the spirit of the people.

The starting guy was fired by someone on his behalf. The race started. I did not want to mix politics in the marathon, but anyway, it appeared the frustration melted with sweat of the run.

Back to the running, it was another exhilarating experience. As I started to run, last year's experience kicked in. I was well aware of routes and elevation. I completed it without major difficulty however, I could not complete it within the cutoff of 2 hours. I took 122 minutes. It did not matter. I completed strong. Running with a crowd was beautiful. I discounted vehicle exhaust and dust in the city for that moment. I forgave the polluters and I forgave the Prime Minister for this particular event.

And rest assured, my running will continue because as long as I run, I know I’m still choosing to live.

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