First of its
Kind - Mud Run at Shivampet
The Greater Hyderabad Adventure Club (GHAC) organized Mud Run 2012, the first one of its kind
to be held in India at Shivampet, Hyderabad. Held on the 9th
December 2012, Mud Run 2012 had participants,
gathered from all across the country, combine with a team of around 30
including the Founder, Organizers, and Volunteers, making this event one of a
kind.
On the day of the event, the air was filled with palpable excitement
as the participants greeted and got introduced to each other. Proceeding
towards Shivampet, the air was buoyant with a sense of perseverance and zeal required
to overcome all the hurdles and complete the run.
At Shivampet, the participants had their breakfast while the
organizers, volunteers, and photographers set about doing all that was required
to make the event a huge success.
Unlike any other marathon, Mud Run 2012 was more of a recreational break. The USP of the event
was that the run was designed as an individual task with obstacles that had to
be to be overcome by the participant. Since this was not a competition, there
were no rules, regulations, or strategies to be adopted to come first.
The course for the run was 3 laps of a 1.5 km circuit. The
obstacles that made this run challenging included Pitfalls, Slides, Facing the
Dark, Belly Crawl, Art of Balance, Jumping in the Pond, Bridge Crossing, Mud
Pits, Slithering, and Fire Path amongst others.
“It was awesome. Initially when we landed at the location, I
thought it would not live up to my expectations, but as the run commenced every
moment was a surprise with lot of adventurous tasks. Me and my five other
friends had a blast at the event. Looking forward for more such events”,
commented Amulya Reddy, a participant.
The photographers were doing their best to be present
everywhere and capture the action on the ground and this lead to them being as
coated in mud as the participants.
“The term Mud Run in itself sounds unique and grabs the
attention of any individual. I entered the field with excitement. I was
enchanted to see the directions and obstacles created for the participants. As
a photographer it was fascinating for me to capture the expressions, enjoyment,
gestures and mud splash among others”, commented Rama Raju, Founder, Hyderabad
Photogs.
Volunteers also acted as part time cheer leaders on the
field as they directed and exhorted the participants to complete their tasks.
Towards the end even the volunteers and organizers gave a shot at the run.
“I had sufficient experience with Marathon and wanted to
experience new avenues. This Mud Run was challenging for me as it had
obstacles. Though I was a volunteer, I gave it a shot in the end and could begin
to understand the level of excitement
that prevailed amongst the participants”, stated Tejasvini, Volunteer, GHAC.
The credit for this recreational venture goes to all the
contestants for participating in the first ever Mud Run to be held in the Twin
Cities. The volume of participation and the sustained enthusiasm levels came as
a pleasant surprise to the organizers.
“The plan was initiated by Aleem Quadri, Organizer, GHAC.
Around 30 people volunteered in making arrangements. 3 Months of constant
effort culminated in this event. The expectations were about gathering about 50
participants, but the event turned out to be much bigger than was expected. The
best part was participants liked it and are expecting
something bigger next time. We promise to come back with a much bigger event”,
stated Faisal Ahmed, Organizer, GHAC.
Kudos to the organizers and volunteers for conducting such an
event that bettered the expectations of all those who participated and also
served to act as a great stress buster.
May Hyderabad witness adventure activities of this kind more
often.
