Sunday long runs is now a routine , more like brushing your teeth, so when I woke up this morning at 0400 hrs, I was in a double mind whether to start running from home or drive to NIBM and then start running from there. Well, this was because the planned run of the group was only 15K max in the Taljai forest. Well I had to reach NIBM by 0515 to meet another co-runner and we would run together to the Taljai Forest, both of us were not too sure about the route and had seen Google maps and memorised the route. So finally, I made the decision and decided to run from home to NIBM which is exactly 4k, the only problem was that there were two points where there are these groups of stray dogs which come charging at you especially when you are running alone. I was a bit scared but decided to tackle them in the standard way by shouting at them and showing them a stone or a stick. As I started running and reached the first point, I was relieved as there were no dogs today, poor guys must have just gone off to sleep after night watch-keeping duties. Good for me! I continued towards NIBM and as soon as I turned into the second point, there came the beasts, they were six strays and they started barking and started playing Kabbaddi with me.. they would come charging at me, come near and then go back as if testing the waters. I shouted at them, but to no avail, they continued taunting me, I had stopped and was slowly walking away from them, they tried to charge at me again,I took out my second line of defence, I hurled a stone at them. This worked as they all backed out and I started running again without looking back. So far so good! No noise from behind. I felt strange as I am a dog lover and always felt that these animals are the best friends of men, but even they have got influenced by the humans and have started behaving like rowdies by attacking innocent people who are running. Their nasal instincts can actually tell them if the person is a thief or is just a person who is exercising, but the gang of strays is more like an agitated mob who just want to have a go at some innocent/ vulnerable passer-by. How these animals learn from their environment is something to be observed. It is high time that human beings mend their ways, else these animals will only mirror our actions. I saw the time, it was about 0455 hrs, and I had another 3k to the meeting point. The route is an uphill climb which is quite steep but only a short distance of about 300-500 m and I enjoy this climb as I still remember the first time when I ran this and couldn't climb up and stopped at the steepest point. Now I am able to do it very easily and this gives me a "kick" of sorts so I always try and speed up in the climb to try and prove to myself that I have become stronger.
The weather was good and I reached NIBM dot on time, and my friend also arrived in five minutes and we were off towards Taljai Forest which was about 6.5K from this point. The route was our standard hill running route of Bibvevadi which has rolling hills. So we finally reached the road leading to Taljai Forest and it was a steep uphill road as it is located on top of a hill. The entire group arrived at 0605 hrs and started warming up outside the forest. Once we entered the forest, it was an awesome sight. It was a trail with dense forest on both sides. In between, the entire foliage was full of blooming flowers resplendent in their bright colours mostly yellow. Birds were chirping away and one could hear the peacocks cry in between all the bird banter. The group was excited and all were chatting with each other, I asked them to be silent to listen to nature. In fact, I decided to run faster and run alone for some time ahead of others as I wanted to feel the nature around me and seep it all in. It was amazing running early in the morning at this place with fresh oxygen being spewed by the surrounding fauna, the sweet voice of the birds, rustling of leaves as the animals and birds played hide and seek within the forest. I was in a meditative trance while running and felt that time should stop so that I can enjoy this for more time.
The path was stony and soft mud , maybe it had rained the previous day, and there were ups and downs. The entire periphery was about 8K and we ran one round and then started the second round but since some people had to leave early, so we cut it short and ran for another 15 minutes or so and then had our stretching and cooling down before departing. I think I must have run abou 23-24K in all from the timing I took and the average speed that I run at. I do not use any Garmin so it is only a biological clock that I use and assume to time myself. There were a lot of people who had come there for their morning walks and runs but the place was very clean by Pune standards. There was no littering anywhere, maybe the place was recently cleaned up on 02nd Oct in the nation wide "Swacch Bharat" campaign launched by the Prime Minister.
There is a small water body and a temple in this place. Further there is a sports complex with a swimming pool which is provided by the government and is free of charge. There is an open gymnasium with amazing equipment for physiotherapy and exercise including parallel bars and horizontal bars. Many of us tried our hand on these equipment before departing from there. All this is free of charge and open to the public and is pretty well maintained. Wonder who maintains it and how funds are provided for it. I was pretty pleased to run here and enjoy the beauty of this place. A strongly recommended place for people running in Pune.
