Running, Pain and Latin

Distance running is a fun way to learn Anatomy, and Latin :)

A part of the fun is of course taken away by the fact that these lessons come packaged in pain. A few years ago, after what seemed like a regular run, my right heel started hurting. I thought I had stepped on a sharp stone, or that I had twisted my heel. After many unsuccessful sessions of massages, rubbing in balms and oils (esp. Murivenna), I looked up the symptoms on the web and discovered "Plantar Fasciitis". It has nothing to do with plantations of fascists. This is simply latin for inflamed feet - plantar (sole of the foot) and fascia (band/sheath of tissue) with -itis (inflammation). For some reason this painful condition is also called "policeman's heel".

Another term you hear among the latinised running communities is "IT Band Injury". Anybody can get this injury - not just software engineers or musicians - because IT here stands for Ilio-Tibial. And the band here refers to a tendon that stretches along the length of the longest bones in your body - the tibia. An injury of this connective tissue gives you IT Band Syndrome (ITBS) - an aching or sharp pain on the outside of your knee or hip. Once again massages are not of much help and what worked in my case was simple, consistent exercises - toe-curls, rolls, stretches.

Last Sunday, 22 Feb., 2026, we had the New Delhi Marathon (NDM). This year's event was sponsored by Cognizant and attracted over 30,000 participants in four events: Full Marathon (42 km), Half Marathon (21 km), 10km and 5km races. I participated in my usual Half Marathon. It was a well organised event with plenty of water-stations, good signages, clean toilets, decent food (hot chole-kulche!), band-baaja, and nicely spaced out dispersals (no clash with the 5km folks walking abreast). I even managed to meet an old college friend from Trivandrum after 36 years, and in getting back to the sub-2-hour timing (1:58:22)!

A day after the run I am now back to my Latin vocabulary. The new words are - Quadriceps and Iliopsoas - the two sets of muscles that seem to have developed Delayed Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). It is peculiar pain that makes the simple act of descending staircases particularly painful.

Quadriceps femoris is Latin for 'four-headed muscle of the femur'.  The four heads are - Rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius and vastus medialis. Vastus is a Latin word meaning "vast," "immense," "huge," "enormous," or "monstrous", while rectus simply means "straight", "upright", or "direct". Straight and huge - the quadriceps are the largest muscle sets in the human body.

Is there a way to avoid this pain? If past experience is anything to go by, it is unprepared muscles that develop DOMS after a distance run. So would isolation exercise like leg extensions help? Let's see...

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REFERENCES & LINKS

• https://www.samsonphysicaltherapy.com/blog/why-the-front-of-your-thighs-hurt-after-running
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliopsoas
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadricep
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fasciitishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fasciitis
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21967-iliotibial-band-syndrome
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thonakal_Gopi
• https://www.uniindia.com/news/sports/sports-delhi-marathon-leads-spd18/3750206.html
• Timing - https://mysamay.in/event/info/4fbe9261-c999-4868-9a1e-acd64b0b79f8

 

 

Boston 11 - A Biting Problem

 

Adidas Adizero Boston11 Refuel. Quite a mouthful for a brand-name but it certainly counts as the most unusual pair of marathon shoes I have used so far.

Long ago when I stepped into the world of distance running, shoe-salesmen used to emphasise on flexibility. They would hold up a pair and twist and roll the running shoes, making the heels touch the toes, to show you how easily they would adapt to your feet. Over the years the sales-pitch has changed completely - now they make a big show of how inflexible the soles are. They now sing praises of shoes with rigid soles and claim that flexible, soft soles trigger injuries to your ankle and feet.

I have been using an Asics Amplifoam for a few years now and it has stood me in good stead. Its semi-rigid sole shows little signs of wear but the fabric upper had got torn in a couple places, so it was time to buy a new pair. I checked out a few new models in all the major brand-stores - Asics (old loyalties!), Nike, Puma, New Balance, and finally, Adidas. It is at the last store that the Boston11 caught my attention. 

It was different. Even though it was relatively lightweight, the shoes felt quite sturdy. Being an older model it was also going for an attractive discount. Still,  the compulsive skeptic in me had to  step out of the shop to check the reviews, and confirm that it was not available cheaper online before deciding to make a purchase decision.

A few days later when I took out the Boston11 for my usual Sunday 10k run, I found my feet would not get in easily. Unlike any other pair of running shoes i had used so far, this one had a full fabric sleeve under the tongue which was meant to grip your ankles, but the broader part of the feet would not get in easily unless a shoe-horn was used. Once you managed to get the feet in, the shoes fit snugly on your arch, instep, heel and ankle.

The second problem came up after the 5k stage. The upper part of the sleeve would bite into the bridge - the part of your feet just under the shoelaces - every time the ankle flexed while running. At first I thought the laces were too tight but no amount of adjusting would ease that biting pain in the upper ligament. I looked it up on the web and found that the pain point was exactly at the junction of the superior and inferior extensor retinaculum. Ultimately, I figured that if the extra-long shoe-tongue on the Boston11 was folded inwards the bite would be eased to a large extent.

Was this a common problem for runners using Boston11? 

So far I have not come across any review specifically highlighting this problem. Many of them do indicate that this particular model has a longer break-in period. 

Apart from this glitch the new Adidas  Boston11 has been absolutely solid for road-running. Rigid soles have their uses i guess :)

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REFERENCES & LINKS

Boston 11 - https://www.adidas.co.in/adizero-boston-11-refuel-shoes/HQ3701.html

Review - https://runrepeat.com/adidas-adizero-boston-11

https://sportsmedalabama.com/contents/patient-education/foot-and-ankle/

Mawana Marathon 2013

The Mawana Marathon was held yesterday (17 Feb., 2013). It is the oldest, cheapest... and arguably the most badly organized annual athletic event in Delhi.

At first glance, the event had everything going right for it -- 23 years of steady corporate sponsorship (the Usha/Sriram Group, Red FM); it was being held "under the aegis" of the Athletics Federation of India and the running route was no doubt the most scenic you could ask for in Delhi. And yet, shoddiness of the organizers is perhaps matched only by the lack of serious intent in the vast majority of 'runners' who turned up at India Gate.

Even though the event had been open for online registration a couple of months ago, the process could not be completed unless you turned up personally at the National Stadium to pay the Rs.50 as registration fees, a day before the event. Since there were only a few officials to direct or regulate the crowds, it was hardly surprising to see thousands of youngsters jostling to reach the payment counters. Once you managed to pay the fees, there were separate counters for collecting the bibs and electronic tags. The entire exercise took about two hours.

'Instructions for Marathoners' did not provide any clear idea of the parking lots, or of the assembly areas leading up to the starting point. Runners were told to report at the 'venue' at 6 am, and then waved into enclosures to wait until 7:30 am. With nothing to keep them occupied through the dark, wet and cold morning many of the youngsters -- most of them with Delhi Police t-shirts -- got their cheap thrills by hooting and whistling at women runners in the adjacent enclosure.

The running finally started late, without any countdown or announcements. A near stampede ensued through the narrow exits. Limbs crashing against limbs until the runners stumbled out onto the open roads.

The whoops and enthusiasm diminished significantly once the crowds moved past the TV cameras and the display screens. At the first water-station a few kilometers away, there was a scramble for bottles. Teenagers hoarded up bottles and then tossed them away on the running tracks. Down the road, at the first tea-stall near the parliament another crowd of 'runners' stopped by for a chai, a few patties and a samosa before deciding that was better to walk arm-in-arm with friends. So what if they obstruct other runners?

All those who managed to complete the half-marathon and the full marathon were greeted at the finish line by folks trying to market their own sports events ('join the obstacle race next Sunday!'). Inside the enclosures, drinking water canisters were strewn in the mud, safety pins were carelessly removed from the bibs and tossed away, much to the agony of those who had to remove their shoes.

The final scene of chaos was played out at the counters where the participants had to hand in their electronic tags and exchange it for a 'goodies bag' and a medal. After all the trouble, what did the 'goodies bag' contain? - Nothing!  :(

The least I expected to find after running 21 km, was a packet of biscuits or a juice tetrapak or a fruit. Why on earth were the organizers handing out empty plastic bags marked 'Mawana Marathon 2013'??

I guess its just one of the many unanswered questions for a shoddy athletic event organized by sugar barons who have perhaps never ever stepped into a pair of running shoes.

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BTW:

* Point no.20 of the 'Instructions for Marathon Runners' said, "Participation certificates...can be obtained by logging on to www.mawanamarathon.com after three days of the marathon". More than seven days later there is nothing on this site. Is this a case for the consumer courts?

* 4 March 2013: The results are finally out. URL -  http://www.racetecresults.com/Results.aspx?CId=16394&RId=9

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LINKS

http://www.mawanasugars.com/marathon2013/about-marathon.htm

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-17/athletics/37144034_1_full-marathon-half-marathon-kiran-tiwari
- Uttar Pradesh's Arvind Kumar Yadav emerged victorious in the men's category, while Nilam Maruti Kadam won the women's title

'I did it for my kids'

What drives people to do something extraordinary?

For some folks, the challenge itself is the lure. When George Mallory, a famous mountaineer was asked in 1920's , "Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest?", his wan reply was, "Because it is there".

These days Indian's seem to be on a different trip...

Right now, a government official working with the Planning Commission is running across the length of India. Arun Bharadwaj started out from the Himalayan town of Kargil on 1st October, and has been keeping a steady pace of about 70 km of running everyday. He expects to complete the 3000+ km to the tip of the Indian peninsula, Kanyakumari, within two months. Why would somebody want to set aside a desk-job for something like this?

Bharadwaj's response - “I wanted my children to take up running and I thought what better way to motivate them than to do it myself.”

A few weeks ago, another bureaucrat, Harsh Mandar visited a CPR-PRS forum as an invited speaker. After giving details of his work among the poorest and marginalized communities in India, he clarified that he was no altruist. He was driven, he said, by selfishness. He wanted his daughter to live in a more humane world, where we are not callous and insensitive towards the plight of the poor.

And yesterday, it was the actor Irrfan Khan (of the Slumdog Millionaire fame). He announced that he acted in the movie "Life of Pi" for his kids.

Its interesting to see how motivations evolve as move from one stage of life to another...

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REFERENCES / LINKS

* The Hindu (23Oct12): ON THE RUN FROM KARGIL TO KANYAKUMARI, URL - http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/on-the-run-from-kargil-to-kanyakumari/article4025134.ece
* First Post (31Oct12): I DID 'LIFE OF PI' FOR MY KIDS: IRRFAN KHAN, url - http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/i-did-life-of-pi-for-my-kids-irrfan-khan-509727.html
* Indian Express (28Oct12): Loneliness of an Ultra-Marathoner, url - http://www.indianexpress.com/news/loneliness-of-an-ultra-marathoner/703614/0
* Arun Bhardwaj - Brining Ultra-running to India - http://arunbhardwaj.wordpress.com/about/
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mallory