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Literally running!
Ajit Desphande
(Editor’s Note: The relay is America's second largest
and covers a scenic route from Calistoga Mineral Water Company in Napa Valley to the Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. Teams of 12 travel 199 miles through
Calistoga, Napa, Sonoma, Marin, Sausalito, San Francisco, the heart of
Silicon Valley across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Beach in Santa Cruz.
Since inception of the program in 2004, Team-ILP runners have
raised close to $40K in pledges to support ILP programs. Here is a
first hand account of an ILP volunteer who participated in this
year’s relay)
Early morning on Saturday, 8th April 2006, twelve
people assembled in Sunnyvale, packed their stuff into two SUV’s and
left for Napa. I was one amongst them; our plan – to participate in
The Relay 2006, a 199 mile twelve-person relay-run from Calistoga to Santa
Cruz. The twelve of us comprised the Van 2’s or the
“stinky” vans for two teams – Team Literally Running, and
Team Samosas and Chai – both of which would represent India Literacy
Project (ILP). Van 1’s for both teams had left the night before; The
Relay had commenced in Calistoga ‘as we spoke’.
 I was part of Team Literally Running, and I had Sriram, Radha,
Sandeep, Ramesh and Rajesh as van-mates. Being a first timer for The Relay,
and being new to ILP, I only barely knew my van-mates, but over the next
thirty odd hours, that would cease to be the case.
The Relay comprises 36 legs, and each of the twelve members of
a team runs every twelfth leg. On an average each leg is about six miles
long. Van 1 had started off at 7 AM to run legs 1 to 6, and we would take
over at Napa and run legs 7 through 12. The vans would then alternate every
six legs.
Some light food at the Napa First Baptist Church (the van exchange point), and we were ready to roll. Around noon, Suresh, our leg 6
runner came in and exchanged the “band” with Sriram, who would
do leg 7. I would be next, doing leg 8. The fun had just about begun; from
that point on our van would stop every two miles to provide drinks to the
runner and to cheer him.
Sriram ran a steady seven miles, and handed over the band to
me. This was the moment! The first leg of my first Relay! I was excited for
more than one reason. I had missed out on last year’s relay since I
was too late joining the group. Later, I had picked up knee and ankle
injuries, and I was really circumspect about my ability to run three
10k’s in a span of thirty hours. But the potential thrill of
participating in an amazing event had gotten the better of me, and there I
was, ready to do something I was passionate about – running –
to help a truly noble cause – eradicating illiteracy. The setting was
picture perfect; the first three miles for leg 8 would go through a
beautiful vineyard (notwithstanding recent reported mountain-lion sightings
in the area!).
 The first few hundred yards were smooth, but then I
encountered a steep climb; this climb destroyed all my resolve within a
couple hundred yards. Leg 8 was rated “moderate”; if this was
moderate, then no way was I going to get through the “hard” leg
20 that I would do next. The thrill had evaporated, now I was up against a
monster. Fortunately, the climb was short, and was followed by some
relatively flat terrain. The route was slushy to say the least, and the
unevenness made each step a real effort. Three miles of running got me out
of the vineyard and onto paved road, something I was more used to. The last
few miles of the run had a slight decline, so I finished strong. The only
downside was that I had developed a big blister on my right foot. I would
have to run with it the rest of the way.
The Relay continued on with Radha, Sandeep, Ramesh and Rajesh
running their legs in that order. The rest of the van cheered as each
runner ran his leg, and steadily we reached the Marin cheese factory which
was the second van exchange point. We handed the band to van 1, ate samosas
and idlis brought by Yogi (who had come all the way from Sunnyvale to cheer
on the team!), and then took off towards San Francisco where we would sleep
for a couple of hours at Radha’s boss’ place.
We reached Golden Gate around midnight to start our second
phase. I began leg 20, a continuous six mile incline, around 1AM on Sunday.
While it looked monstrous, it really wasn’t because the climb was
consistent. Very rarely does one get a do a grueling run at midnight on the
Pacific coast! Pain and exhaustion showed up in full fury, so I huffed and
puffed my way to the finish. The tough part of my relay was over. My final
leg was rated “easy”, so I knew I would breeze through it. I
was beginning to feel a sense of achievement already.
Our van finished in the early hours of Sunday morning, and
then we went to Canada college which was our next resting location. A
sumptuous breakfast of eggs, pancakes, milk and muffins was followed by a
couple of hours of sleep in the college gymnasium, and we were back to
running our final six legs. Leg 32 was all downhill, and I took the chance
to finish on a speedy note. That was it! Around 1 PM on Sunday, my portion
of The Relay was complete. Our van finished the remaining four legs, Rajesh
fittingly doing the final leg to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Jubilation and
photographs were followed by a visit to Cicero’s where
fitness-conscious individuals gorged themselves with tons of pizza, a nice
end to what was a truly incredible experience.
Long-distance running to me is a microcosm of life itself. The
task invariably seems enormous at the outset, but if one can break it down
and focus on completing one step at a time, and if one can maintain a
steady rhythm, then one will eventually surely achieve the goal. The issue
of illiteracy needs a similar approach, no wonder so many ILP volunteer absolutely
love to run long-distances!
Washington-DC Chapter News
Golf for Literacy
ILP-DC chapter organized its first ever “Golf for
Literacy” tournament at the picturesque Reston National Golf course
on April 29th, 2006 in Reston, VA
 Nine teams participated in a 4-player scramble format. Each
team was provided 2 golf carts for navigating the course amply stocked with
refreshments. Apart from the main event, players could also take part in a
tough putting competition as well as a raffle contest. Players were given
the opportunity to warm up with some practice balls before hitting the
course. The first team teed off at 9:00am and the last team at 10:30am. As
the day warmed up so did the enthusiasm of the participants as they cheered
on team-mates with shouts of encouragement while engaging in friendly
banter. The last team returned after playing 18 holes at about 3:00pm.
Upon returning to the reception area, the teams waited with nervous
anticipation as score cards were tallied, final numbers put on board and
winners announced. The DC chapter volunteers at this point introduced ILP
to all players covering its goals, approach and various initiatives
undertaken. Informational brochures were handed out, queries answered and
contact information exchanged. Finally, prizes were distributed for the top
2 teams with best scores as well as for longest drives, putting competition
and raffle lottery followed by a vote of thanks.
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