Running for our lives
The value of brisk walking, jogging and running as a low resource form of exercise should make it the exercise of choice for countries like India. But this is not easy, especially in urban India. Mumbai is a classic example of a severe challenge to accessing open spaces and running tracks.
Sanjay Nagral
Jan 16, 2023, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, India – Jan 15, 2023: Dream Runner participated during the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2023, in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, Jan 15, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)
As January arrives in Mumbai, accompanied by an apology of a winter, one Sunday morning witnesses a stirring spectacle. Thousands of runners of various shades - champions, professionals, amateurs and those joining in for some fun - take to the otherwise bustling streets for the Mumbai Marathon which is now part of the global marathon circuit. The race also sees the participation of many NGOs to publicise the cause they espouse and collect funds. Residents along the route come out to cheer the runners on and to help with water and energy drinks. All in all, it’s a morning of determination and endurance coupled with celebration.
Like any Mumbai kid of the 70’s, I grew up on the sport diet of only cricket. I am still not much of a track and field aficionado but since the route of the Mumbai Marathon passes close to where I live, I have during most years managed to catch a close glimpse of the pack of front runners in the early morning. Needless to say, most of them are from Africa. Their wiry bodies and practised strides stand out as they thunder down the road with amazing grace, speed and stamina. The sight is at once uplifting but intriguing. The fitness of these elite marathoners from one of the world’s poorest regions is a source of some mystery. Today when I spotted the young Ethiopian Hayle Lemi in the lead, it was the same feeling.
The Great Rift Valley is a tectonic fault that runs down Africa from its North to the South East. It is also the region on the planet where our species Homo Sapiens has its origins. Kenya and Ethiopia are two poor countries on the Rift’s path in East Africa. Runners from these two countries have massively dominated marathons over the last few years. Most of them are from villages and towns in the Rift valley region. This has naturally led to attempts to study and explain this. This includes both biological and anthropological tools.
There are several theories. Some studies have found differences between body mass index and bone structure between Westerners and East Africans. Others have shown that Kenyans have less mass for their height, longer legs, shorter torsos and more slender limbs. Another popular theory is that the high-altitude plateaus of the region allow running at more rarefied atmospheres where the lungs develop an ability making it easy for them to run when they descend to sea level in many of the marathons. There have also been attempts to identify genes in the area’s tribes.
For long, local, cultural and behavioural factors have been considered. It seems children in the region run long distances to school, making them natural runners. The high protein diet, the lack of junk food and the perfect running terrain have all been part of historical explanations. Finally, more and more observers feel that it may just be the fact that after the initial few who made it big, the areas youth realised that it’s a good way to make money. This more sociological explanation suggests that the proximity to international elite runners has motivated others. Almost every village has someone who has come back from abroad with winnings and these stars are open to supporting younger trainees. And running needs no investment except time and motivation.
The benefits of brisk walking and running as an effective form of exercise are now clearly documented by modern science. The contribution of the slow metamorphosis of the human race from an active nomadic existence to a sedentary lifestyle to the global obesity epidemic is now well established. One of the components of the now famous lipid profile - the ‘good’ cholesterol which protects against heart disease - can only be increased by exercise. Whilst drugs can lower the bad cholesterol, there is so far no drug that can increase the good one. Studies linking exercise with longevity are now staring us in the face.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to perform abdominal surgery on a series of African patients. One striking observation was the preponderance of muscle over fat compared to the local bellies we are used to seeing. It is now well established that as South Asians we suffer from lean obesity where we may otherwise be thin but accumulate at our waist and inside our bellies. There is some genetic interplay here but the lack of activity may be the trigger.
The value of brisk walking, jogging and running as a low resource form of exercise should make it the exercise of choice for countries like India. But as it turns out this is not easy especially in urban India. Mumbai is a classic example of a severe challenge to accessing open spaces and running tracks. Whilst a small section can access parks, the Race Course and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, where do others walk or jog if they want to? Of course exercise of this nature primarily needs motivation but the easy availability of pleasant walking spaces facilitates taking it forward.
Having said that, we live in a city where everyone is always running for everyone is forever late for something. Students to catch their class. Workers for buses and trains to earn their livelihood. Others for meetings, appointments and to catch flights. The extravaganza staged every third Sunday of January was back with a bang today after a Covid break of two years. Huge funding and state support ensures that the event was well organised. The challenge though is to ensure that those who want to run the year round get the spaces they need. And for all us to get off our computers, phones and television sets to walk and jog. To run for our lives.