Cross Country — A trail to remember
Tags: Running, Sainik School, Letters, Nature, Brotherhood

There were just few more minutes for lights out. Subash could barely keep his eyes open. His weary bones dragged him to the bed after another grueling day at Officers Training Academy. But the comments passed on him during the 3K-route march disturbed him. So he grabbed his diary to pen down his thoughts before he crashed into the bed.

Day 45

13|11|2017

Hurt Ego & Alter Ego

Running has always been my positive — till 2012. Why the hell did I mess it up later? Few moments bring tears to my eyes. Bunking X-Country as a wish granted by Suresh Babu man for my b-day in 6th. Finishing 16th in 7th std, completing 9th in 8th std, being a chasing member carrying fwd 8 buddies to 3rd enclosure in 9th, finishing 7th in 10th, back again to chasing 4 buddies to 2nd enclosure in 11th & constant 6th pos in 12th………….

An excerpt from Subash’s diary

As he fought with his thoughts, it took him back to the times at Sainik school Amaravathinagar, when he and his buddy, Loheeth ran breathlessly, taking chances to cover up for their friends as their stern and unyielding house senior, Suresh Babu man drilled them into order. It was these tough times at a tender age that gave way to brotherhood, team spirit and unwavering faith in oneself to run against all odds.

At the age of 11, Subash’s world revolved around inter house competitions. His adrenaline levels spiked whenever he fetched points for his house. The Cock House Trophy was his Grammy. Subash was in the Pallava house. And so was Loheeth, Vasanth, Manu, Dharani, Anurag, Sid and many others. He eagerly participated in all the competitions. And one such competition he enjoyed being a part of was X Country.

A postcard sent by Subash to his parents

The X Country route at Amaravathinagar was both a bliss to the eyes and a challenge to the indomitable spirit. It sprawled along a 7 km mixed terrain of paved and unpaved roads predominantly dotted by Eucalyptus and Amla trees. The entire route stretched across the school campus, nearby village, the canal road and the Amaravathi dam sandwiched between two slopes. The view from the top of the dam would take anybody’s breath away with sparkling river on one side and agricultural field emulating different shades of green on the other side.

Amaravathi dam stretched across the river

Subash wasn’t a front runner. But he pushed his limits to keep up with his buddy, Loheeth. Loheeth outperformed everybody whenever he ran. As a junior, they focused on running ahead of others. Placing at the top positions were where they set their eyes upon. But when they entered the senior house, their focus shifted to win collectively as a team.

The night before the run, strategies were charted out to win the race. The houses which knew they could not win the trophy just wrote down the participants name, informed them before bed-time and let their adrenaline to take over. There was a funny belief among the cadets that eating a lot before the race would give them more energy. That got some to indulge in food crazily in the hope of performing better.

After dinner, the pallava house met at the trunk box room in their dorm to discuss the plans. Loheeth and Vasanth, a science enthusiast, were given the task to finish at the podium to earn extra points. Subash and Dharani, a new 9th, took the responsibility to chase the other house mates into the 2nd or 3rd enclosure. The greater the number of participants to finish early, the more points they secure as a house. Now it was time to hype the juniors. Subash and Loheeth who were known for their long talks graced the occasion.

“Never let another colour house t-shirt cross you. It should always be a green colour ahead of you. That should be the spirit!”, intimidated Loheeth.

“How can you let anybody prove you that you are lesser than their house?” continued Subash.

Encouraging the juniors was comparatively easier than encouraging their course mates. Subash had a hard time convincing them. While some agreed, “Okay machi, we will fill the 3rd enclosure”, few turned the situation lighter by taking a dig at Subash, “Dae kaka, you will fly over the course, we have to run.” Nevertheless everybody found ways to contribute to the house.

Subash with his housemates

On the day of the race, the entire school gathered at the Oval ground to witness the most exciting competition. As the participants assembled at the starting line, the audience cheered. There were blue, green, yellow, red t-shirts all over. Once the PT master lowered the flag, runners raced across the ground, along the school campus, officers quarters and staff residence. Amidst the bustle, some managed to pluck guava and gooseberry fruits from the quarters and relished it on their way. By now Loheeth, Vasanth, Sid, Ragunath of Chola house and Devan of Pandya house were ahead of the rest. Irrespective of the houses to which they belonged to, participants motivated one another to keep up the pace. Subash usually ran the first few kilometres at a faster pace. Once they completed the run around the campus, they entered the canal road and headed towards the dam. At this point, few sneakily collected more than one ticket from their juniors at the check points for safety to not let their run turn futile. Some even kept duplicate tickets ready and took maximum shortcuts or hitched a ride from strangers. Completing the race by any means was their goal.