17 January,2011 07:33 AM IST | | Rinkita Gurav
59-year-old former cop proud to finish last
When all eyes were set to spot the man crossing the finishing line first at the Mumbai Marathon on Sunday, hardly a few waited to cheer the participant who finished last.
Here's the story of a runner who is hardly remorseful of his defeat, he is rather proud of having finished the race.
Retired ACP Mohammed Javed took nearly 6 hours 38 minutes against the stipulated 5 hours to complete the race
Retired ACP from the Mumbai Police Mohammed Javed (59), who was the last man to reach the finishing line, is more than happy to complete the marathon.
He took nearly 6 hours 38 minutes against the stipulated 5 hours to complete the race.
He reached the finishing line when the organisers had already started closing the line and stopped recording timings.
Javed has been participating in the marathon since its inception in 2004. He has been participating in the full marathon for the past three years, before that he used to take part in the 21-km, half marathon.
"I run for my fitness and compete with myself.
u00a0
Every year I record the time taken to complete the race. I am really happy that I finished better than last year."u00a0
He further added that victory or defeat doesn't matter much. "At the end of a race, it is the self satisfaction that matters".
The officer said the senior citizens should run for the cause of fitness. "Fitness should be the first priority.
Now you can see even police officers and constables participating in the marathon which is a good development," said the retired cop, who runs a 2-km lap daily at the Mahalaxmi racecourse.
u00a0
Elaborating on the marathon, he said, "Since senior citizens and veterans participate in the full marathon, the time limit of five hours is very less.
It should be increased. This year the traffic was left in by 11, making it difficult for us to go through the road.
u00a0"There has been a considerable increase in the number of senior citizens participating in the race. So the organisers should give a certificate to the elderly participants to encourage them."
Ek Cutting!
Marathon
Marathons were instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger, from the Battle of Marathon to Athens. The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance (42.195 km) did not become standardised until 1921.
