Yellow, Yellow, Gritty Fellows!

It was a nippy Sunday morning but nothing that would keep the rugged Delhiite away from the annual Senior Citizens’ Run supported by Harmony at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. Not even the mood-dampening smog that had descended on the capital a week earlier could do that! So said 74 year-old Sarla Rani and her band of regulars at the run who arrived at Nehru Stadium on the morning of 19 November even before the sun did. Soon they were joined by busloads of silvers from all over Delhi, Noida and Gurugram.

- Natasha Rego

By 8 am, around 1,200 silvers, clad in their signature bright yellow shirts, made their way to the flag-off point at the stadium. Three, two, one... and they were flagged off by guest of honour for the day and former national boxing coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu, who was thrilled at the sight. He was joined by the Harmony team.

Some silvers danced along the way, some waved at the cheering crowds, while the serious runners among them zoomed past. One of the participants, with sunglasses and headphones on, even chose to start the race in style: by walking backwards.

An hour later, the silvers returned to the marquee for refreshments, a bit of entertainment, and the distribution of lucky draw prizes, pumped from the 4.5-km trail around Delhi they had just completed. While they were all in the mood to celebrate their achievement, for some like Mukul Abhyankar, first-time runner who was also celebrating his 64th birthday, it was extra special. “I retired in 2014 and have been paying more attention to my health. I have been training for this for the past month and hoped to complete it in under 30 minutes. I finished in 20!” he tells us. Sure enough, he sees the 21-km Airtel Delhi Half Marathon on the horizon.