A peek into the spirit of Boat Club Dreamers 

Chapters of running groups are like showdogs, bred to specifications, often with hair-splitting atte

Chapters of running groups are like showdogs, bred to specifications, often with hair-splitting attention to details. They speak the same language, and largely look the same. It takes a sharp eye and a patient ear to tell them apart.

Before the interview begins to unspool, Gayathry Rajagopalan, a training coordinator of Boat Club Dreamers, is asked to pass over the quotidian, and share only the unusual.

A tough ask indeed. Routine undergirds any successful endeavour (ask an athlete, a musician or any author) but routine can be as uninspiring as it is effective. It is better to dwell on the fruits of sticking to a routine.

Gayathry does that.

1. “A majority of us are cyclists. We are not strangers to duathlons. However, we are yet to make our debut in triathlons, which is set to change this November, when five of us would be competing at the Goa trialthlon.”

2. A group’s ability to garner glory is directly proportional to how crazily its members are committed to its goals. “Last year, we registered for “the 100 days of running”: We had to run a minimum of five km. Suresh Kumar, 67 years old and one of the training coordinators, was travelling, and to keep up with the running commitment, he ran up and down an airport terminal and finished 5k for the day,” explains Gayathry. For readers of this column, there should be a deja vu, as not long ago, it was reported how Mukundan NR of Run T Nagar Run completed his daily 8k at the Kuwait airport, running with “a bag on his back, and two trolleys in his hands.”

3. Gayathry discloses that on Sunday, when the group does its long-slow-distance, hydration support is provided at two spots — Boat Club Road and Besant Avenue (near Avvai Home). A member of Boat Club Dreamers, Suja Ganesh has got her spouse, who is director-founder of Running Lab, to sponsor this service.