“Cross country: No half times, no time outs, no substitutions. It must be the only true sport”

On the pleasant evening of 7th of March, Revels celebrated sports talent with ‘the only true sport’. Cross country is sport where participants run in open air, through natural terrain which may take them through sun, rain, hail, sleet, snow or muddy, grassy plains or slopes. Manipal with its great variety in terrain is definitely a good stage for such an event. The aim of the run was to shortlist the best four male and female sprinters to represent MIT in the actual events during Revels. There was a massive turnout for participation as well as the audience. Kudos to those responsible for the event’s publicity. The path in front of the hockey ground was teeming with sprinters eager to show that they could go the distance and that they could do so really quickly.

James Joyce said “Rapid motions through space elates one”. It was evident that the students of MIT were in agreement with him. Albeit, there were very few female runners, every one of them was equally passionate about winning. The MIT sports club saw the event through without a glitch. The participants were registered and preparing for the four or six kilometers while The Director of Physical Education, Mr. Kempraj, explained the route that the runners were going to take while everybody stretched and prepared themselves for the race. Dignitaries in attendance were the Director, the Joint Director, the Chief Warden and the Director of student welfare, all of whom flagged off together.

The energy was contagious, and even the little children in Varchas assisted the flag off by animatedly shouting “Ready, steady, go!” The runners dashed over the starting line at Mr. Kempraj’s whistle. Within seconds, they were out of the campus navigating towards Manipal Lake. Keeping in mind that not everybody has a good running day, and definitely not the same level of stamina, an ambulance with a well-qualified physician followed the participants throughout the run. Sports club volunteers were stationed to help navigate. Equipped with water, they were a boon to the tired sprinters. The organizers even managed to get help from the police.

The first female participant, Ganga Shinghal, crossed the finish line with an impressive time of sixteen minutes while the first male sprinter, Kumar Shubham, took twenty two minutes. The path was not smooth and level, but they jumped, ran and jogged; whatever was deemed fit by them. Some participants drained, walked into campus, but broke into a run as soon as they sensed their competitors catching up. Some didn’t even have it in them to finish, but the encouragement of the crowd and the sports faculty refreshed their mind, body and spirits, helping them to cross the finish line.

Fortunately, nobody had to hitch a ride in the ambulance or ask for the doctor’s assistance.Having all participants finish a cross country run is a success in itself. And as is common at the end of any successful event, people stood around elated, which materialised into cries of joy, warm hugs and clapping. The sports club and their volunteers deserve a pat on their backs for pulling off such a big event, having ensured good participation and keeping in mind all the necessary precautions.