The Great Lakes Gazelles

October 16, 2014 | Posted by admin << back to blog

Great Lakes Gazelles is a group of fitness enthusiasts in Great Lakes. It started out with a couple of people who got together to run in the morning and now has now blossomed into a group of people who do a lot of fitness activities together – running, yoga, cycling and swimming. Arvind V, one of the Gazelles, describes below what one of their sessions is like.

The alarm shrieks at 05:15 hours in the morning. Your hand shoots out from under the bed cover to try and shut off the infernal thing. You look at the time and curse your decision to do this. With great strength of will (and a second and third alarm going off, in all probability), you stumble off the bed and blearily reach for your toothbrush. You head off to the washroom, impatiently kicking at the doors hiding the others that agreed to do this. 30 minutes and a significant amount of cajoling later, you’re all gathered at the designated start point. As the first rays of the sun lighten the sky, you stretch and pump up your muscles. And then you run.

The distance takes its toll on you. How long have you been going? Just 10 minutes? You falter. You take it at a slower pace. The tarmac is hard on your soles. Each step jolts through every joint in the body. Sweat streams down your limbs. Every muscle screams in agony. Your head spins. You remember assignments you need to finish and presentations you need to make. Plus, your shin is still sore from when you banged it against the desk the other day. Hey, you can always run some other day! You contemplate stopping. Suddenly a voice shouts “Come on, run!”, and you stare at the other runner urging you on.

Why are they all faster than you, stronger than you, hardier than you? Something breaks within you, your self-doubt. You push your body and mind. The adrenaline surges within you. The time to quit is not now. You can see the finish line in the distance. It’s all or nothing now. No longer consciously aware of your motion, you look at the goal. Screams of encouragement are heard, overpowered by the sound of blood rushing in your ears. An animal thrill is upon you. You simultaneously feel rage and ecstasy. Amazingly, you’re going faster than ever. You cross the finish. Staggering to a slow halt, you soak in the feeling of accomplishment.

You slowly stretch and cool down your body. Time to take a photo. Armpit sweat and tousled hair, it goes up on Facebook. The Great Lakes Gazelles are done for the day.

Nobody put you up to this. Nobody says that you must run to be fit. Heck, nobody says you got to be fit. You do other training anyway, what with yoga, and weights. You’re probably destined to sit on a chair for the next 35 odd years. What are the odds you have to run? Apart from catching that early morning train to work. Let’s face it, you’re going to miss that train and be late. No, you run, because you can. You run, because you will. You run, because you are alive.

Arvind V, PGDM 2015 (Pallavas)
Great Lakes Institute of Management

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