digital thoughts

Nyayabhoomi.org has a section called “Shame of India“. Although the name of the section sounds little disturbing, Nyayabhoomi tried to portray all the ugly scenes in India with the constructive criticism. They are also trying to find permanent solutions to the problems most of us face everyday.

I am shocked by the sports section in the “Shame” page. It’s really a shame that India can’t nurture talented sports people. Take a look at China, they are extremely good at it.

Related Link: TN Sportswoman attempts suicide

Kenyans won the Boston Marathon that was held yesterday. They always seem to win these marathons. Indians are not seen anywhere near top 100.

What makes the Kenyans win the race consistently?

Running experts say the Kenyans excel at marathons because they’ve grown up at high altitudes in a culture that glorifies distance running. The Kenyans say their victories are the result of their simply working harder than anybody else.

But now, some of the best running brains in the U.S. are out to uncover the hard science behind marathon success.

In something of a Manhattan Project for marathoning, researchers are experimenting with a host of new ways to get an edge in the sport — studying runners’ genetics, using three-dimensional imaging to identify the tiniest quirks in runners’ gaits, and introducing entirely new running techniques based on scientific research.

To get a handle on what kind of supplements and diet will best optimize the effects of their running routines, these athletes have had their blood tested extensively to monitor such factors as low hemoglobin counts, iron deficiencies and lactate levels. Even the altitude of the condos they live in is based on research. Studies have shown that living and doing light training at about 8,000 feet, and then doing more intense training at or below 4,000 feet, is optimal for distance running.

There are signs that the more scientific training methods are already paying dividends — 120 Americans have already run fast-enough marathon times to qualify for the 2008 Olympic trials, already surpassing the 104 who qualified for 2004.

May be we should take the page from this research and train our runners in places like Ooty and Manali.

Some Indians in U.S. participated in the Boston Marathon.

• Love Pahwa (Age 30, Male) finished the marathon in 3 hrs and 3 minutes.
• V. Neelakantan (Age 47, Male) did it in 3 hrs and 21 minutes.
• Amit Arora (Age 28, Male) finished in 3 hrs and 38 minutes.
• Kalpana Rawani (Age 40, Female) completed the marathon in 4 hrs and 27 minutes.

Although they didn’t get into top 100, they were in the game. They proved that they can endure the marathon irrespective of their age. I salute them!

You can see the top finishers here.