Signed Up for the Mumbai Marathon

I signed up for two marathons this week. Not because it was the physically or fiscally smart thing to do, but because it’s running and I guess that’s what I do. I’ve often wondered why I’m blessed/cursed with running as my ‘thing.’ Some people’s ‘thing’ is technology, some are great writers, others play music… and I can move forward relatively quickly for a sustained period. Anyhow, the sign-up procedures for the Boston Marathon (this coming April 16th) and Mumbai (tomorrow morning, about 8 hours from now) were so drastically different, I thought I’d write about it. Granted, I signed up for Boston 3+ months in advance, and Mumbai the night before, but nevertheless, here’s the synopsis. Method of application: Boston: Online. Mumbai: In person (the online payment wasn’t secure, so I didn’t sign up the prescribed way back in December). Today, I took a rickshaw to a train to a cab to get to the World Trade Center downtown. Time taken to apply: Boston: 10 minutes. Mumbai: 2+ hours. Number of lines I had to wait in: Boston: Zero. Mumbai: Five. Cost to apply: Boston: $110.00 Mumbai: About $5.50. I could not believe how cheap it was to sign up for this marathon. They charged the same amount for the 7K, Half-Marathon and Marathon. I did sign up as an Indian though… had I signed up as an international competitor, the price raises to $30. The Boston is $160 for international competitors. Granted, there were no T-shirts given for Mumbai, but they do have timing chips (which took a significant part of the 2 hours to set up), and they gave out a goodie bag with my race number and other random (useless) advertisements and food products. But the money in the US marathons isn’t for the T-shirt and medal. It usually goes for the race support, insurance, and closing the course to traffic. My main question is: which of these three is going to be skimped on due to my $5.50 price tag? Just to be safe, I’m going super easy tomorrow to avoid needing medical aid. Also because this is possibly the worst race buildup I’ve ever had, and I’ll admit it’s a bit pompous to think I can just nail this without training. I’ve run less than 1/2 of what I do on a normal basis over the last two months, and I was out late last night. Oh right… and this is the only (and hopefully last) marathon that will be fueled by Indian food. Nevertheless, tomorrow will definitely be an experience. I’ve heard the crowds cheering are crazy, but all three races (7K, 21K and 42K) are well known as the “Mumbai Marathon,” so I’m hoping people come out to cheer for more than just the popular 7K.