Kharghar Hills

No more loneliness for Mumbai's long-distance runners.

Because, the Mumbai Marathon Runners group is here. Tehelka's Nishita Jha has a beautiful story about how runners around India are forming their local groups and are making the personal, painful and tiresome activity of long-distance running into a social glue.

Thanks to the story, I was able to meet die-hard runners from the Mumbai region on a Sunday morning (they meet to run here on the 3rd Sunday of every month), at the Kharghar Hills where they ran up and down the beautiful, steep road that overlooks the greenery, skyscrapers, and creeks of Navi Mumbai.

When the city that never sleeps catches a few winks on Sunday mornings, these insanes rule our roads. The First Sunday of the month, they run from Bandra to the tip if the Island city at NCPA and some also run back . One the 3rd Sunday, they run the taxing Kharghar Hills. They start at 5.30 sharp and run for the next 3 hours or as long as they last.

Read the full Tehelka story here:

What we talk about when we talk about running

If you are still running alone, join the Mumbai Marathon Runners group on Facebook.

The ex-Navy man who was wearing this t-shirt explained the Mumbai Marathon Runners t-shirt design to me.

- Blue for India and now, Mumbai.
- The Sea-link is the new identity of the city.

- Unisex runners.
- Group name in tricolours.
- There's a yellow strip on the side for the dying greenery in the city that supply the fresh air we need.

- And that line defines them.