Come June and the monsoon starts in India. Monsoon season arrives in India at the start of June through South West. It usually hits Kerala around 4th – 5th June every year and then progresses towards the North West region. By 15th June it hits the region where I am based at. Before the monsoon season it is the summer season in India. Summer is very uncomfortable. The air temperature go upto 40 degree celcius and the road temperature can go upto 45 degree celcius. During this season running is painful. You sweat by litres and get exhausted earlier than usual. There are greater chances of getting cramps in muscles. Conditions like head ache, dizziness and exhaustion is very common. Despite all these there is a certain fun in running in sweltering heat. But this article is not about running in summer season. This article is about running in monsoon which arrives after the summer season in India.
As I was going for a non running event this morning in my car, I could see hordes of runners on their Sunday run. What was surprising for me is that they were running inspite of moderate to heavy rains. Now my first reaction when someone calls me for a run in rains is a straightway no. But then I realise how long can I say no to running in rains. Because rains are going to be in the region for 3 months and I will go mad if I don’t go for a run in 3 months. Eventually after dreading about this thought I decide to go for a run. I was also contemplating why do I say no to running in rains. What is the resistance from my mind. First there is a certain lethargy in the body in monsoons. In monsoon when I wake up early morning and the sky is covered with dark clouds and overall weather is gloomy, my instant reaction is to go back and hit the bed. Whereas during the summer, when I wake up, the weather is bright, sun is about to rise, birds are chirping, there is a certain energetic vibe and I feel like jumping out of the bed. This is the first reason.
The second reason is after I come back from a run, it take 3 to 4 days for the shoes to get dry and get ready for another run. This discourages me which means that I would have to wait long for my next run. Also the socks in monsoon run becomes sogging wet. This makes your feet heavy. Ok, OK,…I know its hardly a few grams heavier but till there is a mental realisation that the feet are heavy. Same goes with clothes. I have also experienced that the nipples may chaff more during the monsoon and vaseline may be ineffective. Although chaffing of nipple is common while running dry or wet.
The third reason is a reason which may not be applicable to everyone. I have spectacles. These spectacles get wet during the run and vastly decreases my visibility. Even if I wipe the glasses with my T shirt during the run, it doesn’t help primarily because the T shirt is also wet. When you are running in the rains and you specs get wet, you have to lower your specs and look from above the specs. Now if your lenses number is less, then its not a problem but for me who carry a cylindrical number, it gets very uncomfortable.
The fourth reason is large number of puddles which you encounter on way. I am not a little girl who likes to jump and splash water on every puddle which comes across. The water seeps into the shoes and the feet feels extremely uncomfortable. The feet also feels heavy once water enters. One of the frustrating parts after you finish your run in rains is the monumental efforts you have to make to dry up your shoes. It starts with stuffing shoes with newspapers everyday and eventually using hairdryer to dry them. Although its fun, but when the air comes out with strong smell of feet, it feels nauseated. There are also bad effect of hair dryer heat on the shoes mainly the glue binding the parts of shoes. There is a fear that it may come loose if the heating temperatures go too up.
The fifth reason I am a little fearful of running in the rains is the disease I may caught. One may catch Leptospirosis which is usually caught when one is wading through contaminated water. In places where basic hygiene is an issue, this could be risky. Specially if you have cuts in your feet then you should definitely avoid running during the monsoon season.
Although one may think I am being overly cautious of pessimistic about running in rain, let me also tell you that inspite of all these I also enjoy running in rains. My thoughts on this I will keep for another day. Till then Happy Running and Rains !!!!
Running High 
Leave a comment