THE

DAYLIGHT
Dreams

AMIT THATTE
DEDICATING
THIS FEAT

To My wife Ketaki,
Son Abhishek & Daughter Niharika

01| The Daylight Dreams

 “The lady was doing her job as that was the
format of the race but I felt humiliated for no
fault of hers. The cross etched across the bib left
a scar on my persona and the desire to undo the
already done became invigorating.”

AMIT THATTE

02| The Daylight Dreams

On
JUNE 10, 2018, 5:10 PM

The date was 10th June ‘18 and the time was 5:10 in the evening. As the
sun set behind me and the finish line rose in front, my legs moved faster
and breath became labored. But with the finish line in sight and cut-off
time of 5:30 ticking away, I sprinted harder closer and closer. Finally it
was there just beneath my feet and in another step I had crossed the
Comrades finish line.

90 kms, 1000 unknown hills, 5 big mountains, 17000

men, 53 nations, and 1 Indian.
At that moment I did not
comprehend the existenceof
others, neither the fellow
Indians,nor the fellow international
Comrades who had also finished
the race. Tears started rolling down
my cheeks. They became more &
more obvious and pronounced until
the time when the water reservoir
behind my eyes nearly dried. I
stopped crying and started
searching for my wife & kids.
03| The Daylight Dreams
Throughout the race they had managed to stand by the road at
various check points, quietly cheering for me to finish the race.
Finding them at the finishline, as I cried clingingon to their
shoulders, it was then that the pleasure of crying was truly
complete.

My daughter wrapped herself around me, my wife had tears in her

eyes, nose started glowing red and cheeks had turned pink. Son as
usual, was standing towering over me, unable to cry, unable to speak
but gave nod of approval and something he’d rarely say:

"Dad, you have finally done it!"

For the world, it would have been just another running achievement
but everybody at home knew that it was a dream which I had lived
the whole year gone by and the moment of this success had its
traces in the moments of agony on the same Comrades race in the
year gone by.

04| The Daylight Dreams

The same month on a
different date last year gave
me the courage to look at life
with a different perspective.
I have faced failures more
times in life than successes
but I always made it a point to
learn from them and mend my
ways for the better. This time
was no different. I had made a
failed Comrades attempt.
That day had given me a
DNF-Did Not Finish Tag !

JUNE 04, 2017

That fateful day was 4th of
June’17, the Comrades
marathon, a 90 kms race for
which I had registered,
without actually realising the
enormity of the task. Just
because my friends had
registered, I decided to do it
too.

05| The Daylight Dreams

 The training sessions kept me
running for hours together for
long kilometres also restricting
my professional working hours.
The single longest run was the 70
Km run at Lonavala.
The back-to-back long runs on
successive days and the
numerous hill workouts
somehow got me prepared to
face the challenge of the day &
the race.
The day started off well. I had
run comfortably from one cut-off
time to the other. The first three
cut-off points at the 18th, 30th
and 46th km passed off well
within the assigned time limits
and then fatigue set sail. My run
began to get slower and slower
and I reached the cutoff at the
69th km just 2 minutes late.

It’s a usual practice for the

bouncers standing at the cut-off
point to form a line as soon as
the cut-off time is reached. I still
did not lose hope, I still wanted
to dodge them and cross the line
as that is what the human
psyche makes you do. I was so
involved in the moment that
nothing could stop me. But they
had seen many runners like me.

The race was over.

06| The Daylight Dreams
The lady at the cut-off came running in to see me. I thought she wanted to
sympathize with me for being unable to finish the race, but little did I know,
she had other plans. She had a black marker in her hand. She put a big cross
on the bib on my chest and tore it off at the bottom of the bib. She then
asked me to bend and I obeyed. Another cross on the bib on my back as if
announcing to the world that this man had lost all rights to the coveted
“Comrades Medal”.

The lady was doing her job as that was the

format of the race but I felt humiliated for no
fault of hers. The cross etched across the bib
left a scar on my persona and the desire to
undo the already done became invigorating.

When everything was done, she asked me to

board the sweeper van which was standing
on the side of the road. I moved forward to
find the van full of languid runners, one of
them lying on the floor.

I tried to fit in, in spite of the overwhelming

stench of puke, sweat and the gloom of futile
toils of a lost cause. Finally the van left
without me.

My wait for the next van started. There were

a few more runners like me waiting for their
turn to board the van. Their heart break was
evident from the long faces and a
burgeoning unsettling question

“What next ? ”
07| The Daylight Dreams
Coming all the way from India !!

08| The Daylight Dreams

After waiting for almost half an hour the van came and took us
back to the tents. My Journey, the finish line started on wheels
instead of legs.
Getting down at the finishers tent, I found everybody in a
cheerful mood, Runners with medals shining on their chests,
crying, giggling, laughing and holding on to their loved ones.
Everything around was so happening and

I had already happened !

My gloom intermittently hid
behind the cacophony of sounds &
noises, but not enough, My wife
met me and soon realised that I
had probably not finished the race.
I tried hard to hold on to my tears.
By then she also had understood
the fate of my venture.
Finally we both gave in & decided
to let the tears flow and cried our
hearts out.
09| The Daylight Dreams
The next day I woke up to a bright
sunny morning. I put on the
Comrades Tshirt and went down
to the breakfast area, trying to
feel a little buoyant, wanting to
overcome the tragedy of the day
before.
People all around were limping
but had medals on their chests.
Bearing through the pain, I felt
I should not,
as theirs was a limp of triumph
where as mine was a limp of
defeat and only the feet that
had triumphed could be
decorated with a limp.
Though I trudged back home, I
resolved to come back
stronger the next year. I swore,
I would be back next year. I
had tested my luck this year, in
the next I would test my will at
the world’s most challenging
running extravaganza!
Comrades I am coming !
Comrades I will be coming !!
10| The Daylight Dreams
The result of the marathon on
that day gave me some
unpleasant moments but that
day was so full of life, I would
not have bartered for
anything in the world for that
mammoth of a race and
monster of a day. I had
strived hard every second of
that day to make those
minutes & hours finally
fruitful. If I live everyday like
that day, I would make a
bigger success out of myself
and so I continue to dream
with open eyes.
In words of the famous
author T.E Lawrence who
wrote the book Lawrence of
Arabia :
“Those who dream in the
dusty recesses of their mind,
wake in the day to find that it
was vanity ; But the dreamers
of the day are dangerous
men, for they may act their
dream with open eyes, to
make it possible “I am not a
dangerous man But
I often dream,
I dream in the daylight,
I act on my dreams,
I realise my dreams,’
I will continue to dream !!
— Amit Thatte
11| The Daylight Dreams