" BOLDER BOULDER 2007 "

The last Monday in May, The United States of America celebrates its Memorial Day in honor of the warriors and for those who had served the U.S. Armed Forces. This year it was on 28th May which was observed as a National holiday. The Memorial day tribute is one of the largest in the world. In Colorado, the venue was at Folsom Field Stadium situated south of the University of Colorado in Boulder where 50000 Walkers and 50000 Spectators gather. The event is described as " BOLDER BOULDER ".

The Memorial Day tribute includes skydivers with streaming colorful flags, a 29 gun salute and fly over by 4 U.S. military jets. Bolder Boulder called the citizens to join in a celebration to honor those who had given so much to the country. So Aparna and Natarajan joined and participated in Bolder Boulder 2007.

Monday, the 28th May 2007 will be a day to remember for us. We answered the call " Oh, Yes You Can , Challenge ! "and participated in the 10k.m. race, one of the largest races in the world through the scenic streets of historic Down Town, Boulder . A sea of 50,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair racers were all seen standing in a wave pattern. The wave pattern was codified with letters , A, AA, AB and so on. Aparna and I were part of the wave " NB" with Bib No. 369 and 370 resply. The entire participants' timing of the 10 k.m. ( 6.124 miles ) was carried out by Timing Mats spread at every mile of the run. We wore the tag NB 369,70 over the shoe for this purpose.

Earlier, Aparna and I set the alarm overnight for 4.30a.m. After a quick and steaming coffee, we finished bath and wore the T-Shirt mailed to us by BOLDER Boulder which bore slogans " RUN TO LIVE" on the back and "LIVE TO RUN " on the front of the T-shirt.. Aparna drove the car up to the pick-up point and the RIDE bus took us at 6 a.m. along with other runners to Boulder which is a 70 minute drive from Denver. We wore the BIB Nos. NB 369 and NB 370 respectively on the T-Shirts and the tags on the shoes. The time of start for NB wave was announced as 8.50.10.

We were keeping a very steady pace through out the 10k.m. length, speeding up in between and jogging at some stretch, in order to finish the race with the least time possible. We breathed the fresh mountain air, enjoyed the blair of music being played by professional singers in groups at various locations. The volunteers and public were standing through out the stretch cheering the Walkers and Racers. There were 420 mobile toilets. 16000 gallons of drinking water was consumed on the run by 50000 participants. The prize money in stake was US$1,00,600. The entry fee was $43. We were walking at a height of 5280feet in the Rocky Mountain above the mean sea level and the highest point we touched was 5390'. The average age of the walkers was 33, the strength of the constituents in the age 50 and above was 18percent and in the age group 35to 45 was 21%.

We were walking thru' the scenic streets of Boulder, taking fresh water, juices that were offered en route. We both finished simultaneously in less than 1hr 29min 50 seconds as per our watches. We are waiting to hear the official results which may be announced by tomorrow.

There were 50000 spectators gathered and seated in the stadium cheering us and what a thrill it provided at the finishing line is left to your imagination. They served in pockets breads, buns, muffins. chips, nuts, ice fruits, energy bars, juices and drinks after we crossed the finish line.

The Ride Buses were waiting to carry the runners and walkers to their destinations. We alighted at Santafe where we had parked the car and reached home before 1p.m. We were greeted by a thunderous applause by Highland Ranch neighbors. Sekhar and Parvathy bore a proud smile and child Karthik and boy Vignesh who were missing their mother for the whole day came running to hug Aparna, as she came out of the car.

There was a Creek festival in Boulder on the previous day ( 27 May ). There was a big shopping Mal with variety of vendors and articles and merchandise. Many food Stalls with delicious savories and sweets were inviting and we chose a Bombay food stall and ordered our favorites. It was almost 2 hours when finished coming out of the exit gate and called it a day.

Late in the evening of 26 May , we went to a Club and played " Bowling " for an hour. I hit twice and cleared all the 10 standings in one bowling . The scores of Aparna and Sekhar were of course the highest and ended in a tie.

It gives pleasure to write to all of you about our week end activities. It also gives an opportunity for you to understand what is happening here and how U.S. celebrates the National Memorial Day !!