Line up for the race with some thought. The fastest runners should be lined up in front, with the slower runners taking up the rear. That way, you don’t get passed by everyone and their pet pooch in the first kilometer (and we all know how character-building that experience is). Besides, the slower runners, (who are no slouches – they have trained hard and have their own targets) are a more fun group to hang with. More likely than not, there will be casual banter, lots of hugs going around and cheerful calling out. Also, if you start at the back and find you’re actually passing other runners at your regular pace, that’s a very happy bonus!

While at aid-stations, make sure you take what you need and then step aside so you don’t cause over-crowding and force others to reach under your sweaty armpits just to get water. If there is a bin near an aid-station, use it. It is not, repeat, not studly behavior to attempt to throw the water cup in the general direction of the bin. Some considerate race organizers also place a second trash bin a few metres down from the aid station, in case runners want to grab water and continue running.

Encourage runners especially if you are on an out-and back course. If runners have their names on their bib, make sure you call out encouragement. It doesn’t matter that you don’t know them from Ananthashayanam Parthasarathy, they are fellow travellers on the race route and therefore, worthy of appreciation. There is nothing sweeter than your name being called out, a friendly wave or a cheer when your lungs are telling you to give up and your legs are waging a war with your brain.

There are times when you might need to spit, throw up, attend to nature’s call, or something as harmless as tie up shoelaces that have come undone. Make sure you step off to a corner of the road to take care of business. Sorry, we mean of course, if business is shoelace tying, spitting or hurling, step aside to the corner of the road. Sure, if you gotta go, you gotta go. Just make sure you scope the horizon for a port-a-loo and as a last resort, take a sharp detour towards a discreet bunch of bushes.

Don’t be a road hog. Make sure you aren’t more than 2 runners abreast, so as to not cause one of those traffic jams. Don’t pass somebody and abruptly stop in right front of them. Remember that the populace behind you doesn’t slow down when you do. It’s very irritating if a bunch of runners mark you as target. Besides the very real fear of you tripping them up, you might also incur their rightful wrath and might end up feet splayed skywards in a bramble bush. Runners can be a vengeful lot, especially if someone comes between them and their right of way on the road. You have been warned.

Groaning, wheezing, breathing like a brontosaurus with bronchitis, personal pep talks are all understandable, considering you aren’t on a picnic here. But vocal signals of discomfort delivered at loud volume might not be music to the ears of your fellow runners. So, have a heart, don’t ask them to lend you their ears. If you run to music, bring those headphones along. A Bone Thugs and Harmony devotee and a Suprabhatam fan are both entitled to their choice of music, just as they are entitled to not have to endure the others’.

If someone comes up behind you and says “coming through” or “passing on the left/ right” or “excuse me”, know that this isn’t a declaration of war or a slight on your machismo. Allow runners who politely request it, to pass you. Allow runners who run past with the finesse of a stampeding rhino also, to pass you. This isn’t the traffic signal at MG Road that’s got it in for you. It’s a foot race, where you will have ample opportunity to pass others runners later. Trust us on this!

Show some appreciation for people who are working to make the race happen for you – the volunteers at aid-stations who hand out water, route marshals, people putting medals around your neck at the finish line.

Don’t stop right at the finish line and start doing your cool-down stretches. There are others behind you, who also want to sprint to the finish line. So, run a few extra metres and then stop. Feel free to do those cool-down stretches now. Make sure you smile at the finish line. The photo looks better that way. If you have a picture of yourself with a big grin, pumping your fists in the air when you cross the tape, you’re definitely coming back for more!