Marathon of Marathons 2010 - PEI Media

Notes from the Road
In the footsteps of Pheidippides | Athens, 31 October 2010 26
Marathon. I initially wasn’t going to take part, but after meeting John
Campbell and Philip Borel in Delhi a few months earlier, I decided that
India needed to be represented in this global gathering of crazy PE guys
to raise money for some great charities. My colleagues on the Executive
Committee of the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association
(IVCA) pitched in to sponsor IVCA’s representation at Athens.
So what was it like? It was great meeting up with old friends in the
infrastructure space - and learning about the physique of ancient Greek
athletes! - at the networking events and the race. The arrangements by
Campbell Lutyens were perfect and we set off by bus early on the cold
(for Mumbai) Sunday morning to the starting line. It was an adrenaline
rush to be participating in the 2,500th anniversary of the original run.
The going was good initially but after about 15 kilometres it became
tough and wondered why I had signed up for this insanity. The last 10
kilometres were pure murder. But I wanted to complete it and managed
to struggle across the line to much fanfare and a medal ... made me feel
like a hero!
But no more full marathons for 2011 – I’m too old for this stuff!”
Luis was sponsored by Indian private equity firms Sequoia, IL&FS,
ChrysCap, IDFC, IDG, TVS, ICICI Venture and Ascent Capital.
Josyane Gold, SJ Berwin, London
My moments to cherish
“My moments to cherish:
• The warm camaraderie and shared apprehension amongst the 250
participants and family members from the private equity industry;
• Hearing the long roll call of children’s charities which will benefit from
monies raised by the 250 MoM participants;
• The start of the final wave of marathon runners/walkers with me
sandwiched amongst thousands of others and the sun beating down in
the clearest blue sky;
Eliot and Josyane Gold
Richard Shields, AMP Capital Investors, London
Doing the Zorba
• Sir Colin McColl, ex-intelligence chief,
introducing his speech at the post-marathon
dinner with the question, “Why didn’t
Pheidippides take a horse?”;
• My son Eliot, who participated with me in
the marathon, having taken the place of
a female ‘private equity’ participant and
ensuring that her name has now gone down
in the annals of marathon history as the 29th
fastest woman in the world over 60!;
• And finally, the exhilaration of arriving at
the Olympic Stadium having completed
the marathon and blowing kisses, as though
I had won, to the then somewhat diminished
crowd.”
“I actually used to do a lot of running but never more than half
marathons. Unfortunately my right leg is now held together by various bits
of metal so running is impossible. However I can still walk so I was in the
pack at the back of the field. Although I cannot say I totally enjoyed the
experience, at least I now know exactly why I never actually ran a marathon.
I think I can safely say I will never do one again. I was a total physical
wreck for a couple of days. However I did enjoy the company of Danny
Latham of First State Investments who walked with me for the full distance -
except for the 100 metre sprint he put in at the end just to show me up.
Being amongst the walkers also meant that I was surrounded by nonathletes
pretty much all of whom were participating solely to raise money,
some for big charities, some for very personal reasons. It was quite uplifting
meeting and talking to these people along the way.
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