The SCMM Expo....

So got a mail from SCMM on 16th Dec 2011, asking us to collect our running bibs from the expo on 6th to 8th Jan 2012..
Viewpoint: Smart, but isnt it a bit early.

Reminder Mail on 29th Dec 2011...

Viewpoint: Duly Impressed..

With many days at my disposal, I decided to plan out a strategy for the Expo...

Planning your visit to the expo can be a tricky affair. When is the best day to collect the bib?? When is the best time to collect the bib?? what stalls to visit in your available time?? So after a detailed and extremely complicated analysis involving previous years data, probability theories and Linear programming yours truly figured out that Friday was the best day for Bib Collection from the expo..

With so much of intellect used up, it was but natural that i forgot all about it till Saturday afternoon when i got an sms from a friend telling me how it took him 3 hours to collect his bib and whether i had collected mine...

Status: Blames SCMM for not sending another reminder mail and then runs errr drives to the expo..

After a brief skirmish involving a faulty printer, a slow internet connection and the car being towed away, i walked out of the cybercafe armed with the SCMM letter... 

So reached the MMRDA grounds without any problem and parking wasnt a problem too. I was shocked to see almost no lines outside the venue as was the case when i had gone to collect the bib at the Delhi Half Marathon.. But knowing Murphy and his new year resolution i walked into the venue all ready to stand in a huge line..

Status: Damn.. forgot the walkman in the Car...

So it was a pleasant surprise when i walked in to see an expo with people roaming about.. No Signs of Jostling anywhere.. Huh.. Stalls on either side, some very interesting, some not..

Status: Collect the Bib, thats what you have come for...

So walked to the end of the stall and was quickly pointed to the Bib Collection Centre.. There were about 15-20 points for the registration and bib collection.. Also need not have worried about the letter.. There was a printer and photocopy machine at hand..


In 7 minutes flat, i was speaking to a lady representative who took the letter and asked for my identity card. By the time she had registered my name, out of thin air my Bib and running chip had arrived... She handed it over to me, verified my details once again and asked me to go to the Chip verifying centre... That too done in a jiffy..

Status: Yabadabadoo...

So now primary objective achieved, i was free to walk around to see the stalls and see if there was anything interesting..

While there were the usual suspects (read Tata Consultancy Services, LIC Housing Loans, Standard Chartered Coffee Table Book) there were also brands that were relevant and had put up some good stuff..

- Omron India a Japanese company specializing in advance automatio and sensing technology. Before you wonder whether i was at an engineering expo, let me tell you that the company also makes equipments for home healthcare. Spruced up with Pictures of Farhaan Akhtar all around (their celebrity endorse) they were testing peoples BP, Fat measurement etc. A free check up always gets us Indians excited, but i decided to stay away and concentrate on other stalls in the vicinity..

- CamelBack.. There were distributors for Running equipments like Water bottle holders, waist pouches, Running Bags... Clearly very much in demand as when enquired, they had completely exhausted their water waist holders...

- There were 3 shoe companies which had set up stalls. Puma, Asics and Nike... Was not really excited about the Puma stall as they were plastered all over with pics of Usain Bolt and how fast their running shoes were. To my mind, the expo was anyway for amateur runners for whom the chief requirement is comfortable shoes and not fast running.. Asics on the other hand selling through Reliance Footprints (distributor in India) was doing brisk business selling their shoes.. Asics which around the world is generally never sold without a foot check up or info was probably under the assumption that people buying Asics already were serious runners... which brings me to the surprise stall of the expo.. NIKE...

Nike for long has been lambasted on the net for having poor running shoes, beaten hollow on reviews by Adidas, Asics, Brooks and the kinds.. However Nike, India has big plans for its running shoe cateogory as was clear in the investment they had made in their stall..

Nike had set up a shoe clinic where people were being tested for their gait, style of running(pronation).. This was being done by making people walk and then run on a treadmill all the actions being covered by a videocamera connected to a screen in front. The Product Managers over there ventured to explain in absolute patience to each visitor their individual running styles, gait and type of running shoe recommended.. This also came with an offer to join the Nike Running Club, wherein one can run with a group of people and test new Nike products. Clearly a Insights and New Prod Development Idea.

They could have probably could have done with one more treadmill as there were quite a few number of people discouraged with the huge lines at the Nike stall, but atleast its a start from some shoe company in India to break the mould and educate consumers on picking shoes according to gait, weight, running style rather than colors and designs...

My pick of the SCMM Expo... The Nike Stall.. Now if only they come up with Kickass shoes as well...

As i chewed on the oatmeal bar from the goodie bag on the way out, i was thanking the organizers for the short yet eventful visit.

Status: Marathon, Here i come...