The Best Seat in Hyderabad at 4 AM
Fifth year behind the mic at NMDC Hyderabad Marathon. Here is what I keep seeing. Most people in Hyderabad are asleep at 4 AM. I am usually wide awake. And I have come to believe that 3 or 4 AM might be the best time to see this city. Not from a rooftop. Not from a fancy restaurant. Not even from the driver's seat. From a stage. Every year, as the NMDC Hyderabad Marathon gets closer, I find myself looking forward to something that has little to do with the race itself. I look forward to watching Hyderabad wake up. The 2026 edition is on August 29 and 30, with the marathon and half marathon taking place on Sunday, August 30. But long before the sun comes up, something remarkable is already happening. Volunteers are arriving. Police officers are taking their positions. Medical teams are getting ready. Pacers are preparing. Organisers are checking the last details. And then, slowly, the runners begin to appear. Thousands of them. You see sponsors, organizers, volunteers, runners, l...
