On a sunny Saturday morning, while most people snuggled in their cosy beds, enjoying their weekend, more than a thousand people in the city woke up early to challenge their agility, endurance and fitness levels. The ‘Devil Slayers’ — that’s what participants of the Maruti Suzuki Devils Circuit are called — an annual fixture in the city since the last few years, saw around 1,500 people slaying their way through mud, slush, sweat and water.
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“The Devils Circuit is one of India’s biggest obstacle courses and includes a five-kilometre run that’s interspersed with 15 military obstacles. These aren’t easy and really challenge a person mentally and physically. The 2017 season started with its first race in Chennai and there are six more races to happen in Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Jaipur, Mohali and Delhi,” says Adnan Adeeb, MD and co-founder of Volano Entertainment, that came up with the concept of Devils Circuit.
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Elaborating on the Hyderabad leg of the circuit, he adds, “This year it’s bigger and tougher than last year. The challenges and obstacles have grown bigger and longer but that hasn’t dropped the number of participants. We have around 5,000 people participating in the two-day challenge.”
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One of the race participants, Ashesh, who is an IT professional, says, “Last year was awesome and I had a great experience. I am really pumped up thinking about the risky terrain which is on offer,” he says. Amaresh, a B. Com student and cricketer, after completing his wave, says, “This is the first time that I have participated in something like this and it’s, no doubt, physically taxing. The most difficult obstacle was the high ramp which we had to climb. Even though I couldn’t do it successfully, I loved the adrenaline rush.” Interestingly, Devils Circuit offers a special category for children too and it was here that eight-year-old Tanish Hamsala was seen slaying it like any other adult!
