For professional runners on the international long-distance circuit, a marathon in the city of Bangalore must have seemed like a good idea at the time.

And why not?

Traffic snarls: Competitors had to battle traffic congestion and angry drivers. Credit:AFP

The city of 9 million people is, after all, a gleaming metropolis famed as the "Silicon Valley of India", the birthplace of multinational titans such as Infosys and Wipro.

Little did the competitors who assembled at the start last Sunday know what was in store for them as they leapt into action.