KC - Khardung La Challenge

Rebirth of my Ultra running.
Exactly 9 months since I ran my last Ultra in Himachal. I have been thinking and contemplating to get back to my passion - Ultra running.
Few in the team were planning to go for Leh half marathon and bingo i got my Ultra Marathon. What could be better than getting back to my passion by doing Khardungla Challenge.
Khardungla Challenge, a race organised by Rimo Expeditions - Leh, is a 72km run Starting Khardung village @ 13041ft to Leh town @10800ft via Khardung La pass @17618 ft.
I signed up for this run and like every other Ultra in past started preparing by running 100+ km weekly runs.
As the days passed from few of us we became  a strong team of 16 RASian's.
Khardungla Challenge - 2
Half Marathon - 12
Full Marathon -2

Action started on Sunday 2nd September with 1st lot arriving @ LEH.
I reached Leh on monday 3rd September, with few of us and rest of them arrived on 4th including few by road.
2 days of rest in room with a little walk around the town I got my head in place, breathing still a little hard. 4th evening the KC team went for the last 5km route recce with the organisers. We walked back tracing the last 5km as that was through the town with lots of twist and turns and connecting bylanes so that. 5th morning 9am started the journey to the startline. The butterfly started to fly in my stomach. We had a briefing, in fact a roll call before we boarded our bus. Pankaj my fellow RASian and I fixed our bag in a bus and when we tried to board the bus the we realised it was blocked by handkerchief. No one know whose but was blocked....after some hair straightening moments we finally got to board another bus for our onward journey towards Khardung Village. The journey was fun, met many great runners and would like to mention about one of the runners I met- Silvia from Spain. 54yrs young Silvia came to try the KC after completing the most grueling Spartathalon & Marathon de sables and finishing amongst top 5 women. Next after KC for her is Badwaters Ultra..phew after meeting her and listening to her stories I was super charged with renewed energy. The journey to Khardung village was great. We stopped at KHARDUNG LA top to have chai. The K top was warm, not a speck of snow, and Buzzing with traveller clicking photos and moving around in shorts and tees. (That was K top a day before the race). Next stop was North Pullu where we stopped and had our favourite Maggi and chai. We reached Khardung Village around 2pm.
At Khardung village the stay arrangements were fantastic. All the runners were given accommodation at houses of villagers. Though the acco was basic but the hospitality and love given to us by the owners was amazing. It felt as if we are staying in our own house. Clean rooms, warm bed with quilts. I was sharing the room with my partner Pankaj.
After dumping our belongings in the room we went to for our medical checkup. We reached the tent for our check up and were told it will start @5pm after the cultural program organized by the villagers.
The cultural program was performed by village kids and was the most beautiful thing I ever witnessed. The kids were simply outstanding, no sign of hardship, difficult living conditions...they were enjoying every moment of their stage performance and making all of us sway with them. I danced along with the kids and felt so connected and rejuvenated.
Due to dancing my Blood Pressure shot up and during medical I was told, "it's too high". I sat with doc took to my deep breathing exercise and got my BP down to normal in 5mins flat.

We were served early dinner. 2 bowl of soup, dal rice and veggies and i was all set to retire.
Pankaj and i reached the room. No electricity. (Got to know that  the village gets  just 4hrs of electricity  in the whole day, 2hrs random during day and 2hrs in night. Room had no switch as the villagers say not required since we don't know when the electricity comes so easy to figure out when it comes). Amazing life these people live. They are not concerned with these issue of which we in Metro's make a big hue & cry of. A big salute to the people living in harsh conditions and still ready to serve strangers with all they have.
Back to prep:- We unpacked with the help of our headlamp, Bibs fixed, clothes lined up for morning, water bag filled with water I carried from Leh, checked my gels, the batteries for my head lamp. Prepared my drop bag - for South Pullu to dump all my warm clothes, for finish line with my change, protein etc. I ensured the bags were tagged properly.

Since we had no idea about electricity, we decided to remove the bulb from the holder so we could sleep.

Pankaj and i fixed our bed and 7:45pm we went off to sleep.

Morning was usual - cold, got up @1am quickly got ready so can eat the breaker @1:30am, after breaker we came back to the room, got ready for the run - bags packed, drop bag ready. Said good bye to our host and off we went ot the start line. Dropped our bags in the respective bus. I did my usual warm up drill with a little jog and mobility exercise. Felt a bit uneasy in my head but thought it's pre-race jitters so ignored, checked by headlamp, hydration bag. 10mins to countdown and we had a roll call. A total of 132 "present sir" and with quick customary pre race photos I was ready to rock and roll.
The race started on time 3am.... Only thing visible in the star lit night was headlamps of runners, lot of people started with running the first leg till North Pullu -14km from start line. The Rockstars - Ladakh scouts and Fauji bhai log sprinted as if they are running a half marathon....I had decided that I will jog 1km to see how I feel and if all good then jog a bit more else will do brisk walking. 2km in the race I decided to brisk walk and that was the best decision I took. I more or less maintained my speed of walk all through the first 32km of my climb from Khardung to Khardung La. 10kms into the race I felt rain drops and suddenly, as if the weather God had some plan in place for us, it started raining. It rained till about 18km into the race. The clothes became wet and the temp started to drop. We were greeted with warm water @North Pullu by the army post and God bless them as I was feeling cold and warmth of water was all that was need to get the legs moving. My glasses were all soaked, so removed my eyewear @North Pullu and the challenge started for me. I can't remain without glasses for long and 6km after North Pullu i started feeling the numbness in my eyes and head started to hurt so had to clean my glasses with my wet shorts 😁 and used my gloves as wiper to keep walking. While walking i realised the transparent water suddenly turned white...looked up saw snow across the Khardung La range. Oh teri it is snowing, damn ab kya ....nothing keep ur head down and keep walking...the temp dropped suddenly and walking became a bit tough.  Thanks to my foresight 😜 I was wearing trail shoes which gave me a good grip on the road. The snow followed by sharp cold wind wherein the watch showed temp as -8 deg, could be I thought or maybe watch is also scared.Surprisingly I found my gels almost frozen, couldn't open them, the spout of my hydration bag not drawing water from the bag. But route support was amazing, found the mobile aid station with boiled potatoes, enerzal, water and sandwiches. Had my fill so that I don't have to rely on my gels. I wanted to check the time and watched showed 5am, can't be can't be, checked the damn watch also froze 😂😂, ठंड के मारे. Had to restart the watch. So now all the km calculation whooped, now had to rely on TOD (samay) to get into cutoff zone.
Due to snowfall the last 6km became really tough. Could see the K-top at a distance but the route was long and climb intense. The freezing winds were adding to the the misery. I had a great companion in Subodh Dave in last 6km who kept egging me on. My headache was getting worse, about 2km from K-top i told Subodh to carry on as i wanted to take a minutes break to get my breathing right and control the headache. I walked for 400m and again stopped to take a breathing break for a min. Thats when I decided no more, this is not gonna defeat me. Next stop only K-top and then finish line. Enough of feeling miserable. I just kept my head down and started my brisk walk again. Reached the K-top in 5:37hrs welcomed by a hot bowl of hot garlic soup. What a blessing. Without waiting for long I took some water and enerzal and started my decent to LEH. My headache had increased and everytime I tried to run hard, headache aggravate making it difficult for me to run fast.
I just kept egging myself and kept reminding that it's the legs not my head that has to run. Legs were all juiced up, felt very strong but the blinding pain kept me slow. I reached South Pullu-the first baggage drop station, thought of reducing the layers but the rain had started again and the temperature was still in low 5-6deg. So kept the layers on. At South Pullu I met Silvia again and from that point onwards we decided to run and push each other. She was also going through the same headache as mine. Run walk strategy changed to walk run strategy. Kept meeting runners and kept the momentum without a break as a break at that time would have meant end of race.
Every aid station would be a blessing. Cheering volunteers, team ready to assist in anyways they could. My stock of Karachi halwa (dates and nuts) was the energy booster all through the downhill.

Last 12km felt like 120km, I crossed mendak mor with 3hrs to spare and then onwards could see the LEH town close by. The twisting winding roads were endless, the sun was in no mode  relent, temps upwards 28deg. Now the feeling  of "so near yet so far" strated creeping in. Mind is a different animal and sometime u need to kick this animal in his centre to shut it up. I did the same. Blanked my mind to all the stupid thoughts and set myself to finishing race. Silvia and I started saying "72km and no more", just with this in head, started the final descent to leh town. 7km from finish line, camera person was waiting to take a small clip of our experience, fun guy to talk to.... Gave all smile and good things to him and moved on. Finally we saw the 5km turn point towards Leh. Same route we had walked 2days before On route recce. I screamed YEAH YEAH it's gonna be over. Silvia and I hugged each other in joy, and off we went "5km and no more". The route was full of cobblestones, broken road, so became difficult to run fast, we slowly jogged our way.
2km from finish line, I saw a very familiar face, ah Manu, he was standing and looking straight at me, I thought "why is he not responding" I passed him, still no movement, I screamed Mr Pant, suddenly he jumped, oh coach, I asked him, didn't u recognize me, he said sheepishly "sorry forgot to wear my glasses so couldnt see u coming", can u imagine...
Then the whole action started, phone calls to the next station, coach has been spotted. I requested Manu to inform someone at finish line to organize a headache medicine.
1.5km from finish line, the whole team was standing, Anuj, Malvika, Anu, Naveen, Manish, Rita, Dr Vishesh. They all started cheering, shouting yeah yeah, and running with me. That gave me confidence and push to finish strongly. I started picking up pace.... And enjoying the last part of the run....
500m from finish line, we entered the main bazaar, no clue where to go, everyone started screaming this way this way, the crowd was amazing, whole town was there, I asked Anuj, "arey where is the finish line" he said just round the corner. Finally I saw it and started running faster.... AND YEAH I FINISHED THE KC IN 11hrs 27mins....

Thanks to my team who were there supporting throughout my stay and the run. Without them this would have been very difficult. Three cheers to RASian's. God bless them all...

Amazing experience this was and one big take away was to not to take it easy. Next year acclimatise properly and do it in respectable time of less than 10hrs. So that's the challenge for next year.....
Till then practice and practice and practice....no easy days as Malnad 110km coming next on Oct13th.....will be back with that experience...Cheers!!! Keep running and keep smiling

My story from pain to pleasure

“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional”

Scene 1: One wintery morning of Oct 2008 I woke with pain in my stomach, thinking its natural as had slept last night after a big birthday bash. I rolled over to get up, I couldn’t my legs were hurting, back was stiff and my ever expanding midriff was giving trouble in. Opened my eyes and everything was blurred. I thought ‘Ah I am not wearing my specs that’s why, picked my specs and oh shoot I can’t see’. Woke up my wife told her my agony she just turned and angrily said ‘you are hell bent on killing yourself what do you want from me, look at yourself you can’t even walk properly. Take an appointment with the doc and get yourself checked’.

Scene 2:  Doc ‘you look seriously ill, get your Lipid profile checked and come back tom with your reports’. I picked myself up, took a walking stick and walked outside. (Walking stick ??? my knees were swollen I couldn’t walk). Next day my medical report just spewed fire …..Everything crossing the border line…..cholesterol, uric acid etc etc…..bad bad bad said my doc…..

Everyone in family was very upset with my state of affairs….. I had to do something really fast to get back in shape before getting dumped by my family…..’What’? was the question…..What could I do to change my sorry state….. I was 90+ kg, waist line or should I say WASTE LINE was a shade less than 38inches, wobbly knees…. Complete garbage….

Phew after long deliberation I decided that at least I should get up and walk a bit….

I started with walking within my compound 200 meters 2 round move up to 3, took courage and started moving out of the compound circling the whole society.. 1 round of 1.5km…..it took me some 3 months to get to that 1 round of 1.5km.. kept on and was able to run-walk 4 km

In May 2009 one of my colleague and great friend Hygreev suggested that I register for ADHM 21km …can you imagine the guts or should I say confidence or vice versa of him to even think I would graduate from 4km straight to 21km…Was he mad…I just fainted by the thought of doing a Half marathon…21 freaking Km…..God damn…

He may be right, he has confidence in me which speaks of the trust he has that I could do such a super human feat….running 21 freaking km my God….thought of that gives me goose bumps even today…. I had not reduced a single ‘mm’ or ‘gm’ from my body even after 6 months of walk-run exercise…

“Lifestyle change begins with a vision and a single step” I just caught hold of this line I saw in some magazine and I REGISTERED for ADHM 2009….yeah.

Started practicing to run…..I had no clue how I would run 21km, small steps at a time may be. I started running 5km at a stretch; had no training plan, no coach or mentor just my resolve that I have to change myself. My resolve and passion to complete my 1^st half marathon was shattered when my company decided to have an international audit for 3 days before the ADHM ending the audit on race day…Ah what a miserable feeling I had….I was so crest fallen….so sad, not really I was sort of feeling relieved with 21km not happening to me…I was not prepared ………Well I had a job I needed to feed my family so I couldn’t say no to the audit….with ADHM dream fallen apart I still had the resolve to change myself……

Hygreev came up with another brilliant idea…Half marathon at Running and Living in Dec 2009…. Well hmmm another 21km… God….I went on the R&L website checked out the option and found 5km & 10km run. 21km and my office audit seemed to me like long lost lovers, fearing my tryst with 21km will again go waste I decided to register for 10km…

Misty morning of Dec 5^th 2009, I was all ready with my new shorts, tshirt and shoes & socks by Adidas, A bottle of Gatorade orange flavor. I drove to the Golf course extension road to Club Florence for the start of the race. Parked my car and walked up to the start line. I met Rahul Verghese the Chief mentor and the race director for Running and living Gurgaon marathon and introduced myself. I was trembling, was it excitement or fear of not being able to complete. I spoke to Rahul and he just said “go with the flow and you will do it”.

After 10 mins of stretching the gun went off…. Started running as if the world is gonna end….huffing and puffing taking my 90kg frame to the 5 km turn around point…..I reached the turn point walked to catch my breath and starting running …pushed pushed and pushed myself to the finish line crossing 10km mark in 59 mins…….stopped and looked around…. Rahul came put the medal around my neck and said well done you have run a sub 1hr- 10km which is fantastic for your 1^st run. Didn’t know how to react….sub 1hr 10km what is that lingo….no clue…was just happy that I finished 10km run without dying…..Rahul met me again and called me the next day to support and witness the half and full marathon….I promised to come and crew on the cycle and rushed home to show my medal & certificate to my family…..I was acting like a kid jumping around with my boys showing them my achievement ….they were a little zapped but went along with the Flow….you know the flow…everyone talked about…I guess my boys understood that language better…they just were in the flow……I gorged on the food as I was famished ……

Dec 6^th 2009 I cycled to witness the half and full marathon and that’s when I spent valuable time with Rahul who invited me to be his training partner for Comrades ultra marathon. I met another stalwart Randeep Singh Arora, a tall lanky sardar and the man who changed my life forever…..

“Lifestyle change begins with a vision and a single step”. The single step was to meet Randy Paaji and Rahul sir and vision was to train along with them for Rahul’s Comrades and my lifestyle changed…..

I started training with Rahul from 15^th Dec 2009 and then as they say is history….I have completed 21 full and half marathons, 8 Ultras since I first started training. The credit for all this goes to Hygreev who pushed me into running, Randy Paaji for training me and mentoring me for my runs and Rahul sir for giving me various platforms to perform.

We have trained at unearthly hours sometime starting at 2.30 am in the morning and running till 8.30-9am covering 35-40km during that time….we have trained together through rain, humidity and heat. We have covered almost all new Gurgaon roads, Aravali trails, Gurgaon to Nehru Park in Delhi etc etc….

My life changing years

Year 2010

My 1^st half marathon was R&L leisure valley half marathon in 2.25hrs followed by 50km Bangalore Ultra in 7 hrs and then half at ADHM in 1.58hrs finishing the year with R&L full marathon in 4.26Hrs.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going”

2010 was a life changing year for me as I did variety of races and discovered my strengths in running. I reduced my weight to 83kg and waist to 35inches since 2008. I was feeling much healthier, my cholesterol started behaving, uric acid problem vanished and knees became strong. I have since then been running constantly, 5 days a week with back to back runs on weekend.

I have always believed in what George Sheehan has written “It’s very hard to understand in the beginning that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners… eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit”. I have fought with that little voice and that has helped me in breaking my own record in every ADHM and SCMM runs that I participated since then. I am in competition with myself. “The reason we race isn’t so much to beat each other …..but to be with each other”….this is the fun of running….

Year 2013 - 2014

Another life changing year for me started off with disappointing SCMM with 4.03hrs finish. I trained hard for R&L town and country and ADHM. I finished ADHM with 1.37.37 shaving off 6minutes from 2012 timing that was a big high. I then participated in R&L Dec 63km ultra where I finished the run in 6.43hrs and came 1^st. Started on a low note 2013 ended in a high.

Went to 2014 SCMM with a high and trashed it in 3.50hrs shaving off 13 mins from 2013 time….  Oh the feeling was awesome and we partied at Leopald café till late celebrating the victory at SCMM……what a day……

I wanted to do more, some tough runs as was not getting the high of running. To break the monotony and train myself better for future run I joined Boot Camp Yellow run by a dear friend and Coach Jatin Arora. We went into some serious bit of training the boot camp style, did some fun activities like Devils Circuit together…all in all a wonderful time training your body and running small distances on weekends.

One day Jatin talked about a half marathon that the BCY group was going to. It was in LEH and some of the guys were doing their 1^st half. Unimaginable …in Leh …Oh My God….what a place to do half marathon – low on oxygen, cold …Phew….Jatin told me to visit their website and see if I want to do some run as I was looking at a toughie myself…viola I found the magic number 100km Zen Endurance Ultra in Leh…..Yes that’s what I wanted to do…..

  

Zen Endurance Leh Ultra 100km – July 2014

Route: start point  - At 16000ft(5km before Khardungla), U-turn at Khardungla 18380ft, run to Leh at total of 40km – 1^st Check Point , Spituk monastery – 50km check point and crossing over river indus to Spituk-zinchen road, balance 50 km on spituk-zinchen road towards Choglamsur-Stakna road, Druk white lotus school and back.  

Yes that what it is called. Registered for the race and realized I had only 40 days left to train and run, last 10 days would be acclimatization in Leh so effectively 30 days to run a 100km in Leh…..I tend to attract trouble it seemed always….

Training started off with Jatin’s Boot Camp on Tues, Thurs & Sat, 3 days running with weekend back to back long runs keeping Mon as rest day. In between the training I decided to do a night run on one weekend, 80km through the night and that should set me up for Leh Ultra…. Started off on Friday night at 10pm it was 41^oC and as the night progressed temp rose to 43^oC …it was hot humid energy sapping. By 4am I decided that cannot go any further as I was cramping, puking due to heat….. Had completed 50km in 6 hrs, just dropped the idea of doing balance 30km…. it was bad day, came back home collapsed and then couldn’t run for a week due to severe de-hydration…. My dream for running 100km was again under pressure…..kept thinking why I do what I do…..”Pain is inevitable…but suffering is optional” …why was the question in my head all the time….after a week of rest did few shorter runs and the day arrived when had to leave for Leh…total 800km training done in 2 months, 300 in last 30 days……sort of there but still under trained…

5.30am flight to Leh…eight of us embarked on the journey…..1.30hrs flight breath taking scenery ….picture perfect location…night before the flight I had diamox so I could ease into the low oxygen atmosphere in Leh…that’s what I was told and made to do by all my friends and well wishers…..

Well we landed got off the plane and what a beauty that place is…mind boggling….no words …I was awestricken by the beauty of Leh landscape….Our whole gang led by our leader Jatin walked out of the airport boarded the taxi and off to our destination Chow Guest house in Changspa…..

Slept through the day ….wandered off to the bustling market of Leh in evening, followed by hearty meal of Thupka and apple juice in beer bottle…. Walking was making you breathless but nothing serious or drastic….

3^rd day of my stay in Leh I decided to go for a long walk…..walking was still making you breathless….I started off in the morning at 5 am walked for about 3km and came back breathless and not a happy scenario……as group we decided to hire bikes that day and go out to visit some monasteries …..the trip to Gurdwara Pathar Sahib and Magnetic hill, Alchi Monastery and beyond was a good acclimatization …We all came back in the evening went straight to pick up our bibs and then Jatin & I decided to run back to the Guest house about 3.5km uphill from the bib collection centre…..Oh man what a climb and both of us were sapped, dry throat almost dead…..went straight to a restaurant had a bottle of water and fresh juice….sat there for 45 mins and dragged ourself to the guest house. Had to overcome this breathing issue….Decided to go out for a long run the following morning come what may…..

5am morning slight nip in air 7 of us set out for a 10km run, which eventually turned out to 13km….We ran from Guest house to Shanti Stupa down to airport towards Neema village…..6.5km of all downhill…we were running pacing happy at our speed, not realizing we had to run back up 6.5km ….oh boy when we turned around and saw the uphill my head started spinning….phew…all the way up….and imagine I am running 100km there ..ha ha ha…6.5km uphill was looking like climbing Everest……gathered by breath and started running back…it took 1 hour to complete 6.5km uphill where in we ran down the whole length in 28mins……walked my way up to a stream dipped my legs in icy water and what a healing effect…all the aches and pain vanished…..that was my last run before my ultra….

Next day we went to Nubra valley for another acclimatization trip….. 10400ft Leh town drive up to Khardung La 18380ft and down to Nubra Valley 10500ft……woho…..  I just flipped on that trip…started with a headache, puked at south pullu, walked like zombie at Khardungla, ate Maggie at north pullu, had fist full of pain killer on the way…..round round we went like marry-go-round … had a terrible acclimatization trip and by the time I came back was in 2 minds about the 100km run….

Blessing in disguise, my wifey joined me 3 days prior to the run, strengthening my resolve to run the 100km. We had some good time walking around eating some mouthwatering delicacies …..

1 day to Leh Ultra:- The gang was going in for half marathon, Roma(wife) and I volunteered to crew the gang for their half marathon. We hired a bullet 500cc (mean machine) and off we went early morning 4.15am towards Rancho school the start point of the half marathon….it was so much fun and a wonderful experience supporting the half marathon… saw amazing run by some local kids and also a specially able kid doing the half marathon really inspiring stuff …..Mind all set for the 100km next day…..

Came back to the guest house slept for 4 hours…had my dinner and anxiously waited for the race to start…..checked the weather, everything clear, bright and shiny…means I would have a clear weather running up to Khardungla and the day would be warm and sunny….good start….

Our Leader Jatin along with Gaurav were at the vehicle loading point waiting for jeeps to arrive to take us upto the start point. I am grateful to these 2 guys as they were up and ready at 11pm after doing their half marathon that day morning, amazing team.

Jhatka…got a call at 12.45am from Jatin the pickup vehicle nowhere to be seen,(they were suppose to pick us up at 1am from Changspa…..) means we will be delayed…phew the wait was killing me ……I just wanted to start and finish and get over with it…oh there was too much anxiety. Finally the Jeeps reached our pick up point at 2am we quickly boarded and off we went towards the start point…..

The drive in night on those narrow road towards khardungla was scary…holding on to my dear life eyes glued to the road. Slightly ahead of south pullu it starting drizzling …I asked the driver and he replied “Sirji yeh rain nahi snow hai” Hain snow …..oh teri…ab….

Reached the start point exactly at 3am - 16000ft above sea level….got out of the car …it was totally white ….snowing couldn’t see nothing as it was snowing heavily….mind stopped thinking…I zoned myself in the run and ready to start. Jatin offered his Poncho so as to safe my cloths from getting wet.

3 of us started at exactly 3.05am and 2^oC temp towards the u turn point “Khardungla”  at 18380ft highest motorable pass in the world ….slowly walking up as 5km climb to khardungla was slushy due to snow. It took me about 1 hr to reach the U turn point….I prayed at the temple at Khardungla, clicked photos to prove I was there(ha ha ha) and started walking back….walked for 10km downhill and closer to south pullu it stopped snowing and started raining….I slowly picked up pace as my feet were finding the ground and ran up to south pullu…I met my crew, wifey, Jatin & Gaurav, I gave my poncho to them, had a sip of tea to warm myself and started running down….the crew was amazing as every 5km they were there to offer food, water, enerzal, tea….I picked up pace and by 9 am I reached my 1^st stopover in Leh. I quickly changed my shoes and wet clothes, Roma, Gaurav and Jatin helped in changing my shoes and feeding me hot soup. I was induced with fresh energy and within 10mins I was back on road… The sky cleared bright sun was out of the shadows of darkness; I was running well and reached the airport road at 10am. I realized I had 3 layers of clothing and was feeling suffocated. I stopped at the petrol pump right before Spituk monastery and removed the layers. I reached the 50km mark at 10.15am…I stopped for few seconds to understand the route from the support crew and went in for a lap of 13km on spituk-zinchen road….it was tough running with sun screaming on your head spewing fire …even elevation of 10^o was killing due to heat…I walked run for 13km ably supported by Roma & Ashish & came back to the 63km mark by 12.30pm…..had 6.30hrs to finish another 37km…seemed a lot of time …I rested for 10 mins fed myself with aloo paratha, coconut water and energy bombs(special ladoos prepared by my wife-instant energy boosters) got up and started running…towards Choglumsar-Stakna road and the turn point on Manali-Leh highway. It took me good 2.30hrs to cover the 18.5km mark …my support team member Nitin, Ashish and Roma kept me company throughout with Nitin pacing me for 15km…..

At 83km I felt a sharp pain in my knees…I stopped…uff I couldn’t walk…man… had another 17km to go…this can’t happen know…I stopped bent over told Roma I can’t walk…… she caught hold of my arm and said get up lets walk you can’t stop now… marta kya na karta…biwi ki maar sey acha bhaag lo…..Parul and Nitin came along and pushed me ….at 90km I had to stop to get my knees massaged …….i got up again and started running….Parul, Nitin & Roma were blessing in disguise……they kept me pushing…uphill, downhill and 5 km before the finish line Roma also joined in the run …..rest of the gang Ashish, Migma, Sanky, Gaurav were on the bike cheering and pushing all the way….I broke into a run 1 km before the finish line and sprinted & crossed the finish line in 15.45hrs ……

  

This was one epic race -running in snow, rain and harsh sun. Taught me very crucial lesson – respect the terrain you are running, respect mother nature and have belief in you… “Run When You Can, Walk If You Have To, Crawl if You Must; Just Never Give Up”  

Bhatti Lake Ultra 220km – Oct 2014 by Globeracers

“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional”

2012, year I first attempted this tough trail run….had to drop it after 90km due to severe back spasm……Since that time I wanted to crack this race…. couldn’t do it the following year due to a personal tragedy…

2014 – I happened to call Kavitha, a dear friend, Chief and Race Director of Globeracers asking about the race, she gave me a big surprise by rolling over the 2013 fee money to 2014 registration, I just had to pay the difference amount…..blessing in disguise ……..chalo naye shoes key liya money mil gaya…..

I already had done 100km in July in Leh so effectively had some long distance training under my belt, I just had to get back into shape for running 220km. After resting for 2 weeks I rejoined Boot Camp to train my legs and started my weekend long runs…I had 50 days to train for Bhatti….

Training was going strong with Boot Camp and weekend run……Phatak I got a big Jhatka. After a workout I felt a slight niggle in my lower back, jeez by the time I came back home I couldn’t move…….ah there it goes again damn my tryst with trouble continues…….rest rest rest….suggestion pouring from all round the globe(friend circle in gurgaon is my globe)…don’t run…you are stupid….you mad….chal rest karley phir decide karna….Yoga kar ley….kari yoga aur waat lag gayi…back sey no back ho gayi….total jhakaas ….

2 weeks of complete rest with no running before the race….taper week did 15km and that was it as far as training for 220km goes. Total mileage 400km before the Bhatti Ultra including 100km in Leh……..

Race day arrived. I packed my bag for the run, extra shoes, clothes, pain killer, energy ladoos by my wifey, ice box, energy drinks and a case of water. Tossing and turning through the night couldn’t sleep… very tense scenario……Got up early, got the kids ready, dropped them to school. Breakfast time followed by quick nap in the morning, went to work, came back home…Changed had my lunch and waiting to start when I suddenly realized I have overshot my start time from home, I panicked, as it is 220km was giving me jitters on top of that delay, I quickly picked my stuff, into my wifey’s car and off we went, speeding towards Kant Enclave the start point for the race. We reached 10 minutes before the start time. Kavitha gave me that dirty look “you were suppose to come 2 hrs early”.

I quickly got ready; tagged my bags for Aid station 1; went in for a quick interview with Globeracers team.

Start of the epic 220km Bhatti Ultra – 8^th Oct – cutoff time 45hrs

4 pm:- 2 out of 5 participants were lined up for the start. Bhupindersingh Rajput a veteran in Ultras and me wait for the start of the race.

4.08pm:- after customary photo ops and a big hug from my wifey and Kavitha the gun went off for the race and started my epic journey to cover 220km in the tough trail of Bhatti village.

The route is 20km loop covering 2 hidden lakes in Bhatti forest. Night time loops were 10km to avoid going deep in forest and getting lost.

My strategy was to cover 1^st 100km in 17hrs and 2^nd 100km in 20hrs and last 20km 3hrs.

I started 1^st loop with a decent pace so as to cover 20km in 2.30hrs and be back at Aid station(AS)1 before sunset. I was pacing accordingly and crossed the AS 2 …. suddenly I realized I have taken a wrong turn reached a dead end…..oop…...set my garmin to check the route map….walked back to the turning where I lost my way and started running to the obvious looking trail…..on and on I went… realized that the route markers are still getting fixed….reached the 10km mark - turning point for the loop…on my way back I lost my way again….ah…precious time lost…..reached the AS1 in 2.45hrs, 15mins delay to my original plan…..

Loop 2 - started running back after a quick break of 5 mins….it was dark …head lights on, slow and calculative steps to avoid twisting my ankle or a bad fall……at 4.5km mark I again strayed away from the route and ran 1 km in wrong direction….realizing I goofed up again…garmin to my rescue came back to 4.5km mark and walked to AS2 the 5km turn point…..

The loops continued ……wifey called and asked me to inform her when I finish 40km…..

Loop 3 – started back towards AS2 …after 2km I started feeling giddy, sleepy and wanted to vomit…. I tried but in vain…I kept running ….near the AS2 I dropped and vomited ……..oh spent good 5mins clearing my stomach……I was fresh again…..got up washed my face…walked upto AS2….had lemon water, salt…and started back towards AS1…

9.45pm day 1, I called home to inform I have done 40 km. I was feeling hungry….rested for 10mins…BP and weight check done…all normal….stuffed myself with banana and energy ladoo …… my buddies Vineet (a tough Ultra Runner) and Puneeta were suppose to come and run with me and bring me food….no sight of them…..after 10 mins got up and headed back for next loop….started walking and voila came my buddies running towards me…. Round 4 & 5 went smooth with both of them…they were blessing in disguise…after every round Vineet was there to massage my legs and Puneeta feeding me yummy paratha…..Vineet went back at 3.30am as he had to catch a flight….Feeling fresh and rejuvenated I continued till sunrise finishing 80km.

Roma joined at 7am and I finished 100km at 11am after 18hrs…120km to go….the sun was shining bright….the next 6 hrs I could manage 40km as it was hot and killing, it was mix of slow running and brisk walking. The good part was that I was joined by 24hrs, 160km & 100km runners so the battle field was full of soldiers ….i was not alone.

At round 5pm I stopped for a 15min break. Princy was there at AS1, massaged my leg, gave me good stretch……Trips was constantly on the phone instructing me, cheering me and talking to keep me focused. 7pm wifey with kids and Anjali joined me for a loop….It was dark they were ahead in the car lighting the trail and my kids were walking and running with me …they had a ball of a time…eerie silence…howl of jackal, dogs barking…Spooky…..it was like walking in a haunted movie…..by 10 pm I was dead, tired, sleepy…30 hrs into my run…not a wink of sleep….now I was feeling the pressure……

They say when you don’t except something, miracle happens…….I saw Coach Ravinder and Niraj at AS1, …I reached and was walking like a zombie…..70km to go….Niraj fed me with hot meatball and coach massaged my legs, picked up extra light after a quick nap of 15mins we were off to another loop….i was almost sleep walking it was taking us 2 hrs to complete 10km loop…..around 2pm I told coach I can’t walk need to rest for 30mins……we reached AS1 I moved in Niraj’s car and I slept off….suddenly heard knock on the door, Niraj woke me up….it is time to go he said….Ah I had just slept and it was already half hr….can’t believe……coach was ready with food & water…Off we went……this was the toughest loop I did…I had to literally hold on to coach to avoid falling off due to sleep. Coach kept pushing and talking to me to keep me awake it took me 2.15hrs to finish this loop…5.15am I reached the AS1, 180km done, 40km more to go, just crashed on the chair….i was slurring while talking to my wife…..i couldn't get up, I was tired, very sleepy…..37hrs into the run with only 30 mins of sleep…damn it is tough…..Kavitha came to me massaged my back, my shoulders and pushed me out of the chair….Get up and finish the run she said…. 7 hrs and 40km, I needed the 1st loop to be quick one so as to have enough time for last 20km, Coach and I discussed – this loop has to be nonstop running, off  we went….running at a good pace, didn't stop at the AS2, pit stop at AS3 for a quick refueling and and off went ….loop 10 of 11 done in 2.30hrs…200km up ….wah I was just 20km shy of my first 220km still had 4.30hrs to finish last 20km, I reached AS1 and was joined by my wife Roma, had a quick bite and was now in a hurry to finish the run.

Loop 11 – last one, 3 of us, Coach, Roma and I started off slowly and steadily towards our goal, i.e. to reach AS3 without tripping, at 5km mark I met Amit Ojha another great runner, he asked coach to rest at AS2 and he would crew me for 10km, what a pleasure to run with Amit, he would ask me to walk where he felt danger of me tripping on rock and made me run on flatter portion of the trail, at AS3 he made fabulous Nimboo Paani, I had chips and turned back for last 10km…I was feeling so light and happy that I am about to finish the tough Bhatti Lake Ultra 220km…….at about 214km mark I met the speed king Umesh and Rashmi, Umesh came to pace me after finishing his CRPF run and Rashmi was doing 50km run at Bhatti. Reached AS2, 215km done…what a relief. Coach was back with renewed energy and we started running for our last 5km ….Coach told Umesh to keep the pace as we wanted to finish before cut off time, kept running …..Finish line was in front of me…gathered all my strength and reached finish line… 220km done and dusted with, in 43hrs52min…..what a feeling…..

I lost 3kg but the best part was that my BP was under control throughout the run.

I give all the credit to my Wife Roma who had been a pillar of strength throughout, my kids who always look forward for to my adventure, Coach Ravinder who sacrificed his CRPF run to be with me – what a noble soul he is, blessing to have such friends, Trips who was constantly on phone from Jaisalmer, Vineet and Puneeta for pushing me on 1^st night, Princy and Niraj who were there at right time and right place, Umesh for the last 6km pace and all my friend who have supported me in my training and Kavitha for organizing such amazing runs. Perfect to the T, volunteers always eager to help, food, tea/coffee, energy drink you name it and it was there cant ask for more. Thank you Globeracer and my friend Kavitha.

From a guy who was fat, swollen knees, medically unfit 5years back to finishing 2 grueling ultras in 2 months.

The secret is that ,I train my mind before every race, the route, the time I want to achieve, the breaks I want to take, what I want to eat etc etc. and then stick to it I don’t change my strategy in middle of the race.

I am off to Bangalore for Bangalore Ultra 24hrs challenge….wait for more to come……