As I see, ultra-distance running is testing the endurance of your mind rather than the body. If your mind is strong enough, welcome to Ultra Marathons. Running an ultra was never a goal for me, it was all about improving the timing of full marathon, however aerobic running made me shun time-based training to optimum effort based aerobic running https://www.saigiri.co.in/2021/12/fitness-a-way-of-life-part-1/ and moved away from PB to longer distance running.
This made me sign up for Malnad ultra 50k https://www.saigiri.co.in/2021/11/malnad-ultra-2021-pause-and-continue/ in 2018 and La Ultra 55k https://www.saigiri.co.in/2019/08/my-odyssey-with-la-ultra-55km-journey/ in 2019. The good part about Ultra running (for average runners like me) is we can enjoy the beautiful landscapes, take good breaks, and ensure we finish the race before cut- off. 6-7 hours on foot in the wilderness of nature makes you retrospect many things in life. The things we value the most in our day to day lives might seem insignificant when you undertake these expeditions. I strongly recommend you take your family on a hike for a day or two, pull time off from running errands and have a new outlook towards life. Trust me, it works!
The Plan
The advances in technology and the way our lives are getting comfortable (and making us lazy!) has made me wonder about the thoughts we possess. It is the thoughts alone which make or break the world. There are many mentions about thoughts in Bhagavad gita, the one I’m fond of, is this: Lord Krishna describes the tendency of the mind as follows: “For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.”
One such thought was to do a run to raise funds for our RunAddicts foundation. We were not able to do our Annual run for obvious reasons (Pandemic). I and Guru discussed about doing this run ever since Bharath from our group did the BLR- MYS run in 2016. So, this time, instead of discussing again, we concluded to fix the date and just do it.
A good plan is 80% of the job done. Soon, we proposed the idea to our running buddies. Although the idea sounded a bit crazy, it didn’t take long enough to pull them in to the madness.
With a good number of runners in hand, I made the attempt to propose the idea to core group and the intention to build awareness and raise funds for the education of rural children. This was well received and in fact they assured to support the run, although we had limited time to find sponsors. With Mahesh on board, one man army for all our event preparations, I could sleep peacefully.
The Preparation
We had a couple of meetings with the core group and chalked out the procurements and necessities to plan the event. A shorter run doesn’t concern us much. A run between cities needs intricate planning and things which can go wrong are way more than things going right for us. Our team made a recce of the route in advance and decided the rest points, unsafe junctions and stay location. Considering the pandemic situation, it was hard for us to find a sponsor for the event. However, we could get attractive discounts on the services offered by Fast and up: Reload, gels, recover and protein, PsychaLov: T shirts, IMSMTC: Recovery massage.
It is possible to train for a 10k, HM or a FM; however, it is difficult to train for longer distances, and the bigger challenge is to make your mind ready for an ultra. We followed the Bengaluru Marathon 2022 16 weeks training plan for this event. The Malnad ultra run was 3 weeks before our BLR- MYS Run. Most of the runners participated in this run and acclimatized long distance on the legs. There is a huge difference between want to run and can run. We need to respect this difference and move from want to run to can run. This takes years of running for an Ultra. Do not fall in trap by viewing pictures of runners in this run, believe me, it is not easy and at the same time, it is not impossible.
The Cause
Eventually 16 runners united at the start line. Following are the brave hearts who decided to take up the responsibility on their shoulders for the cause.
1. Basavaraju H R
2. Dr Girish H
3. Dr Madhusudhan G
4. Gowtham Raj
5. Guruprasad B
6. Hariprasad B
7. Mahesh Rajnikanth
8. Maruti
9. Mahi Ashok
10. Raghuveeraje Urs
11. Ravi Yajaman
12. Saigiri
13. Sandhya K
14. Shreyas B
15. T K Sudhir
16. Varun Kumar P
The cause is bigger than the individual goals. We desired to challenge our endurance limits to do our bit for the cause. Nevertheless, this is a life altering moment for all of us, a significant milestone for a recreational run like me.
RunAddicts Foundation is involved in various social service activities since its inception in 2016, we are involved in notebooks, sports equipment distribution to rural government schools, supported the underprivileged during pandemic and did blood donation, vaccination drives among many activities. Providing scholarship to meritorious students is on the anvil. We will continue these activities and take up even more and propel in our capacity.
The core of our interests involves driving fitness activities through monthly runs, virtual challenges, systematic training for beginners, HM and FM runners, yoga, and strength training. We come up with innovative challenges to make fitness as a way of life. This drive has benefitted 3000+ members.
The adrenaline was high among the runners and difficult to control; we let it go. I took it quite easy, reminding myself of the task ahead. I enjoyed the company of Mahesh, Ravi, Gowtham as we reviewed the plan for 2 days. It was not about four of us finishing the run, it was about ensuring everyone finished the run.
The road construction debris, smoke and the vehicular traffic took a toll on us. Our formation work outs came handy now. We made a single line and ran till we were clear off the narrow roads. I regretted my decision to wear thin sole aqua shoes as they couldn’t take the pebbles, anyway the worst was yet to come. The support vehicles worked at clockwork precision. These guys were tremendous, ensured we were taken care with great comfort. Their energy levels were high throughout the run, it was them who we are grateful for being the nameless warriors.
We had a beautiful view of the sunrise, the only moment we appreciated the sun and had sumptuous tatte idli breakfast at Bidadi and continued our expedition.
I kind of never felt comfortable. Tiredness was bothering me all along. This was not a good sign but had to complete the task at hand. Talking to fellow runners, breaks every 4 to 5km made me forget the bodily niggles. Shades and caps were out, timely hydration ensured we were upbeat in the heat. I was surprised to see Sri continuing post Bidadi, wherein other support runners departed. He was going strong and continued till Channapatna. Runners got into rhythm and enjoyed the wide roads.
Ramanagara to Channapatna (55km): Either you suffer or get killed by heat, it’s a tough choice!
We chose the former. We had a planned break at Ramanagara, Mohan, Harish and his friends had arranged a shady place to rest and recover.
The heat was taking a toll on us. The pit stops got shorter however most of us stuck together. My knee demanded attention time to time, volini spray and massage kept it just good enough to continue. While we were tired, volunteers displayed same freshness as when we had started the run. Savitha, Sudhi, Ravi, Srini, Prathap, Deepak and Shyam were fabulous in their volunteering work! Subrata- Our cycle volunteer was there for us whenever we needed support. They were the reason for us to be on our feet!
The lead group went ahead, I and Shreyas ran together for 20-25km together, occasionally with Sandhya and Guru. I was not comfortable running in the heat, was watching my breath patterns, and adjusting pace. It was all about putting as less efforts as possible, this is what I had learnt from aerobic running to survive longer time on legs. The walk- run strategy did wonders, we had to keep the energy reserves in check to survive the day!
We stopped for lunch at Shivalli, we yearned for this break. Some of them took a nap while others relaxed or got a massage. We decided to stretch this interval by an hour more to avoid running in the noon sun. I puked a couple of times and took a dump to clear my stomach. This ensured I was good to go.
The sun was not as intense as it was a couple of hours ago. The break rejuvenated us. At last, I was comfortable and felt good to complete the final leg of the day. We stuck to the service roads to be safe from maniac drivers in the main road. As time passed, it got more comfortable with cool breeze crossing the face. As we were 10km away from the target distance for the day, the road widening, vehicular traffic, and dust made it hard for us to run. We walked a good 3 to 4km. I and Dr Girish rued our decision to come barefoot/ minimals. Both of us had got a hit on our toe earlier, it made us wail in pain whenever we encountered a rock.
As it got dark, we did a lot of running and less of walking, A good bunch of us were together. The last 2km was the best part of the day, we sprinted to the resort! 12 of 16 runners survived the day and were fortunate to move to second part of the run.
Link for part 2: https://www.saigiri.co.in/2022/01/bangalore-mysore-run-its-about-the-journey-not-the-destination-part-2/
Your contribution can make a big difference to the lives of the lesser privileged. This will go a long way in supporting the education of rural children.
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Awesome Sai. This phrase – For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy, is so important & meaningful not only for runners, but for all humans.
And this “It was not about four of us finishing the run, it was about ensuring everyone finished the run”, is what differentiates you guys from the rest. Always there for the team, one to lead & one to sweep !!
Thank you Shashi 😊