Stumbling upon the Joy of Running Bengaluru Ultra 2019

For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. - Shakespeare, Hamlet Prince of Denmark

2019 has been a weird year of sorts for my running. I got PBs in 24h, 50k Ultras and many intermediate split best times too. I became a running coach and a motivational speaker. But somehow I “feel” I haven’t been enjoying running as much as I did in my past. And then, I read “Stumbling upon happiness” by Dr. Gilbert (blog title inspiration! and all italics sections in the post are from the book). Awesome book, I will try to take you through my recent Ultra marathon Bengaluru journey with excerpts from the book.

I was the ambassador of the Bengaluru Ultra, so I was of course automatically signed up. But I was thinking I would be “happy” to race this fast flat ultra easy distance, after all, I had gone past this distance many many times this year.

Prospection and Emotion


Prospection can provide pleasure and prevent pain, and this is one of the reasons why our brains stubbornly insist on churning out thoughts of the future. But that is not the only one. People find it gratifying to exercise control. We all steer ourselves toward the futures that we think will make us happy, but what does that word really mean?

In Part II of the book, “Subjectivity,” Dr. G tells you about the science of happiness. The word happiness is used to indicate at least three related things, which we might roughly call emotional happiness, moral happiness, and judgmental happiness.

Happiness, then, is the you-know-what-I-mean feeling.


And talking about judgmental happiness - Our remembrance of things past is imperfect, thus comparing our new happiness with our memory of our old happiness is a risky way to determine whether two subjective experiences are really different.

Comparing with the Possible

Dr. G says we derive support for our preferred conclusions by listening to the words that we put in the mouths of people who have already been preselected for their willingness to say what we want to hear.

Exactly, both D and Ath agreed the previous weekend; that I was in perfect shape to run a low 4hour for the 50k! I listened to the words that I put in the mouth of this preselected sample, lol!

The bottom line is this: The brain and the eye may have a contractual relationship in which the brain has agreed to believe what the eye sees, but in return the eye (ear) has agreed to look (hear) for what the brain wants.


So basically, my brain has tricked me by “filling in memory” of my last ultras to making me believe I will be happy. 

That when people make predictions about their reactions to future events, they tend to neglect the fact that their brains have performed the filling-in trick as an integral part of the act of imagination.

The details that the brain puts in are not nearly as troubling as the details it leaves out.

Perhaps it isn’t surprising that the gritty details of running an ultra that are so salient to us as we execute them were not part of our mental image of running it, when we imagined it a month earlier, but what is surprising is how surprised we are when those details finally come into view.

Yes. After having completed the first 2 loops 12.5kms each, in 60mins and 64mins, the legs start to feel like they have lead inside them. How could I have not remembered this feeling from before; What *was* I thinking?

Looking Forward to Looking Backward

The psychological immune system defends the mind against unhappiness in much the same way that the physical immune system defends the body against illness.

A healthy psychological immune system strikes a balance that allows us to feel good enough to cope with our situation but bad enough to do something about it. So, I ploughed on, slowly, rationalizing that will still get me to finish in under 4.5 hours!

This is profound: we will feel better soon as we begin to discover facts that support this conclusion (“I went out too fast for the 2 loops, didn’t I, Ath?”), but the process by which we discover those facts must feel like a discovery and not like a snow job. If we see ourselves cooking the facts (“If I phrase the question just this way and ask nobody but Ath, I stand a pretty good chance of having my favored conclusion confirmed”), then the jig is up and self-deluded joins jilted in our list of pitiful qualities.

Net-net, don’t try to cook this feeling, sitting on your couch on a Sunday morning. You gotta be out there to “discover” the facts.

Indeed, in the long run, people of every age and in every walk of life seem to regret not having done things much more than they regret things they did, which is why the most popular regrets include not going to college, not grasping profitable business opportunities, and not spending enough time with family and friends. (and, if I may dare add – not running 50k ultra marathons!)

Let me now try and explain the run itself, but first, a caveat.

Explanation robs events of their emotional impact because it makes them seem likely and allows us to stop thinking about them. Oddly enough, an explanation doesn’t actually have to explain anything to have these effects—it merely needs to seem as though it does.

Outside Looking In

Experience and our awareness of the Experience are generated by different parts of the brain. Apparently, it is possible – at least for some of the people some of the time – to be happy, sad, bored, or curious, and not know it!!

Was I happy when I finished, and not know it??

So when Sunil asked me as I was crossing the finish line (clock reading 9:12:52AM, 4:42hrs after the start), the world’s most familiar question “How are you?”, did I not know my own heart?

Go to your bosom;
Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know. – Shakespeare, Measure for Measure

The Way We Weren’t

Where do I go from here?

The fact that the least likely experience is often the most likely memory can wreak havoc with our ability to predict future experiences.

Apparently, the way an experience ends is more important to us than the total amount of pleasure we receive—until we think about it.

We show a pronounced tendency to recall the items at the end of the series far better than the items at the beginning or in the middle.

Because we tend to remember the best of times and the worst of times instead of the most likely of times, the wealth of experience that young people admire does not always pay clear dividends.

You will remember feeling as you had expected to feel, and not as you had actually felt.

All convoluted - the problem with this error of retrospection is that it can keep us from discovering our errors of prospection. Our inability to recall how we really felt is one of the reasons why our wealth of experience so often turns out to be a poverty of riches.


Reporting Live from Tomorrow

I quickly cancelled my plan to run from Bangalore to Mysore the next weekend, and rationalized why I should not run the Chandigarh 24hr run and by extension not be on the national team again.

The Inescapability Trigger

We are more likely to look for and find a positive view of the things we’re stuck with than of the things we’re not (and more likely to achieve the positive view of a bad experience than of a very bad experience).

The show will go on, and in 2020, I will continue to lead you to mindless long posts, I am stuck to running, and if have come this far, you are stuck with my posts!!

May you soon stumble upon “Happiness” in 2020

The Bangalore Hash House Harriers BH3

As published in the website https://www.blefakegs-blog.de/en/a-heady-run/

A Heady Run

A unique group in the city of Bangalore brings together beer and running for a heady experience.

Author: Ganesh Vancheeswaran
Pictures: Hash House Harriers – Bangalore Chapter

Every month, Manoj Bhat heads out to some place on the outer fringe of the sprawling metropolis of Bangalore. He is going on an excursion. At a pre-designated spot, he meets several others who have come on the same excursion. But it is an excursion with a difference. Soon, Manoj starts running along with several other men and women. Some others opt to walk. The runners and walkers move at a comfortable pace; nobody is in a hurry. Their trail is rough and uneven, and takes them through fields, farmland, slushy patches and wooded areas. Midway, there is a pit stop, where they are served water and fruits.

Upon reaching the end of the trail, they reach for bottles of chilled beer to slake their thirst. Soon, the entire group assembles there. Many of them grab beers; others have soft drinks. Snacks are distributed. The group forms a circle and the banter starts. Anecdotes from the run are narrated, jokes are cracked freely and a lot of leg-pulling happens. Mock charges are hurled at some members of the group, who then have to defend themselves. And all through this, the air crackles with laughter and mirth.

Welcome to the world of hashing – a world of fun, fitness, beer and the outdoors.

A worldwide movement

Way back in 1938, a group of British soldiers (and possibly, some expats too) began meeting once a week in the Federal Malay States (now Malaysia) to run for health and fitness. They modelled their run on the old British game of Hares and Hounds, which involved ‘hares’ laying trails through the outback and ‘hounds’ following those trails while running. The soldiers named their group ‘Hash House Harriers’ for the building in which they were living. It is unlikely that they knew that their early runs would spark off a passionate global movement called hashing and that hash chapters would spring up in several cities across the world.

The Bangalore chapter of the Hash House Harriers (HHH) was set up in 1991. It is, like all other chapters, headed by a Grand Master (GM). Helping him is an organising team known as the mis-management team.

The great outdoors

Hash runs are organised once a month. People from all walks of life meet at a pre-designated spot just outside the city and start running (or walking, if they so wish). They follow the trail laid out by ‘Hares’, who are members of the mis-management team. On the Hares falls the critical task of scouting for a new route every month and laying the trail with chalk. But just so that the hashers don’t take them for granted, the Hares lay false trails too. It is common for eager frontrunners (outrageously called ‘Front Running Bastards’ or FRBs) to go up a steep incline and cut through some woods, only to fix a board marked ‘X’. This brings them to a hard stop and the belated realisation that they have spent a lot of energy going nowhere. They are then forced to switchback, return to the proper trail and then follow it again. Trails usually are between 6 and 8 kms long. But an FRB who takes a few wrong turns could end up running an extra 3 or 4 kms.

Abnash Singh, GM of the Bangalore Chapter of the Hash House Harriers, says that false trails ensure that the runners do not reach the end point much ahead of the walkers. He says, ‘’We are particular about offering good trails to the hashers. Though all our trails are rough and cover uneven territory, they have to be clean and safe. We have men, women, children of all ages running; ensuring that they have a good hash experience is very important.”

Earlier, the Chapter used to have fortnightly runs. Over a period of time, participation dwindled to the 10s and 20s. The runs started feeling jaded perhaps, because some trails were being repeated and the runs were being held too often. Then, they started holding runs once a month. Participation picked up, because the longer gap and the fact that the hares could pick a different trail each time, brought back the element of freshness and interest into hashing.

Hashing started off as a movement that put fitness at the core of the activity; so, most of the early hashers were serious runners. In time though, it has evolved into a fine blend of fitness and fun. Many hashers are in it because they love the outdoors and want to meet interesting people. Chandra Mouli, who goes by the hash name Organraiser, says, “We hashers have abundant fun amidst nature. For those few hours, we simply let our guard down and be ourselves. We are not judged for who we are, how we dress or what we say.’’

The fact that these runs/walks are not competitive is a major attraction. Which is why, many hashers bring their elderly parents and little children along. Abnash says that they have hashers from the age of 5 to 75.  Everybody is free to finish the trail at their own pace. Several hashers, who used to be eager runners in their youth, have switched to walking for reasons of health or advancing age. Nimou Nilakantan, one of the earliest hashers of the Bangalore chapter, recalls, “I used to be a very good runner in my youth. But after a knee surgery, I was forced to stop running. I returned to hashing as a walker.”

Love for the outdoors is a common thread binding all hashers together. The chance to leave behind the frenetic life of the congested city and escape to the countryside is a compelling attraction for them. In the days when this city was smaller, hash trails used to start 10 or 15 kms from the city centre. But rapid expansion of this metropolis has pushed the trails farther and farther away from mid-town. Many hashers travel 30 or 40 kms from their homes to the starting point of the trail. But they don’t mind it. Some come by car (car-pooling is encouraged); others come on their motorcycles.

A few members say that hashing has toughened them and spurred them to take up high altitude trekking and long-distance running, such as marathons and ultra marathons.

Hash runs are not restricted to the city’s outskirts. Once in a while, the group heads to a hill station for a couple of days. In the recent past, hash runs have been organised in Gandikota, Kotagiri and Horsely Hills, all of which are a few hours away from Bangalore by road.

Frothy times

And then, there is the beer. At the end of every trail, cold, refreshing Kingfisher beer awaits the hashers. Most adult hashers are beer lovers; many of them easily put away several cans of the brew in one sitting. For them, there can be no hashing without beer. Indeed, it is tricky (and futile) to try figuring out what is more important to a hasher: the run or the beer. Which is why, the hashers can’t decide if they are runners with a drinking problem or drinkers with a running problem! Much of the raucous fun and laughter that ensues after every hash run can be attributed to the beer.

Kingfisher has been sponsoring beer for hash runs since the inception of the Bangalore chapter. This association has remained intact for 28 years! On the other hand, Big Basket is the official food and logistics partner of the HHH.

Hash lore

The Hash House Harriers have their own nomenclature, rituals, conventions and songs – perhaps in a nod to military tradition, since the founders of the club were soldiers. One of these conventions is to give every member a hash name. Hash names are funny, irreverent and often ribald. They are drawn from some characteristic of the person or his/her background. Chandramouli was named Organraiser because he was an event manager many years ago. Manoj Bhat is Phatphatiya, because he used to come to the run venues on a Royal Enfield motorcycle. Her habit of walking with her umbrella unfurled got a female hasher the name Shady Lady.

While adults members of the club are called ‘hashers’, children are aptly referred to as ‘horrors’. Newcomers are Virgins. The Grand Master of the chapter is Pervert Producer.

After every run, the hashers and horrors gather in a circle that is presided over by the Grand Master. The hares are invited into the center of the circle and feted for a job well done. The hares down their drinks and bask in the appreciation, while the rest of the group cheers them lustily. Later, the offenders (those who flout any hash convention) are asked to sit on a large slab of ice as ‘punishment’. Putting your hands in your trouser pockets, using your mobile phone or indulging in cross-talk when the circle is in session – all these qualify as offences. So do competitive running and excessive off-trail shortcutting. Virgins too are made to sit on the ice as they are grilled about their personal and professional details.

And then, there are hash anthems, as also songs for several occasions – including birthdays of members.

********

I am sitting at a long table with about 20 hashers at The Bier Library, a pub that opened a few months ago in Bangalore. This is one of the monthly pub meets of the HHH. My drinking mates are a motley bunch. I say hello to a wine store owner, a printer, a contractor, a data scientist, an employee of the World Bank, three anesthetists and a few more, whose professions I forget.

As the beer flows, bonhomie rules. Ribald jokes fly over the table. Some of the more docile members of the group become targets of good-natured ribbing. The Pervert Producer is busy ensuring a steady flow of food and drink. From time to time, raucous laughter erupts, shaking up the guests seated at the next table.

Watching them, I realise what a wonderful way of life hashing is, how it has turned strangers into friends and how much it means to the hashers.

Malnad Ultra 2019

Getting back to the trail after a long time, allow me to mix it up some components with some Chautauqua.

Thomas, Susheel Tomal and I ran down the last stretch to the finish line in tow, crossing the line with the clock reading 16:24, nudging the photographer to get a shot. Somehow the ultra runners in the queue behind the finish line didn’t seem to acknowledge. They just stood there, no cheering, nothing. Ok. Then we went up the stage to take some more pics. That’s when someone asked if we had done 1 loop, we said, "No, we finished 2". Then it dawned on them, that we had indeed finished the 100k and then, there was some applause. For most of them in that line, they had changed their goal post from finishing the run to organizer-bashing, complaining about the 30k loop marking, and focusing on getting the medal and not being branded as a DNF (the dreaded Did-Not-Finish).

Missing the woods (coffee estates?) for the trees (markings?), eh

The course

Due to some last minute exigencies, the course had to exclude Café Coffee Day estates this year. Laying a virgin course especially when it was raining like it was, is a huge challenge. I’m glad the Anand and team pressed on, and didn’t call it off altogether.

The start and finish was at Maskalmardi estate, a 50km loop to start with, over 2000m of climbs and then 2 loops of 30k each with about 1000m of climbs. My general plan was to finish the 50k section by lunch time, then the first 30k section before it gets dark. We had arrived at the estate a good 1.5hours before the start. At 4am, we had taken a shuttle bus ride from Ballavara to the start point. Navin, Sampath and I found a temple near the start point to lie down and stretch our legs, and then went into the wilderness for the big job!

In the last week, I had completed 4 sessions with a physio, trying to get my iliopsoas and ischial spine (sitting bone) to relax – injuries I had been carrying since my last 24h run. Given the inconsistent nature of these injuries, I wasn’t sure how long I would last on the trail. I brought out my most expensive piece of wardrobe – my full tights, for the extra support.

We started off well, within the first 2kms my injuries started talking. But in an Ultra, these things come and go. I kept a steady cadence, but the slushy trails, the climbs and the slippery downhills slowed everyone down considerably. I took 3.5hrs for the first 30k. Somewhere around the 15k or so, Sampath blazed past shouting “guess who”. He took the 50k in 4:45 at first place! The only runnable stretch was the ridge, with some spectacular views. 

I kept the company of a Swede Thor for a bit and we exchanged some running stories, then he got ahead. By the time I got back to the ridge, I was staving off some mild cramps as well. I borrowed a bottle from Opendro and some salt tablets from Deepak, bumped up some salt intake to help ease the cramps. I got back to Maskalmardi estate (with my Garmin showing 47.5k) at 12:45PM.

I picked up some gels and my own sipper from the baggage tent. I was hoping to get some solid food in, and limped down the steps, but lunch was not ready. I grabbed a couple of boiled eggs and was on my way.

Course markings

Just as I was about a km into the 30k section, I saw the race leaders back tracking! They were an agitated bunch – complaining, swearing, lots of negativity, about the markings that just kept looping, apparently. I said I will follow the course, even if I must loop all day. I simply believed that the organisers would have marked it alright. Then brimming with confidence, I went on ahead, found the right trail (with help from some volunteers who were now taking their place at their designated place to direct runners). But still managed to loop twice around a 2k section. The 30k loop was (admittedly) marked without much time or resources to audit.

There was one other place, when we got to the 56k aid station (with 54k showing on my Garmin) where I met runners who had done as less at 48k!! I was trying to stay on the right course, knowing I need to get there again when it would be dark. The 30k loop has a stretch of about U-turn of 3.5k on road, allowing to interact with a few other runners (who were again complaining!!). 

The markings were very confusing:

• ^ and <- both="" but="" go="" in="" meant="" most="" places.="" places="" some="" span="" straight=""> meant “go left”
• In some places the arrows were on the far side of the trees, and not visible when you are running in the correct direction
• In another place, there were arrows going both right and left. What it meant was “First go left, do a small loop, then when you come back to this place, go Right”. Yeah, right!!
• One other place, the arrows just led to a stream and then nothing. It meant “back track 1km, then you will see an arrow going right”

Anyways there were still enough uphills and one very slippery downhill to navigate. Some short runnable sections. My cramps, injuries and all else had settled down and I was keeping steady cadence. By now, Thomas – a 25 yr old from Chennai & Susheel – a 32yr old Navy from Bihar were keeping me company.

We spotted some boars & deer on a couple of occasions.

We finally got back to the road, a point 200m from the start. But we still had to take a 4km loop before we finished. There were some volunteers who led us on this loop, down to a pond, then back steep up to an inspection bunglow, back on road and to the start/finish point.

Aid stations, Food, medical, rest areas, etc.

Back at the start point, by 6pm, 80kms done, I picked up my headlamps, some more gels. I again tried to look for some solid food, gobbled some quick bisi bele bath and coffee and got back on the trail, for the last loop. The aid stations had enough water, but almost nothing useful to eat - just oranges and biscuits. Thankfully, I was sustaining myself with Gels and didn’t worry much. Most aid stations had an electrolyte drink, but the mixing was not consistent.

Medical was only at the start/finish point, there could have been some sprays in the aid stations, but not sure.

Weather and other elements

At the first aid station on the 30k loop, the three of us regrouped again. It was great to have company in the night section. I got lost more than once & if it were not for Thomas, would have just looped around. Susheel had long walking strides and ensured that we were keeping a steady pace. Thomas and I jogged the flats and downhills and caught up with him as he led us on.

We navigated the entire course, my legs were now on auto pilot. We came to the final road section and I insisted that we do the 4k loop as well. My Garmin was only showing about 97k and I wanted to at least get to a 100k. And we of course have to do the entire course, the runners conscience doesn’t permit otherwise. So we crossed the broken bridge (again!) and made our way towards that treacherous uphill. But this time, the markings were off, there were no volunteers at the turn off point and it looked like the course was cut short. We reluctantly jogged some more took a U-turn and made our way to the finish line.

Finishers medals!!!

Or the finishers belt buckle. To compensate for the marking fiasco and for the difficulty of the course, the organisers had decided to hand out 110k belt buckles even if you had only done 1 loop or 80k. And guess what, there was line of these runners, just waiting to pick up their (undeserved) medals. Who cares that there was still a good 8hours to go and only 30k to do, let’s just get that 110k belt buckle, that should be enough to brag about?

Back in those days, about 10yrs back, when we used to train in Cubbon Park, running folklore had it that the lap wouldn’t count, if you didn’t touch the Cubbon park gates, as you took a U-turn. To this day, when I run in Cubbon, I touch those gates. Running is a means to an end, sadly, the end seems to be social media bragging rights for a few.

As for me, I checked off a few boxes – ran without my injuries flaring up, got back to trails after a really long time, managed 16hrs on my feet.

I almost took a one-year sabbatical from running, about a week before this race, to bring back some balance into my life. But thanks to my family (once again!) I was still able to gang up with my BHUKMP pals for this trip and totally enjoyed it.

Each run is a gift, each trail, each step is – feel the gratitude!

Shriram Properties Bengaluru Marathon 2019

Life has been coming back one full circle for me and I’m pressing the RESET button – career, coaching, parenting-wise. Yesterday, running got added to that list.

I crossed the finish line in 4:00:01 – the first time I had gone under that timing was at Hyderabad marathon in 2009 and the last time over that timing was in Mumbai in 2012! – RESET

The race day came with a general overhang of challenges. Non-stimulating work has been a part of this for a while now. Although I had good training block a month into the race, over 100k per week, my last 2 weeks were far from ideal. Headaches and stomach bug forced me to take an entire week off, the week leading into the race felt sluggish.

But the race eve perked me up. My last session at Asics Running Club as a coach, my band of coachees giving me all the positive vibes. The rest of the day was all about Kipchoge’s super human, 1:59:40.2 at the Ineos 159 Challenge. No Human is Limited, indeed!

Regardless, I had decided to race aggressively this time around. I have had enough of holding back in the first half and struggling in the second. I might as well be aggressive on the first half and be prepare to struggle in the second. I had a 1:28 half marathon finish on a tough course 3 weeks back, a strong 3:12 40k a month back and I knew I could push a 1:30 to 1:35 for the first half and still run strong. That was the plan!

Contrary to my usual tapering, I did not do any stretching before this race. I did not carb load specifically, there were no pre-race jitters either. As for sleep, I think I am oversleeping quite a bit these last few months.

At 2:30AM as I left home riding my bike, I felt my toe fingers crushed inside my compression socks. I dismissed the idea of going back to change my socks. At the baggage counter, I toyed around with the idea of keeping or discarding my calf compression sleeves. I finally kept them on, because its easy to stuff my gels in them. I was also running in my non-compression shorts. I have been known to be lousy with my choice of running wardrobe in the past. Will these choices come back to haunt me?

Race day morning was good, I quickly found my rhythm. Just as I was getting out of the stadium, coach Shreyas overtook me. His plan was to run a 1:35 for the first half and we both stuck together. I was running well and clocked some steady 22:xx 5ks. I had had a gel before the race start (and beet juice) and downed another gel at 12k. Things were on target, I stopped for a pee break at 18k and lost sight of Shreyas who went on ahead.

One of my coachees, Sandeep, passed me close to the stadium, about 5-7 mins ahead of me, into his second loop.

I wasn’t feeling the best, but came under the 21k arch with the clock showing 1:35

As I climbed a small uphill in front of Vidhana Soudha, the first signs of cramps appeared. I reduced pace, but pressed on, till GPO, then took my first stretching break at 24kms or so. From then on, it was a story of a struggle. At one point, on Cubbon road, as I stood to relax a cramping thigh, I had 3 ladies looking on. 

I gave a live demo of how a cramp comes.

A lot of runners passed me – some a quick wave of sympathy, others trying to egg me on. I tried my best to run as much as my cramp would allow, tried not be disheartened, tried not to judge myself based on this one bad day, tried to still keep a smiling face.

It’s tough. I don’t know why I still do it.

Some feedback I received in subsequent days from running buddies & well wishers:

• Work on strength
• Given my height and reasonably high cadence, the area to improve could be from improved hip flexion and therefore a longer stride length
• Focus on overall nutrition (not just race day) and put on some weight

The Bull Run 2019

For a few years now, a fellow hasher and friend, Rajesh has been investing a lot of effort in putting together a good trail run for all us Bangalore runners in our own backyard. The Nandi hills climb by road itself is very popular with runners and bikers, but the trails are seldom taken.

Ever since I failed to qualify for the world championships, my running calendar is open. The Bull Run had to be moved from its original date in August, to this new date. I am on a high mileage diet anyways and decided to give it a shot.

Life has been good in general – looking forward for a 5X change in workload career-wise, but keeping the weekly mileage high as long as I can. I don’t think I’m improving much, but feeling a lot more confident about the runs. The week leading up to the run was no different, I had already put in 100+ kms last week and was not really “rested”.

The pre-race announcements were precise, 6:40AM start from a government school hostel. We were forewarned that the water stops / support would be sporadic and a hydration pack was recommended. I decided not to carry anything but 2 gels on me.

I reached the hostel (a.k.a the start line) by 6am and picked up my bib #5001. Rajesh gave us the briefing peppered with his usual dose of humor. I assumed that the route would be well marked, so skipped the minor (?) details. I knew we would get back to the hostel by 30k and would have to climb the hill by steps by 39k or so. The run started some 15mins late, it was cold and windy. Luckily, the 50k, 25k, and 8k runners started together. Otherwise, the drone camera would reveal the sparsely crowd of four 50k runners!!

The route started off with a run up to a nearby temple on top of a hillock – Lakshmi Narasimha swamy (LNS) betta and then you get back to the hostel in about 8k or so.

Ganesh (#5002) was the runner up last year, was looking to better his 6hour finish from last year. He took off in earnest behind the 25k leader. But he was looking for some company till about 30k, he didn’t want to get lost like last year. I caught up with him by 3k, my first impressions told me that I should settle for the second place here. Ganesh was faster at shorter distances. But when you do 200k runs, you are mentally better prepared for the grind.

The overnight rains had erased a few marking in places, we had to guess the right route a few times. We ran in sight of each other till about 25k. When we got off the trail to road, Ganesh led me on the wrong direction, with almost no marking, I assumed that it was right. Thankfully, the detour was equidistant from the start point. Except for some traffic, it didn’t make any change to either the elevation gain / loss or to the distance.

It got us past Nandi cross, I took a short break to down a gel here and made up a lot of distance in the next few kms over Ganesh.

I was doing consistent splits – close to 5min/km average and had covered 35k in 3:02. I finally got back to course by 30k and by this time was getting mad that no one in the water stations seemed to know the route. At 31k or so, when I had set myself to get to the hostel (a.k.a start line) again, there was a clear arrow on the road that got us to set off course for another 5k or so. I reluctantly followed this. It was a good trail section which wound up all the way to the LNS betta. Since this section was taken multiple times by most categories, it was difficult to make sense of the single / double arrows. The volunteers were also too confused to help and when you get this half-baked responses, you don’t want to trust them anyways.

Nevertheless, my Garmin held me in good stead, and I was able to do my own math to get back to the hostel with 38kms done. The Garmin FR 935 has a great feature, that it allows you to change settings during the activity, I was able to turn off auto scroll, HRM widget on the go, to save battery. I was low batt to start with, somehow thought it would last the distance (and it did!!).

When I got back to the hostel, I saw Ganesh already there and not going any further. He had ended up missing the detour to the temple and had decided to quit. I looked quickly for chikkis in vain, and carried on towards the climb that was coming up.

The less popular climb of Nandi hills is on steps, that take you up 400m or so of vertical gain in about 1.6km – brutal and quad smashing when it comes after about 40k. I started off in earnest and took 1 or 2 short pauses on the climb, but was doing it at about 20mins/km!!

I was done with the climb in about 4hours and was confident of a sub-5 finish, last 9k or so in an hour. But again, there were no markings on top of the hill to guide me back, lost sometime in asking around. I wanted to be sure that I try my best to keep to the route, even if it means I would have to do more mileage.

I started the descent on the road, but now the quads started to act up. I started to cramp, first on my calf, then my quads, but I refused to stop and stretch. I tried deep breathing, to relax and run through the cramps. It helped, and the cramps settled down somewhat in the next 3-4kms to the “C” point. From the C point, I was back on trail for the next 5km or so. It was fun to see the body extend itself during this section. I was somewhat slower but still in sight of 50k in 5hours. But given my course changes, the possibility of me having to go longer was a given.

Pics courtesy: Sportstatsindia

I kept to a decent pace and still managed to read a 49.5 in 5hrs and then ran the extra 1.5k to finish in a time on 5:10:xx

My previous best for a 50k with 2200m of climb was way back in the Golden Gate Ultra at SFO in 5:28, so this would have to be my personal best. Also, with the ultra-champ Sampath having clocked a 5:14 in the same course last year, this was also a course record!!

Rajesh quickly verified my timing and handed out the beautiful winner’s trophy and finishers medal. I grabbed a quick breakfast, mixed a protein shake and rode back home on my ‘bull’et, keeping a close tab on the speed-o-meter – didn’t want to be fined for over-speeding!!

Dealing with failure

Recovery

I was expectedly stiff and sore in a lot of places the night of finishing the 24h. Sleep is usually very difficult, with each turning and change in position needing multiple adjustments. My pelvic was still sore and wouldn’t support my legs. I improvised by tying two towels around my knee and pulled them with my hands to change position. But I slept surprising well, given the conditions.

The next day, I used one of the ubiquitous plastic chairs for support, as I leaned forward, supporting each step with my hands to move a bit. By evening, I was walking straight without the chair. The next day, I was riding a bike and managed a few beers with some friends, and a dinner with others.

I put my feet up for 4 days while I slept, but I simply could not shake off the feeling that I had failed. The mind rationalizes – “you gave it your best”, “your body was not there for that last one hour”, “you can’t plan for such injuries”. But each day, I cursed myself a hundred times, “I had missed a golden chance”. Kanan’s words while we were on track, kept coming back to haunt me “Accha mauka hai, bhaiyya”.

Feedback and way forward

I got a plenty of feedback (mostly solicited, some unsolicited) – try more food (close to 400cal / hr), was it too much caffeine (21 caffeinated gels), you need to put on more weight, more solid food, went out too fast (w.r.t the 10th hour for about 20 laps), was overwhelmed by the target – should have been more relaxed about it, etc. etc. I certainly chocked. I feel I could have done better in the enjoyment department, mentally. Physically, long strides during walking may have been a wrong idea, need to put some more time in the gym for some strengthening.

Comparison chart showing the hare and tortoise story – me in red and KJ in blue. (lap & distance credit: KJ)

These things were playing round and round, nothing really helped get rid of the feeling of dejection. I contemplated stop running these events, running altogether. A lot of what-ifs played about, I pulled myself out of bed one night, to see my splits.
But, I got here not expecting anything from running, not allowing myself to be bogged down by results and not making running another stressful rat race.

But again, I draw inspiration from the sexagenarian runners on the national Aussie team at Soochow. For now, I will take the advice of two wise men, who said - drink more beer and do some fun running! Cheers!

Bengaluru 24h stadium run 2019

It was a beautiful race. I was shooting for an aggressive 216km in 24h. There was a lot at stake – a berth in the Indian team for the Albi, France World Championships in my 10^th year of marriage. I was riding on the back of a good training block, lots of support – my wife, my family and from many many friends.

But I came copper, hung my head down, when the question was asked of me. I came short, mileage wise and more damagingly, in the mental aspect. I ended up on a stretcher after having completed 198km in the stipulated time. Here’s how it panned out.

The training was good for this one – I had kept the mileage around 100 – 120k per week, my longest run in training was deliberately limited to 50k to keep myself fresh. Except a cold a couple of weeks before the race, the build up was great.

I had my race strategy planned out – mileage, nutrition, gear, support crew (my wife, my dad and my ex-boss). The plan was to keep to complete 55k in 5hrs, 105 by 10, 150 by 15, 190 by 20.

6PM Saturday

At the start line, I felt raring to go, it was finally there and I looked forward to the challenge. I managed the night part well – by 6am I had done 298laps (119k), having passed the 100k mark in 9h:42m. These were mind boggling numbers and personal best timings for me.

Shreya had supported me through the graveyard shift, braving the cold. I ran a few laps in deep gratitude to Lord Krishna for this great life and opportunity. I felt blessed.

6AM to 12noon

In the Tuffman Chandigarh run, I knew I had slowed down inadvertently during this phase. I wanted to keep a good cadence this time. At some point after 10hours, I latched on to Sunil Sharma and Ullas – both much faster than me, to keep the rhythm going. And it had worked.

I went on to do 144k in 15hrs, and 160k in 17hrs. A couple of (actually 3) false long nature calls in the morning slowed the tempo down. By noon, although the sun was out, I wasn’t too concerned. I had run 166k – I remember telling Ullas, I had a 6hour marathon left to do. It was to be the easiest thing, I could run-walk this. But not quite.

12 noon to 3pm

This is where a lot of self doubt crept in. I had started to walk some parts of the curves, just to stave of general fatigue. In hindsight, I think this was a bad call. I should have picked up pace, if anything. I finished 21k in those 3 hours, so you would imagine I was on target. But mentally, I was turning into a confused heap. My crew – dad and Ravi were a great help – providing the massages, tolerating my demands and cheered me on.

3pm – Pain and Rain

By 3pm, my feet started to hurt, my psoas muscle was strained because of the extended stride during walking. My only recourse was to lean forward and managed a shuffle. Shuffle, I did. For the next 2 hours I stayed gritted on the track, all I could manage was a miserly 11k in 2 hours. I needed 7k in the last 1 hour to qualify. If only my feet had been a slightly ok, I would have pushed on. 

Hoping against hope, that I would somehow ease the pelvic pain, after my 21^st gel at the start of the 24hour, I squatted down to do a Morton’s stretch. When I got up (slowly), my head was dizzy, I held on to a railing and spent a few minutes trying to get steady. When it didn’t improve, I decided to go to the tent and lie down. The writing was on that rainy wall – I stopped. This was the last boarding call for France, and I was not at the gate!

I may be reading too much into this, but all these bare chested younger legs blazing past me in that steady rain, has a message for me. It certainly has dimmed my self-confidence. My body was simply not there to give the chase. 

Did I need a shoe change, did I need to ingest more calories (I had consumed 21 caffeinated gels!!), walked more, walked less, relaxed more – I don’t know.

From being at second place till the 22hour, I slipped to #6 by the end of 24hrs. Some spirited running by Sunil and Pranaya got them podiums. Young legs of Kannan and Chander took them past the qualifying 205k to make the Indian team. My legs are getting younger, and I will catch up one day!

I had great support this time – special thanks to my wife, my dad, Ravi and to Meghana, Rohith (my cousin) Ramesh & Dr. Fleming (from my Asics run club) who helped me get on my feet after the race. The drama that unfolded at the support tent, post my finish was the only regret I carry. I gave some nervous moments to Nagaraj Adiga & Reeth, my parents (my mom was in tears) while they scrambled to get scissors to cut my socks, to get the doc who declared I had a steady pulse and normal BP and to get the stretcher that finally took me out of the stadium to the Uber.

Is this the last of the 24hr runs for me? Not making the national team is a good excuse to stop this madness. But, you know me better!

TCS World 10k 2019 – the bells and whistles

Almost exactly a year back, I took a plunge into coaching, with Cult fitness, thanks to my dear friend Dharma. My stadium run in July got some attention and I signed up later with Asics & Garmin as their coaches for Bangalore. Asics Running Club (ARC) was inaugurated on Sep 15^th with yours truly as a lead coach.

Although skeptical to begin with, my approach to coaching (as coaches) has changed drastically over the last 1 year and I’m truly enjoying my association with ARC and Garmin.

Asics is the sporting goods partner for all 4 major Procam runs in India and I was excited to be a part of the run up to the TCS World 10k. I was just getting back to running after the Chandigarh run earlier this year and I was happy to get back to some speed workouts. Although, I had about 6 weeks, I was hoping (and training for) a sub 39min. Most of the speed work were “comfortably – hard”, I wish they were more “comfortable” and less “hard”.

I was excited about the opportunity to get some branding for ARC and get more members added in. I had even (brashly) suggested that ARC Bangalore should lead the warm-up routine. In any case, the Expo is a good showcase for both Asics and Garmin.

Spanner in the works!

It was vacation time for my kids and we had to keep our 3 year cadence and had planned a holiday in Phuket 2 weeks before the event! Work-wise travel has come down a lot lately, but I was told to attend a sales conference at Bangkok, in the last week of the race! Back to back travel does take its toll.

My Bangkok travel meant that I had to miss the “Breaking Bread” event, a great opportunity to meet the elite field.

The Big Surprise was the call that came while I was in Bangkok – Procam had offered ARC to lead the warm-up indeed!!! It was certainly a great opportunity! 

I had to quickly put together a team of runners – 5 on the main stage and one each in 4 pods around the stadium!

I got 3 of my trainees to join, 2 coaches from Chennai & Hyd joined, 2 influencers made up the team. I threw in a proposal to my wife to join, and she willingly agreed. We were a team!

I landed in Bangalore with 30hrs to go, for the start of the 10k - a whole lot of excitement and nervousness – plenty to be done before I get to the start line! To add to the festivity, I had requested my dad to bring my kids to the stadium and baby sit them at the Asics Lounge, so they could experience some of this too!

That evening at the Expo, we were still sorting out our Bibs, our participation as a part of the Asics team was not communicated to Procam that was handling registrations! In the middle of that mess, we did a quick rehearsal of the warm-up routine. Many thanks to JBX who helped fine tune the drills!

In “Wear Sunscreen”, xxx advices you to “Do something that you are afraid of”. For me, this was that moment – I could have handed over the lead responsibility to JBX, but choose to do that one thing I was afraid of! In hindsight, I was glad I did!

We were told that our gear, the tee shirts, would be handed out at the arena.

Race day

0315 hrs: Wake up, shut the butterflies in the stomach, make sure you have all you need.

0400 hrs: Carry the half sleepy kids to the car and drive to the venue with dad and wife

0430 hrs: Co-ordinate with the Aditi from Procam (to take us to the main stage), with wife and kids (we were separated while I went to find parking), with the rest of my team (there are some 15 gates to the stadium to make things complicated), with Asics marketing (to get our tee shirts!) and my own heart (which was pounding to a tempo beat).

0450 hrs: Get into position, realize too late that the gear will not come on time. Handed out worn out Asics shoes to team members and an Asics windcheater to a team mate to conceal competitors logo! Get the mike and headset fixed and checked.

0455 hrs: Good morning Bengaluru!!!

The next 20mins, I had the time of my life. I had planned it in a way that the tempo increases towards the end. The initial nervousness made way for some adrenaline. It was a delight to see the stands full of runners repeating after you and humbled by the experience. As the tempo increased, the runners’ energy was rippling throughout the stadium in the twilight.

0514 hrs: We finished on time, some quick shout out reading ARC and we were ushered to the starting line. Shreya made her way to the Asics Lounge to join my dad and the kids!

0530 hrs: The flag waved the start of the race, I still have the 10k to go.

After the race was done, while interacting with members of my Club, I could only dwell on how far I had come – from being the “WANTED” runner to leading them on the main stage!

My 40:40 timing was eclipsed with some gritty performances (many Personal Best / PB) from my mentees:

Bama 1:24, Sneha 59:23, Abhi 39:20, Arun 54 PB, Ashwin 58:58 PB, Jeya 1:04, Karthik 52:00 PB, Madhu 49:00, Navneeth 1:05, Padyumna 58:22 PB, Sachin 57:47 PB, Sriram 1:04:24 PB, Vignesh 53:17 PB.

The Champions dinner later that evening brought down the curtains to a great event and an unforgettable experience for me and my family!!

(with the Tennis legend Sanchez at the Champions dinner)