Bengaluru Marathon 2025 - Race report

 Wipro Bengaluru Marathon 2025

Training

I followed my favorite - Jack Daniel's Running Formula (JDRF) 18 week training plan with peak mileage of 100k per week. The legendary coach Jack Daniel's passed away at the age of 90+ about 3 weeks back - RIP.

I was supremely happy with the way the training went for these weeks - running close to 90kms per week, including 2 quality runs. Most of my easy runs were around BEL road and Boulevard park, the quality runs were at GKVK. Weekends were busy, so I had to juggle work and family commitments to squeeze in the 2-3hours it would take for the quality runs. On most days, I managed to go under the required paces. I also included 3-4 weight training sessions, mostly lifting and squatting at the gym per week.

Leading to the race, however, I had to make a trip to Singapore and we also had Ganesh Chaturthi and Krishna Ashtami, and I ended up putting up an extra ladoo or two in my core ;) almost 2kgs more than my ideal race weight (which is almost always the case, always 2kgs more!)

But overall, I was happy with the fitness build up, not being sick for many weeks, manageable stress, adequate sleep leading up to the race.

Race Day - 21 Sep

The Bangalore marathon starts at 3:50AM on Sunday, and the reporting time is an hour before that! To be able to get the 6hours of sleep, I had to hit the bed at 7PM, I was refreshed when I woke up and ready to go. I rode my bike and parked nearby and walked up to the entry gate. It was a good feeling to soak into this excitement after so many years. I dropped off my bag, made some small talk, used the portaloo and made my way to the start line.

First half

At the start line, it was great catching up with Lingu, Gautham and others as the clocked ticked toward 3:50. I was able to warm up quickly (which was one of my worries, given my knee situation) and get into stride within a km or so. The race leaders were out of the way, and I was trying to gauge the pace of peers around me - Smita was gunning for a 3:50, Open was trying to go 3:20, there was a Spaniard targeting 3:30. We all settled down, crisscrossing each other. I was hoping to go 10s faster than my race pace to be able to 'bank' some time. And so when 5k came in 24mins and 10k in 48:xx I was mostly OK with the brisk pace.

By this time, we were out of Cubbon Park and on Cubbon Road and then on MG's. I was following Shamik's advice and was having one gel every 45mins. I was also alternating between water and electrolyte for every 20-25mins.

I caught up with Opendro in front on Vidhana Soudha with about 2k to go in the first lap. We entered the stadium together with the clock showing 1h:40m, about 5mins in the 'bank'.

Second Half

I let Open go, but was keeping pace for the next 5kms with no issues. I may have got distracted at this stage and missed my electrolyte, I guess. Because, I remember feeling a small cramp develop in my right quad by the 28th. I was due for my gel at 29km and a small self doubt was creeping up in the "central governor".

I decided to be a bit conservative till about 36k and then pick up pace again for the finish. But with so many bad memories of cramping, esp. from the last BM in 2019 where I ran with coach Shreyas and cramped severely in the second half. And if it were just to remind me of this, Shreyas was there at the 30km cheering us on!!

Once inside Cubbon park, I sat on a park bench and massaged my thighs, getting some curious questions from the onlookers. I was still managing to jog slightly, walk sometimes, sit on pavements to gently massage the cramps. 

Somu was banditing and he joined me while I was on MG Road, the signboard said 37kms - 5kms to go.

At the end of MGs, Gautam caught up with me. I finished my last gel and managed to pick up some pace on the downhill to Cubbon Park. A few sit breaks and walk breaks later, I managed to get down to the last km. By now I was slacking on pace, not by a lot, by a min or two per km. I wasn't tired really, but had to be cautious at every step to not strain my legs, lest they cramp again.

I crossed the finish line in 3:41 - and joined a bunch of enthu finishers to do 20 push ups!! It was great catching up with the regular runners at the finish line - many of them had issues with cramps.

Ath had finished his half marathon in 1:30:xx having started at the back of the pack and we exchanged notes.

Learnings:

A few longer runs (35km+) at race pace, perhaps?

Drink water / electral more frequently - once every 3kms?

Or just race more and allow the law of averages to do its thing?

Jambo Masai Mara - Travelogue

 

Day0

The excitement had built up well before Sep 26th, the D day - shopping, packing, countdowns and anticipation, almost right after the yellow fever vaccination.

We packed light, one bag per person, jackets, caps, goggles and the new binoculars, ready to eat food and snacks of course.

The onward flight was via Mumbai to Nairobi, Indigo no frills airline. No frills, no seat selection, no food or drinks on board, no in flight entertainment and no cushion on seats!!

Immigration check, baggage check and customs was as basic as the airport terminal. Our camp had sent a bus for us and a car to take our luggage directly to camp. As we drove out we got a sense of the city - the dichotomy of an expressway on one side and workers walking to work on the other. The apartments led to slums and then to the countryside - the vast swathes of land bereft of villages or cultivation. We stopped by a shack along Rift valley for breakfast of packed Teplas. Rift valley became gift valley, thanks to our ladies shopping for souvenirs. It is 9000km valley that is splitting Africa from Red sea to Mozambique in the south.

Next stop was the detour to Naiwasha lake. The package included a 1hr boat ride. The 5 to 6 seater motorized boats took us along the perimeter, First sighting of Topi (water...), Pelicans, Hippos as we rode through submerged Mangrove like trees. As the sun came out, we made our way to Cresent island, a microcosm, with it's Topis, Wildebeest and Zebras. It was great to watch the Afghan Fish Eagle and Kingfisher in action.

Back in the van, traced back to Narok, the dry bush land passing by. We stopped by at Maasai Buffalo curio shop for lunch - more teplas and tomato chutney inside a pergola, it was starting to get hot.

From Narok, there were many small settlements that began to emerge - mud huts, fenced cowsheds, and black men in red checkered clothes talking to white tourists in front of them.

The roads got narrower, potholed, traffic sparse. The last hour was on pebbled road, bone rattling, and finally pulled into the gates of Camp Osero Sopia.

Karibu Karibu ("welcome") - the staff put up a traditional Maasai dance. We were a big group - 18 and were soon settled into Pyramid 1, 2, 3 and River front 1,2

Osera Sopia is a beautiful camp - by a photographer for the photographer. It is an open camp, meaning that it shares it's non-marked boundary with the Masai Mara forest reserve, just separated by the Mara river. The staff is super welcoming, guides are very knowledgeable, the food was yummy. At nights, the security guards escort you to the rooms for safety.

The adults in our group lost little time in grabbing the Tusker, the chilled variety - beer! The rest of the evening was spent over food, drinks and some classic Kodambakkam chit chat.

Day1

Today was all about the Masai Mara park (not your local park - this one is just 1500 sq kms) visit. The plan was to start before 6, in 4 land cruisers, with packed breakfast and lunch from the camp.

The jeeps crossed the river and we were in the park! The park gets it's name from the Mara tribe and Masai, meaning spotted - the lone umbrella Acacia trees dotting the vast Savannah grasslands. As the first light broke through the clouds, landscape was magically transformed. The hum of the jeeps broken by the constant chatter on the jeep's walkie-talkie, as the drivers tried to track the wildlife.

First up, the Osera pride - within 10mins of drive, we spotted the pride of female lions lazing around. I was with Raddy, one of our more experienced (and talkative) guides. We spent some alone time with the tigress before the other jeeps made their way. "Majja ma", "theek hai"

Another stream crossing, we came across many jeeps stopped near a clump of trees. Perched up on a branch was a leopard, with a hunted gazelle. Raddy informed us that he was a young male, still living with his "mum", and the mum was also around in the trench. We switched off the jeep and waited like the rest of a dozen jeeps, sometimes even for the slightest movement of the wild cat. The leopard moved around on the tree and eventually slid down. The action then shifted to the mum who made it's way between the parked jeeps, then across the stream to the tree and at some random time, burst up the tree in 2 swift movements, to enjoy the leftover breakfast. Despite being right there, many missed the climb - blink and you miss it, literally.

Of course, we passed through herds of Zebras, Topis, Gazelle and stopped to admire the Giraffes.

When we stopped for breakfast of Sandwiches, eggs and bananas, our other guide, Latetato (a.k.a Wilson) introduced us to Superb Sterling, which was looking for the crumbs.

For the pack of cousins, the scene of the trip was about to unfold. The men and the boys began to relieve ourselves into the open, while looking over the horizon. As RaPo was mid way into his 'job', of filling (what he thought was) a small pit, a family of warthog sprung out of pit and darter across, leading to peals of laughter. The warthog family was last seen across the Kenya border still running, startled.

Tracking the Chetah

The rest of the day was largely spent tracking a Chetah. It started as another stop to stare at the tall dry grass. There's got to be something if 10 other jeeps are doing it. And sure enough, under the perfect camouflage, a pair of ears twitched and then the tail - Chetah spotted - check. No, we did not stop there, read on!!

After waiting an eternity, the jeeps decided to take a closer look - this spotted tear scared cat was already living beyond their average 12yr lifespan, and today, going by its belly, it had to hunt.

Our guides seemed to know this guy well, we kept a viewing distance while it scanned around for an easy prey - a young gazelle or so. It followed a walk-scan-sit-scan-repeat and we matched a drive-talk-wait-talk somemore-repeat pattern, for the next 2 hours.

As the sun hits it's peak, we stopped for lunch, but quickly aborted the plan and got back to the chase. The radio chatter was high with anticipation as there were other jeeps on it's tail too.

Our patience wore thin and we succumbed to a lunch break under a tree. Lunch was rice, daal and yogurt and sandwich if you cared to scavenge the breakfast.

Post lunch, for some inexplicable reason, our guides decided to not go after the Chetah, choosing instead to check insta reels (or whatevery) and chat away. After about an hour of this, alerted by the radio, they jumped back in and drove to the group of jeeps. The Chetah had just taken down a young gazelle, still battling for it's dear (or deer?) life, it's mum had bolted off. The aged predator, having lost its teeth was unable to kill it quickly enough, the bleating moans of the prey was echoing in our ears. There were 2 layers of sadness, one a balm for the other - one for the baby gazelle, but soon another overpowering one, for missing the chase.

Though the hunt could have lasted less than 10 seconds, the group felt we were undone by our guides and lost out on a great opportunity. The skies turned gloomy as well, we rolled down the drapes of the jeep window, as the skies sulked down some rain.

Back near Osera, the pride of lions gave us some bit of a farewell charge in the drizzle. 

We carried the common grouse to dinner - more soup, salad, rice, daal, pasta, chapatis and sabji, fruit and dessert.

Day 2

Spectacled, Hilda brown, Red cheeked blue cordon, Canary, Yellow Bishop, Slate colored Boubou, African paradise fly catcher, purple grenadier, white browed Robin chat, Scimitar bill - over 2 hour 7am to 9am, we sat in the bird hide - our lexicon had these new words. Our guides, Wilson, arguably the best birdologist in Masai Mara, told us not just namaste, but sounds, quirky characteristics, of these winged beauties.

Day 2 was all about taking a break from the park and spending time at camp.

The women went off to visit a tribal village, the kids into the pool, the men stayed loyal to the Tusker by the pool. In the hot afternoon sun, the ladies relayed stories of the tribal ways. Polygyny or jumping courting, back at the pyramid things were very civilized. Lunch was soup, salad, rice, daal - ok, you know it by now.

The (hide)ous hyena

Nashulai conservancy is one among a series of protected "private" Savannah. Rich Masais who own the land pledge it to the wildlife. Animals move here freely, many rules of the park do not apply here. Limited tourists are allowed to get out of jeeps to walk with animals, go on a night safari. Nashulai has a hideout, complete with a trapdoor leading to an underground viewing chamber, overlooking a pond, with soft lighting to view (and photograph) nocturnals. The fine print is that one needs to maintain complete silence. Yeah right, 8 excited kids and silence!!

Anyways, we left for the conservancy at 5, short walk with the scared Giraffes and Zebras and in light drizzle, we went underground!

We were served coffee, tea, biscuits and cake while we waited for darkness. Surely, darkness came and then the rain. In the well lit pond, the toads croaking orchestra drowned our whispers. Our hopes were high, the wait lasted one full hour. Some kids fell asleep, some adults negotiated a late stay.

Just as the kids were contemplating leaving, Abraham went "shhh, shhh". A hyena came, first popping it's head from the bushes, then into full spot light. Then we put on more lights and the hyena scurried away.

A few of us stayed back to experience the joy of anticipation - just silent stare into edge of the pool that lay lit before us - the concept of space and time redefined.

Our pin drop patience was rewarded - the hyenas came, they were crushing a carcass from a previous lion hunt. A wily jackal also joined in for a while.

At 10pm, at the insistence of Wilson, we decided to call it a day and sat through the bone rattling drive to the camp.

Day 3 - the Big Five

Today was another full day in the park. Imagine rolling grasslands for as long as you can see. You look a bit to your right, Zebras are grazing around, some take off running randomly, other stand facing away from each other as your jeep approaches. To your left, there are 4 wild buffaloes matching your stare, protecting their herds of hundreds. Far out behind you, there are 2 tall necks sticking out of the trees in the valley, wildebeest are walking towards the horizon to the left, warthogs trying not to get trampled an gazelle and Topis all around. Lest you get distracted, an African elephant in heat flapping its majestic ears (yes, just ears) walks right in front - This is the Kenya portrait for me!

We had set out at 6am for another all day at the park. The idea was to view the Victory pride, Hippos and crocodiles. A longish drive, great sunrise and the hot air balloons at a distance.

The familiar jeep pack led us to the first set of female lions lounging inside tall grass, already trying to escape the sun.

More driving and another jeep pack, this time it was a Chetah, a young female, also looking for game, we were told by our guides. This time we did not try to track it, but proceeded towards the Paradise pride (or Victory Pride), further south towards the Mara river crossing. 

The paradise pride has over 16 lions - sure enough, we came across another set of "migratory jeeps", bazooka lenses and face bikinis, all pointing in the direction of a majestic male lion, walking in disdain towards the bushes. There were visible wounds on his face and he only cared about settling down in some shade. Behind him, 2 females lions and a litter of 6 cubs in tow. Our jeep followed the young ones for a while.

Watching this Lion King, Simba from less than 10 feet, made me wonder why he tolerated the tens of flies around his face and body - some "simba-iotic" relationship this! Hakuna Matata!

Just along the edge of the river we stopped, got off the jeeps to stretch while watching the hippos lazing in the Mara river below. Latetato gave us a quick lecture about Hippos and their mouth opening for dominance (not unlike our big-mouthed bosses, politicians, whatsap experts?). Latetato also then pulled out his sword and demoed some of the Masai tribe lion hunting routines - buffalo hide shields, swords, spears and Okiti, Osaro (cow blood mixed with milk).

But this time, our recluse jeep was nowhere to be seen, we moved on to find a Acacia tree for breakfast. Mid way through breakfast the Raddy jeep joined us and we finished breakfast of sandwiches, eggs and fruit.

Our guides had decided that we would like to step across the border to Tanzania, so we drove to the border. If the buffalo skull, a warning signboard and concrete border stone was suppose to deter us, it didn't. A few of us went across and marked our boundary. There was no shopping or chai to be had, so we hopped on to the jeep.

Some of us were still harboring hope that we would see the Chetah or a Lion kill. Lunch was a quick stop for the usual and this time, the guides packed up real quick too. We went after the Chetah. Just as we approached another "jeep huddle", we noticed a gazelle stuck between its teeth - the chase had lasted 5 secs and this time even the target was camouflaged.

As we drove back to camp, the skies opened up, I put my legs up, used the dusty pillow, felt like the king of the jungle (minus the flies). The evening rains came on schedule. Back at the camp, we bid the goodbyes, tipped our friendly guides / drivers and grabbed more "Tuskers". I managed to catch a view of the beautiful Woodland Kingfisher by the banks of the Talek river from the restaurant. Our binoculars did come very handy!

At dinner, the Osero Sopia staff dressed up in their traditional Masai costumes, performed their "hoo-hoo" dance and their vertical jump pair offs. Vertical jumps are a great indicator of overall strength, and is critical part of attracting a bride!

Day 4 - Kwaheri Osero Sopia

We started the 6 hour drive on a big luxurious bus, at 9am, after saying our Kwa-heris (good-byes) to Nivia, Elija and Joseph and the friendly staff. Our Etihad flights only allowed carry on luggage - check-in, airports security, immigrations, customs, duty-free shopping, in-flight meals, lounges - offer an adventure in itself, esp. when you are traveling with a dozen kids - wait, do we have everyone with us.

As we get back to our concrete jungles, a tiny part of us is now alive to the bird calls - was this the Boubou?

Kwa-heri Kenya! Kwa-heri Masai Mara! Kwa-heri Osero Sopia!

Kodachadri Monsoon Trek

(N1's narration)

Kodachadri is a beautiful place and we were going to trek there. We were going to trek the Kodachadri hill, and we were going to see the Hidlumane falls. We were travelling with a group called the Charana.

We left home about 8 o'clock and took a taxi to the bus stand where our bus would be waiting for us with the rest of our group. The bus were supposed to come at 9:15, but it was delayed and came only at 10:15. When the bus finally came, the others were ready to sleep in the pushback seats of the bus.

We reached Kodachadri at about 8:30 the next day. As soon as we reached our home stay, we freshened up, changed, had a breakfast of idli and chitranna, and left for our trek. We walked on the road for about 10 minutes and then entered the broad forest of Kodachadri hill.

The sight we saw was mesmerising. The rain made it relatively harder for us to climb because the rocks were slippery and made it more challenging at one point. There was so much lush greenery. The whole experience of walking on the wood to avoid stepping into the slush was really fun. A few metres after we stepped into the slush, there was a river who was obstructing our path, and we had to cross this. This was really fun because our shoes got wet and the feeling was really amazing because the water was really cool.

Soon after, our journey finally reached the waterfalls. To reach the waterfalls, we had to climb using ropes. We had to hold on to ropes and be careful not to put a foot in wrong places. The falls was spectacular. We wore our raincoats and the water came up to our knees, and it was really refreshing and cool to be inside the waterfall. We looked at the gushing waterfall just a few metres above, and the sight left us in awe. The whole sight was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. After about 10 minutes, we removed our raincoats and continued on the journey towards the peak of the hills.

(P's narration)

Once we got wet in the Hidlumane waterfalls, the guide told us to climb the rock and wait there. While we were waiting, we had towels, so we rubbed ourselves. After that, we changed our clothes. The guide told us to move forward. While we were moving, we saw a rope. We tried to touch the rope but we could not reach it. So we let the guide go first. Once the guide reached there, he pulled the rope towards us. So it was easy for us to climb. What I felt was like I was rock climbing for a second. After that, we saw a valley but I could not see it fully because it was covered with mist. After that, while climbing, we waited to see which direction we should go in. While they were waiting, the other guide told us that they are going in the same direction, to go straight.

So while we were going, we saw a very narrow path. We were confused, there was no rope, how are we supposed to move forward? It was very hard. Our shoes were slippery because they got wet. It was very hard, so while we were crossing it, my leg slipped a little. So I held the rock behind me and started going. After that, we saw again a puddle of water that we could not avoid, so we again got wet in it. Our shoes got fully drenched. After that, when we were moving, we got lost for a second. We thought no one was there, but luckily, once we sat down there after a few minutes, a few people came. "Are you with a group?" "We don't know, we are trying to go to the peak." "Oh ok, where are we? We are also on the same side." "Are we going in the right direction?" He told, "Yes, you are, just move forward. And whenever we get a diversion, just stop. They would be there." So we went there. After going there, we stopped for a while to take rest because we were fully tired with the rain coming. Because of the coldness also, we got tired. After that, we started again moving, warming our legs, jogging. We started jogging again to warm our legs.

After that, we reached the road where many jeeps were going. We stopped to see where our other group members were. Once they came, we started clapping to appreciate them and to warm our hands. After that, the road was full of slush, and we could not go on any other side, so our shoes got stuck in the mud. It was very hard to pull it back, so it took a while to move. Once the road was not there, we again went in the sandy road. We saw a hill that we asked the guide if it was the peak point. They told "yes". So once we reached there, we screamed, "Yay, we reached the peak!" But the guide was joking. We had to go another hill. But because of the mist, we could not see which direction to go. So after a while we waited, we saw a narrow path. So we went through that.

Again we saw another hill. We asked, "Is this the peak?" We did not want to lose our enjoyment anywhere. They told, "No, it's another one." Like that, we kept going on and on. Another, another, another. "Is this the last one?" they told, "Yes, another hill. Just climb and you will reach the peak point." So while climbing, the road again got fully slushed. My shoes got stuck to the mud for a second, I could not remove it. I got fully tensed, but luckily, my cousin was behind me, so he pushed me forward, so my shoes came out. And I told that no one should go there or their legs would get stuck to it.

So after that, we saw a high plateau with no slush. It was hard mud, dry mud, so we climbed on that mud, and we went. Afterwards, when we went down, we saw a curve, we waited for our other cousins to come. We asked them, "Does anyone have food?" My cousin's mother told that "Yes, I have food." So we ate a little to fill our stomachs. After that, we kept going. After a few kilometers, everyone felt hungry again. They asked again, "Does anyone have food?" No one told they had because they did not have it. Luckily, my cousin N had food in his emergency kit. He had some dry fruits in it. So we ate the dry fruits to have some energy until we reached the peak. So once we started climbing, it went very cold because the rain did not stop, it kept raining and raining. So we were fully drenched. Our hands were fully white. We could not even feel a single thing.

Afterwards we finally reached the peak point, but it was not fully the peak. It was the first part of the peak. So we ate lunch in front of the temple. My plate still did not come. I got very tense for a second. I asked, "Does anyone have plates?" They told, "No, they are with my parents." So I waited, but I got very hungry, so everyone ate. My parents came. The guide told us that they had curd, rice, and pickle, it was very good.

(N2's narration)

Finally, we got a jeep. The organizer told that only 8 people can go in one jeep, but everyone came in and there were 14 people in the jeep. All of us were wet, cold, and shivering in the cramped place. There were 6 people in the back, 4 people in the middle, and 3 people including the driver in the front. The jeep started and then it was a downhill. The road wasn't a normal road. It was so bumpy. After some time, we came to a stop. When I looked in front, I saw another jeep which was trying to pass, but the road was small, so it couldn't. So we had to reverse, but we were too many people, so 3 people had to get down for the reversal. Once we reversed, the other jeep could go. No, it was not only one, it was 2, 3, 4, 5, it kept ongoing. After like 20 jeeps passed, we finally could go.

The bumpy trip continued and the view wasn't that good because there were many bushes. We could not see the other side. Many big bumps and all of us inside went up and down. Nothing happened to the jeep because it was a 4x4 drive. As we were going, my mother asked the driver if any of the jeeps have fallen to the other side because there was nothing on the other side. The driver said none of the jeeps till now has fallen to the other side because they believe that the mountain God saved them. We were almost down when the cold hit us. We again had to reverse. This time, it was not much. He went back hoping that there were not many jeeps. Luckily, there were not many. When we went down, we reached the checkpost. I was thinking I could go in front because I was in the back and it was very cramped, but we didn't even stop to get down.

After the checkpost, the bumpy roads stopped and there was a nice tar road. We were going fast and after a while, we reached the homestay. We were staying there. We quickly freshened up and me and my cousins were searching for a game to play. One of my cousins had a ring. We kept that on a table and we were blowing the ring from one side to another, making sure it doesn't fall on our side. After everybody came, the visitors arrived and people sang songs. We all slept early because we had the next day ahead of us.

(A's narration)

After a soulful sleep on Sunday morning, we got up around 6 o'clock, freshened up, did all the activities, ate breakfast, and started on the bus at around 8:30. We left for Shivagange. Shivagange was a starting place with a Kalyani and a temple in front. The Kalyani was believed to be built by Shivappanayaka. It was 5 feet deep with 5 other small pools connected to each other. The architecture is still not known to us. The water in the Kalyani was filled no matter what time of the year it was and what season it was. It also had a drain through which excess water overflowed. The cool waters had energised our entire day. After spending some time over there, we left to Nagara fort, which is also built by Shivappanayaka. The cool waters welcomed us to the location of the fort. Though the entire fort was almost in ruins, the lush green of the fort left us mesmerized. We walked towards a watchtower, where our fathers were explaining us about granaries and the treasury and the importance of soldiers at the watchtowers. As we came near a wall, we peeked through them to see how the entire Nagara was protected. On one side was a river, and all the rest were protected by hills. As we reached the watchtower, we could get a 360-degree view of the entire Nagara. This showed we could see how the soldiers could protect the entire Nagara even in times of war.

After spending about half an hour over there, we came down and left to Kuppalli, Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa's (Kuvempu) house and memorial. We had to buy tickets to enter his house and go to the memorial. The different furniture and utensils used by him and his family, the books, awards and the things he made and bought were all displayed in a very organized way. We could also see different rooms such as his study, the hall, and his bedroom. The house was in the midst of a calm environment with tall green trees surrounding the house. Then we left for the memorial, designed by Shiva Prakash. The path was designed with tall block stools in the form of gateways. As we entered the memorial towards our right were similar pieces of those blocks and towards our left were small meadow-like hills with short trees, which added to the beauty of the memorial.

As we moved a little forward, we could see Kuvempu's meditating spot. It had a calm environment, surrounded with green hills, which gave us a feeling of comfort, stress, positivity, and peace. We could see why Kuvempu chose that spot as his meditation area, and that place as his memorial. After spending about 1 hour, we came down and settled in our buses at about 3 o'clock where we reached a lunch area which is called "Shri Lunch Home." After eating and buying fruits from the nearby shop, we left our journey towards Bangalore, ending our adventurous trip.

Steps to Smiles 2025 - VSA Run

(In the words of N2...)
Last year I ran a 5k in Stonehill and my timing was 31:13 for the 5k. I told my father that i wanted to run better this year. So, I asked him if I could do it below 30mins. He said we have to start training. We used to train once or twice a week in Boulevard Park. The training was difficult because I had never done so fast and so long distances before. Finally, it was the day before the race.

Me and my father went for a recce to check the track. We didn't exactly know how it was, it was bit confusing, but we did as much as we could.

The next day we woke up at 6AM. Even my sister and my mother were running, my sister was not very serious about it, but she also wanted to finish.

When we reached GKVK, we had to collect the bib and the tee shirt. There was pre-race Zumba warmup and the race was supposed at 7:30. But then, it was 7:30 and the Zumba hadn't even started yet. My father and I skipped the Zumba and we were doing a warm up at the start line. My father met few older kids from our school and they were trying to run their 5k below 20mins. After sometime, it was time to start the race.

Start to 2km

When the race started, many people took off without knowing how long it would be. But we kept a steady pace and kept going. One of my classmate, Vishwa, wanted to run with me, but I told him, we would be running fast. He caught up to us in the start and was always just in front of us. He was looking over his shoulder and always trying to keep up with us. When we were finishing the 2nd km, he saw a few people walking and he started walking too. My father told me, those people will not last too long.

When we had started, I had a mild pain near my hip, but father kept telling, don't think about it. After sometime it went away.

2km to 4km

There was now a long straight stretch and not too many trees. We kept going, I was feeling ok, I had warmed up and we were on pace. We kept going, but I didn't realize I was talking at lot. Soon, there was a place where there were many trees, and there was slight uphill. There we caught up with one of my father's friend, he took a few pics and kept coming with us. I was trying to keep up, I was taking long steps and running.

In the downhill, my father told, if you can we should go fast. I tried going fsater.

Last 1km

When we came back near the start area, there was one last km to go. I tried going as fast as I could, by now we had finished 4kms in 21mins. I saw one of our old bus mates, Madura, she told go on, you can do it. This motivated me and I started picking up pace. At this point, I felt that my legs were moving on their own and I can't control them. I told my father, I won't be able to sprint in the end. But when we were there, there was small bump, when I going down the bump, my legs just kept going faster and faster and we crossed the finish line in 26m:41s

I felt happy that I completed the race. My father then went accompany my sister to the finish line. I watching the people who were finishing. Few of the 5th graders I know were finishing and I went to cheer for them.

We all had breakfast of chow-chow bath and banana. I was happy that I did the training and got good results.

(Ps: Pic and video credit Rohit, who is on his 251st consecutive HM)

Minchukallu Betta in a Coop

My guest editors for this post are my kids - Neha (12) and Navneet (9)

It was a pleasant Saturday afternoon when we reached the campsite.  We had travelled for two hours after eating lunch at home, mostly on a highway and about five minutes  on a Kutcha road.  We were the first ones to arrive at the farmhouse and had to open a number locked gate.

Soon we were inside, and luckily after about 15 minutes the other trekkers started trickling in.  When there were about 10 people who had arrived, our host Babu came by. He took us to a small room with stone steps leading to a terrace.

He placed a tarpaulin sheet on the ground and placed two bags of vegetables on it.  He asked the ladies to chop and clean the vegetables thoroughly, and they readily  started on the job.  There were many vegetables that had to be cleaned, like onions, carrots, tomatoes, coriander, chili and many more.

 Within minutes all the vegetables were cleaned and chopped, but unfortunately a small drizzle  dawned over the house  began and continued into a pouring rain. Thankfully Babu had a plan B. He took us into a chicken coop next to the house that had been emptied 15 years  ago and shifted all the cooking utensils and veggies inside.  Soon everyone had placed tarpaulin sheets on the ground and had settled in comfily.

 Within half an hour or so there was delicious chilli bhajji and steaming hot tea waiting for us. After the quick snack everyone settled for a game of Antakshari which continued for about  two  hours.  The only light that was there in the room was a blazing flakes of a fire on which cooked a tasty sambar, followed by a delicious potato sabji and chicken (of course not  the veggitarians) At about 8.30 the food was ready and everyone took plates and started piling it with tasty food including chapati and curd rice.  At about 9:30 everyone had finished eating and had cleared all the leftovers. Babu got us tents which we had no other option to put inside the chicken coop.

Soon there was a line of tents waiting to be filled with sleepy people. At about 10:30 everyone hit the sack and was ready to (maybe) have a successful sound sleep until  4 o'clock the next day.

(Editor's Note: Neha's section ends, Navneet's begins)

Unfortunately, no one had a good sleep since there were many noisy tents.  When we went out of the chicken coop, at 4 am the next morning, the trekkers who were going to the Channarayana durga trek were already ready to go.  There was also hot coffee.

 It was soon time for us to leave to MinchinKallu Betta near Tumkur.  We were 9 people including our guide, Babu. When we reached, it was as dark as a cave.

We immediately started climbing the 2 km trek up the hill.  It was very slushy because of the previous day's rain. We weren't wasting any time because we had to be on the top of the hill before  sunrise, which was the whole purpose of the hike.

We all had torches so we could see where we were walking. There were many rocks and stones which dotted our way up the hill.  Soon, the sun started peeping out of the clouds.

Babu, our guide, had gone back to get the people who were slow.  By mistake, we took a steeper path and then we had to come back down and go the right way.  We finally reached the peak of the hill.
The view  of the city below was breathtaking and I was speechless. We left our bags there and then we explored  around.

 We realized  that the place where we were sitting was actually very dangerous.  Luckily, nothing happened. We removed our shoes and rested on the smooth rocks.  After a while, we all slowly climbed down the hill.

 At the bottom of the hill, there were many mango trees, It was a mango farm.  There were a  few mangoes fallen on the ground. So, we picked them up.  After we went back to the campsite, we cut the mangoes, They were delicious. After we had a breakfast of dose, idli, sambar, chutney, we all said bye and took our leave of the the campsite.  on the way home, we reflected how amazing  the trek and camp was.
The End.