Sneha Ultra 50k 2026 - A report

If you ran the Anandayana run in 2010, in the trails off Sarjapur road in Bangalore, you would have seen the 10yo kids from the school run alongside with gay abandon. You touched their lives.

Those kids have grown up today, in their 20s and they are giving back! They organized the first edition of the Sneha Ultra 50k yesterday.

The cause

While their energy and enthusiasm for running has remained untarnished, their lives have got no easier. These youths are now brimming with confidence. Their hardwork, discipline and diligence has taken them to good jobs, and a means of livelihood. But challenges remain - because of their vulnerable backgrounds, no insurance is coming forward to cover them for any medical mishaps.

They are doing what they know best - they are working on it. Step by small step, they are approaching hospitals, Shenadham and others, creating a co-operative fund for about 100 of them, pooling in their monthly savings to generate a corpus of about 75lakhs.

The Sheha Ultra 50k was their first fund raising event.

I packed this into a busy schedule, and decided to take me family along. My kids were sporting enough to take up the challenge to cycle along the 50k course. So off we went on a Saturday, 2 bikes in the rack, and no expectations.

The campus

Snehagram is about 100kms from Bangalore, off Krishnagiri. When we reached there we were first ones to arrive. The campus of Snehagram and Rishi foundation in the St. Camillus Church was pristine - bougainvillaea flowers adorned the gates.

We settled down in our rooms, just before dinner, all runners and volunteers assembled for a briefing - the objective of the trust, some experience sharing about how running has transformed the life of these youth, the course (25k x 2 loops - all right turns + 1 U turn), the aid stations, etc.

The 50k was supposed to start with about a dozen runners at 5:15AM. There was steady incessant rain through the night, visibility was poor. We eventually started at 6AM, there was plenty of sandwiches and coffee to go around to keep us busy.

Snehitaru from Sneha Run

I quickly made friends at the front with Rama who was running his first 50k and with our pilot bikers - Dileepan and Balaji. The rains continued to fall for about an hour - socks were wet in no time. But as daybreak came, the spectacular vistas came to light - the paddy, marigold fields, plantations, the forest cover and the hills bringing up the horizon, the crisp air, the fragrances filled our senses.

The water stops were at strategic points - key turn off or to break the long stretches, with 2 volunteers from Snehagram, clapping, cheering and offering to help. Chikkis, dates, fruit, salt, electral, water handed out with smiles - no way we weren’t stopping for this indulgence.

Between water stops, grand vistas and running stories, Rama and I rolled the miles in. The first loop 25.5k came in about 2h:25m. The even watchful coach, Santhosh gave us a stern warning to not overdo the pace. (Did he not say this in Anadayana in 2010 as well??)

Kids were doing alright too - my wife had jumped on a borrowed bike and was keeping up with them. They had volunteered to sweep the 10k runners and were all set for the 25k loop - the most they have biked ever. The chikkis and the fruit cake at the aid stations kept them going too.

Rama and I, were matching stride to stride, we were bracing ourselves for a difficult second loop. But the slopes were kind, my knee held up and somehow we got to the 40k without issues, in about 3:55. Rama kept reminding me that “this” was the last stretch - there were a few of those last stretches.

A mild drizzle started to keep us (and my wet socks) company for the last 10k. At the end, we sprinted up to to the bougainvillea gate matching strides. It had taken us 5h:05m of gratitude, sneha and self-reflection.

Breakfast, high-fives, 50k winner plaque presentation followed.

The energy, the vibe, the cause - left us wanting for more! Snehagram, Sneha Ultra - we will be back!