Another Ultra Experience

Training with discipline, remembering that with no pain comes no gain,
Another trail run, Malnad 30k this time round, so here we go again!
Running along the beautiful and incredibly challenging Malenadu hills,
where negotiating rocks, running cartoonish downslopes are your regular thrills!
Going past greenery, the trees, streams and coffee estates, an amazing fun,
Alongside great athletes, it was one of the toughest races that I have ever run.
20K at Hennur Bamboo Ultra, 15K at Ooty and now this Malnad 30K,
Trail running and walking is a great experience; there is so much to take away!

The Plot: Ever since Anirudh, the ultra-running champ in our residence community mentioned about Malnad Ultra, it became a dream, a goal to compete at that event. Malnad, after all, always has had a special place in my heart, ever since I heard about it, when I was much younger – so much fascination that I wanted to get into Malnad College of Engineering at Hassan. I didn’t end up there, but Malnad lingers on in my mind. The name Malenadu comes from the Kannada words “Male” (hill or rain) and “Nadu” (land), which means either “Hill country” or “Land of rain”, which perfectly describes the region’s geography, the greenery and the rains. I registered for the Nov.22nd run, a 30K this time, a massive upgrade from the 15K I ran at Ooty, and half Marathon at the Wipro Bangalore Marathon that happened this year. Anirudh mentioned that running 30K on the hills would amount to full marathon on road. hmm, Great!

Training: Marathon superstar Kipchoge says, “No human is limited – if trained well“. We can possibly do anything, but we need to train for it. We did couple of trips to Nandi hills in the month of November, to do some stair climbing. Once, I walked up and down twice (each loop taking 1 hour each), the second time I climbed up/down three times. This probably laid a solid foundation for the trail climbing part.

We also went to Jarakabande forest park – Avalahalli for trail running twice, and trail walking a week before the race. I must say that was a real good trail and a great preparatory experience for me.

And then of course, our residential community is blessed with a nice hilly terrain, which we used it to the max as part of our Malnad training. Thrice a week, sometimes 5K, sometimes 10K, even 15K, since couple of months, only doing the uphill/downhill runs. Anirudh recommended lot of walking closer to the race day and that helped a lot. Confidence also came from the Wipro Half marathon that I completed on September 21st. Mentally and physically I felt ready!

The experience: With around 700 athletes running the 30K category, the starting point was quite slow moving. Initial kilometer or so was a downhill, and my silly mind wondered “Ah, trail running is not so difficult at all“. It was not long before the real ultra experience started – forcing us up and down with steep climbing where the mind gets more challenged than the body. Steep descent where I ran like a cartoon character (picture taking small footsteps at high speed!) – just to ensure not to fall. While the body and mind were going through a lot, the eyes were enjoying it all – the lush greenery of plants and trees, deep reddish-brown colors of the soil, the majestic hills, beautiful streams of water. This seemed like an extreme case of Shinrin Yoku (Japanese term for forest bathing), for folks who loved nature, running and mental fitness. With aid and water stations pitched every 6-7 kms or so, we were always covered for hydration and quick fueling – pampered even. What I loved the most was the locals, mostly very young kids, standing on the sides, cheering up the athletes, some showing up their palm for a “high five”. I think nothing happens without the wholehearted support of the local community, and it was a testament of this fact. Cheers and support from volunteers encouraged us along the way, and we got awarded with an interesting belt buckle at the finishing line. Some stretches, breakfast and lot of retrospection followed.

Take Aways: Mind-blowing experience would be an understatement. I didn’t realize at the time of running and immediately after, but I now realize what an incredible experience it has been. Heartfelt gratitude to the organizing team and the volunteers for having done a brilliant job, it’s not easy to arrange the logistics on the hills, with the ever-lingering uncertainty of rains and damp weather. Exploring mountains, as I have noted, is always a humbling experience. For our execution part, luckily, everything went as planned. But then, we were also prepared to get lucky. Training discipline, being around with encouraging and positive minded folks was very important. The human body can endure a lot. At some point during the run, my mind just switched off or gave up rather. The body was on its own, doing its thing, probably this is what we mean by listening to our body. Taking up bigger challenges and testing the endurance is what the human body has evolved into, and the ultras are a great opportunity to train our bodies and minds in that direction. I now look forward to more ultras, more kilometers and more challenges, I am loving it.