Kodaikanal Hills Ultra 130km

"Behind every woman who finishes an ultra are many men who support her in that journey!!"

This post would start by thanking each one of those – Deepayan for the strength he gives me with his strong belief that his wife can complete any epic challenge she takes up and to bear with the boredom and nervousness when I am out running, my running buddies who encourage and support me in my training esp Shshank and Princy, to the ultra runners, all of whom I met for the first time during the run, and who ensured that I had company all through the run especially as large part of the run was through desolate quiet jungle areas – Sathish from Trichy, Vijay, Srivatsal & Ram from Banglore, Vikram from Chennai, Satpal from Chandigarh and Ram from Jaipur.

I am not getting into the whys of doing this run, of taking a 5hr flight and then driving 4hours for the 130kms from Madurai to Kodai for a 130km Ultra run, it was just meant to be. This was a CTC event and having heard good things about the many events they organize, I was looking forward to the experience.

The run had a lot of “firsts” for me. 1. This was my first 100k + run. 2. It was my first self-supported run (with aid stations 7-12km apart and drop bag available at 60k I had to carry things for the way). 3. It was my first ultra with a night leg on the roads (for those who know me, know that I am just not comfortable running in the dark). So this was not just unchartered territory but uncomfortable territory as well.

 

But there I was, at 3 am on a cold Saturday morning, at Kodaikanal International School, under a star spangled sky with a full moon, along with 110+ more runners to start my 24 hr journey in the hills of Kodai. The 130km distance had an elevation gain of 3500m+ and that by then was not my major worry. At the expo, group of CTC runners who had done the recee, asked us to also watch out for the bisons. I remembered them as wild buffalos but subsequent googling and looking at pictures of that animal had me quite disturbed !!!! Anyways, at the start we were all requested to stay in groups and given instructions on what to do if we spot a bison – lights out, stay Calm and let the animal pass – easy said than done !!

 

I covered the 130km distance in 26 hours but in those hours I collected memories for the lifetime. I will post my detailed race report later withh full details on check Point to check point stretch, but let me summarise my race as follows :

 

1.      Long Uphill Stretches – This run has only uphill sections. You will say what? Okay some downhill stretches as well. But I will remember this run for its long uphill stretches – 6km, 8km, 10km of long, continuous, torturous and never ending climbs up the hill some part of it over rocky, hard muddy paths. This was besides the many smaller inclines on teh rolling hills. The beauty around – the soft grassy patches, the streams, the tall eucalyptus tree lined roads, the greenery – could not make me forget the pain of climbing those inclines. For sure there were no flat sections – so it was either walk up the hills or run down on the hills and which in the second half of the run was only walking whether up or down. The 3500m+ of elevation gain was clearly felt by my legs !! 

 

 

2.   Ultra running community – The most selfless and grounded set of people are the ultra runners. They may be in pain themselves but would stop and check on you if you so much as even sit and rest by the roadside, share the last gulp of their water when you finish yours, forget their own timing targets and pace to accompany you for the entire stretch. I have run all my ultras alone so far and that day I had someone or the other for company for the entire 130km / 26hrs on the track. It was fun. We laughed, we cursed, we enjoyed the scenery around and also prayed together (though each silently) to be rescued !!! I met some great ultra runners from Chennai, Bangalore and Pune and learnt about the ultra running scene down south.

 

3.      Beauty of the jungles – We ran the first 25km and the last 40km in the dark. To be running / walking in those jungles under a star spangled sky on a full moon night is an experience in itself. One minute you may be in your own thoughts and enjoying the silence and then suddenly a slight rustle of the leaves and you would skip many heart beats together!!! Not a soul for the many kms ahead or behind you. And then, to watch those wide green valleys in the rising and the setting sun is breathtaking. I prefer road running and since most of this run (about 80%) was on tarmac for me it was the best of the world – getting to see the nature so up close and yet not be on a trail.

 

4.      Murphy’s Law always works – This whole “be careful around a bison” thing had me very nervous. And because of my tantrums that I will not move till we get some volunteers to accompany us, we were the only group who got an escort for almost 25km through the jungle area in the night. The others did too but for much shorter stretches of 3-4km which were through the Forest reserve area. And the law never fails – as soon as the last of those escorts left us, gave us a green signal to go ahead that no more bisons, we met the mighty beast !!!!!!!!

 

5.      Meeting the bison – Its an encounter you don’t want when you have been running for almost 23 hours, in the middle of nowhere on a cold night and don’t have a network signal on your phone (we did finally get a BSNL phone to work – so a learning that if you are in the jungles carry a phone with a BSNL network). This was just 500m from where the last of our bike escort left us. One of the 5 in our group was walking fast and about 100m ahead of us and at a slight bend in the road we heard him shout “Lights out”, “Watch out” and we knew we have some special company, and saw the mighty animal slowly crossing the road and sitting down on the right side of the road !!! How our friend escaped and warned us at the same time is another matter. With lights switched off and slowly without making a noise, prayers in our heart, we walked back to quietly sit at one of the stone bench and began our wait for the animal to move… But half an hour later and shivering from the cold and also scared that sitting here we are more exposed to another one, we decided to make an attempt to cross the animal. Gathering our strength, in a line, we slowly started moving towards it when suddenly one of us whispered “It just looked this way” and back we came running. And this time all the way to a small hut, where we expected a forest guard to be there. He was there but refused to help us cross !!! And so with that saviour BSNL Phone we finally called the organisers to send a vehicle. In the meanwhile, the next group of runners joined us to wait for the vehicle. Finally 1-1/2 hours later, with a vehicle in front of us, the cautious and tired gang of 9 started the run / walk for the final stretch to the finish line. What a story to remember for the life time. (The organsiers agreed to adjust our timing for this 1-1/2hr spent here!!)

 

6.      Finish – The finish line in a race is the most awesomest place on earth esp in an ultra run !! 26hrs from when I started I was back in the school grounds, but with memories that will stay with me forever!!!

 

In the end, what changed - I am more confident of doing a self supported run but I still don’t like running in the dark, I have lived to tell the tales of my first 130km run in the hills of Kodai but will have to spend more time convincing the hubby to let me go for another adventure !!

But I know I will…….

My Comrades Race 2014

 I started road running and long distance running in 2010. By 2013, having done many HMs, a couple of marathons and a 50k ultra, I was itching for a challenge and with that I got bitten by the Comrades bug. But by the time I made a serious self commitment, the registration date was over for the 2013 run. To make up for this lost opportunity I signed up for the 50mile (80km) race at Bhatti Ultra event in Oct 2013. In hindsight, it was a good decision to have done that long an ultra run at home turf – it gave me the confidence that I can be on my feet for 13 hours.

 

On Nov 30th – last date for Comrades registration – nervous and anxious I took the plunge and registered. That was the start of the tough part of convincing family and training for the race. I had great support from my running group Ultrons and the group made sure I had running partners for each of my long hilly training runs sacrificing their personal time as the Jan- May period is typically a non- running season. With confidence from my last few super training runs, I was at the start at Pietermaritzburg at 5.30 am on June 1st, 2014. The weather was perfect. The only other important thing was getting the nutrition right to be able to sustain 12hrs on feet. I decided to have coke every alternate aid station, water as soon as the lips felt dry and gels every 10km. And thankfully the plan worked beautifully.

 

After the traditional singing of the SA national anthem, Shosholosha and the instrumental Chariots of Fire, the gun went off. It took me 9 minutes to reach the start as I was way at the back in Wave G. The first 1-1/2 hr was in the dark but not lonely. It was like a running rally. I also heard the bagpipers playing and enough locals along the route cheering us on. And somewhere running in that dark, we crossed the first of the big hills – Polly Shorts. I was told that the race has 5 big hills along the way. Far from the truth. There were 5 big hills and numerous smaller but tough climbs. From the beginning I decided to run up 1/4th of the hill, slow down for the next half and walk the rest of the hill. That’s a different thing that by the time we hit the 4th big hill, I was so tired doing the up-down on that undulating terrain that I was walking 3/4 of the hills. We were still herded together till almost mid way point so much so that the overtaking all through the route, the zig zaging made me run almost 750m more by the time I reached the finish. I reached the 40km mark quite strong, chit-chatting with the runners, high fives to young kids, waving at the crowds, supporting and being supported. And that’s when the mighty Inchanga came in – almost 2 kms of uphill, before an equal drop to the midpoint. It had a beautiful sight of the valley and so I decided to slow down, did a run-walk and enjoy the sight. You don’t try and race the Inchanga… never !!! Reaching the mid-point at Drummonds was really encouraging – Loud music, great crowds !! My next target was 58k as I had my family waiting for me there. But to get there I had to climb out of Drummonds with a 5km uphill to Bothas Hill – deadly stuff!!! So it was back to more of walk less of run, chit chat and just thinking of the finish line that made me reach the top of Bothas.. But for what – a non-stop very steep downhill which went on and on and on…but familiar faces at 58k mark was encouragement enough to continue running- it was just 31k more to go. By this time I had determined not to stop at all – stopping will not make my pain go away but each step forward will take me to the finish line.

 

I soon reached the outskirts of Durban and was overwhelmed and encouraged by the “go team India go” shouts – people brining in food, water asking me about my health etc.. And cheering me with “you are looking good” !!! The crowd support all along the way with medicines, food, water, coke and water hoses for quick showers!!!(it turned very warm in the afternoon) was SUPER !!!! But before the finish, I had another big hill at the 71km mark – Cowies Hill. Arrrgh .. I just put my head down and walked / jogged quietly up. A km long hill.. Not very steep but so far into the race and after taking a beating on the downhill, this one sets you straight. Beyond that there were some short steep hills and it had turned warm, so I had to stop at each aid station for coke/ water now. That slowed me down quite a lot. I crossed the last of the inclines with 5km to go and from there it was just running slow and steady to the finish. At the 88km mark near the stadium, I called up family to tell them I am close to the finish line and they should be ready to receive me. And to the shouts of India, India, and Rashmi Rashmi, I entered the stadium, crossed the finish line and claimed my first Comrades medal, finishing in 11:13:56. At the finish, the race director caught me and among other things asked me “will we see you next year” “oh yes!” I replied in an excited delirious state… Hmmmmm. Will I? It takes a lot out of you – the training, the planning, the race.. So will have to see.. But for now I am a Comrade!!!