Never run alone!

Never run alone! 

When entering an 80 km race, you know you are going to be out there in the trail for a while. During that time, your mind will take you to places you have not explored before.

That is one of the reasons people take on such a challenge. Running becomes your spiritual guru.

One striking difference between the road races and ultras is that there is no shoulder-to-shoulder running for most parts of the ultra.

So here is something I have for you. For the Malnad ultra (80km category), I was by myself for probably all but the first 5k of the race. Runners went ahead, left behind right from the 5k mark when we entered the trails and after 1 km all disappeared into the thick jungle.

For the rest of the 12-13-hour race, I saw few souls again in that tropical forest and vast coffee gardens. Literally Just complete loneliness...

That is the moment when you get to be with your thoughts and internal chatter.

Our thoughts create our reality. When you feel good, you see the beauty of it all, the environment, the volunteers, the wilderness of nature.

And let me tell you that, this is the most difficult ultra I have ever run. Such extreme conditions, the never-ending elevations, Mud, slushy trail, leech bites & smashed legs. When you feel bad, you go to some really dark places in your mind.

During the course of the day, I had moments of immense gratitude and times of doubt. That is the pendulum of thoughts. However, I never felt alone.

Even though I was by myself, whenever I felt lonely or when negative, unhelpful thoughts occurred I had a trick up my sleeve.

'Dedicate Your Miles' was my strategy. It helps you to catch yourself going in a downward spiral of thoughts. What I did was whenever I felt troubled by my thoughts, I dedicated the section that I was on to a person that I have a connection.

There is of course, first and foremost my family. But you can extend it to family and friends, basically whoever you feel a connection with.

So even though I was by myself for the entirety of the race, I ran together with few guys Rajesh who was doing 110 KM category, met Sujith who was attempting his first 50 km + category, Sandeep and Rahul few others in a few sections, and segments.

Let me name the people to whom I dedicated the miles.

I ran with Prashant Hegde and Mahesh who were supposed to run New York Marathon this Sunday and their enthusiasm is contagious. And as I write this they are running this world Major!
I ran with Naghma, thinking of "All the miles I ran with her from past these many months over the weekend, which I love to do, I am sure she knows it ;)".
I ran with Movin, who is attempting a Half in Mumbai, trust me I had to convince him a lot for this :P
I ran with Sapna, who ran a great race in Bengaluru Marathon against all odds!
I ran with Jai Thomas who supports and encourages my passion for this beautiful sport called Running.
I ran with Smita, who ran a great Berlin race just a month ago and is a gem of a person.
I ran with Sushant and Arun. The Hegde trio including Prashant.
I ran with Subodh, who never ceases to inspire me.
I ran with Ravanan, who always stays positive and inspires others to do the same.
I ran with Nirupama, her never-give-up attitude inspires me always. 

I ran with Bhaskar, my childhood friend, Are we not like two volumes of one book?
I ran with Rajesh & Navaneeth who were running the 110 km category and I was rooting for them and honestly, they are the reason I didn't give up.  I ran with Shriram Bhai, Mark, Rajkumar, Shripad, Sandhya, Juri, Neelanjana, Gerald (my mentor and guru in running), Salim Bhai, Supriya, and many more.

Dedicating your miles made it feel like it was a celebratory reunion and an instant boost of morale away from negative chatter.

Reaching the finish line was a big achievement for me as it felt like I've started to get the hang of this ultra-thing. This was my 2nd 70+km run and although I know I can do better still, I feel that I am on the right track (or trail).

In the end, I conquered my physical pain over my mind and finished this grueling race of 80 km.

Here is the picture of the hard-earned Medal of 80 km category (It is a buckle)

Trail lonely trail. 

After finishing the race 

Small lake somewhere amidst the forest

Ridges 

Trail across the coffee estates