Prathima's Miles & Milestones

Standing tall, their peaks kissing the sky, the majestic mountains loom over the landscape, reflecting the cloud shadows, a silent testament to the challenges awaiting those who dare to venture into the world of ultra-running. Mountains are daunting and intimidating at first sight.

But then when it comes to ultra running, we bow to touch the ground to ask permission or rather ask for forgiveness before we step on with our feet onto the mighty mountain so that we cause no harm to the epitome of beauty amidst nature. The bib collection was like a fresh breeze with placards of the race categories. I felt grounded & just held my bib with big dreams in my mind. I came mentally prepared for a DNF as well because there are many more races, & attempts. In a technical terrain like Malnad which qualified for ITRA world ranking, participation & lessons hold high grounds.

The race day vibes were electric, buzzing with an amalgamation of nervous anticipation, contagious excitement, and an undeniable sense of camaraderie among the runners, all set against the backdrop of anticipation and determination. Runners wearing their hydration bags, smearing the insect repellant on to the skin (Odomos, eucalyptus oil, etc), some having their dry fruits religiously, some warming up, some clicking pictures beside the posters & visualizing the medal in their hands. I never knew Hajmola could substitute salt tablets. The cut-offs have been brutal in every category be it 30k, 50k, or even 100k. It is a race of survival. I could recognize only a few as I’m still a newbie in the ultrarunning community.

Some recognised me at the start line & it felt good as it was mostly a new crowd for me. I was just wondering the mindset of ultra runners would be so strong that I need to improve on.

The initial 5k was very difficult. Both the elevations & incline were totally new to me. Could barely walk. Had to pick up a fallen branch, use it as the grip, & move ahead. I thought it might be a DNF at this point. (Did Not Finish). There were slogans that said “Do not look up”, that tempted me to look up & I almost panicked. But I knew what I signed up for. Calmed myself & took the next step. Felt slightly better as my mind & body were coping up.

I was wishing for downhills hoping that I’d cover the timing I lost in the climbs. Then to my surprise, downhills were extremely steep. No grip even if I stepped the foot carefully. It was scarier than uphills because one wrong step & I’d skid down the slope full of gravel & stones plus more over nobody could even help as it’d drag me certain km! There were a few stretches were there was nobody ahead of me or behind me. My heart was pounding. Even if I had a fall, it’d at least take an hour for the help to reach out to me. Just like the tagline of the race was “Its you, the God, & the mountains”. Literally felt this line. The initial few moments of loneliness felt divine. But later on, it got lonely. We are human & socialising is innate to us. Lurking in danger, the waiver form which we filled up, also to save myself from the sweeper vehicle which picked up the left-out runners pushed to saying — “One step at a time, Prathima — You can do it”. Clearly, ultras are not for mentally weak or scared people.

I carried on, saying I can do it all through the back-to-back uphills & downhills. No mercy at all. Some stretches took a 25-mins to pass by. On average it took me anywhere between 12–15 mins each kms. I kept doing the math in my mind to keep it occupied. Like they say an idle mind is to a devil’s workshop. The strategy I initially had in mind was 7 km in the first hour. 5 itself was a big deal. The cut-off was 6 hrs & 30 mins. I considered only 6 hrs to be on the safer side. The Product manager in me doesn’t allow me to do any calculations without adding a buffer 🙂 My final strategy was to cover 10 km for every 2 hours up to 6 hours.

The aid stations were for every 8 kms which took 2 hrs for me. I sipped my energy gels, and water from my water bottle. I was happy to see some humans in the aid station! The salted peanuts were so tasty. It tasted like cashews to me. Grabbed an orange & left. This gave me some confidence that I could do it. I finally reached the 15 km mark & was jumping in joy. Mission half-accomplished. After having tasted half the course, I said bring it on, but I won’t give up. I had honestly never worked this hard both mentally & physically in my lifetime.

I spotted colourful flowers, a lot of spider webs, shades of lush greenery, steep valleys, uneven terrain, gravel, sharp turnings, you can say it and I’ve seen it. Nature is both beautiful & wild. You respect it, it respects you. It was coffee & pepper plantations. We order coffee with a tap of a button or sitting in a cafe so easily. I could feel how difficult it was. I saw many women workers with huge boots & hair covered to protect themselves from leeches picking up the coffee beans which were ripened. Watching the kids growing up in such terrain, off the internet completely was mind-blowing. They were using some sharp objects which made noise. It made me safe that there were humans around. In certain places, there was huge machinery harvesting coffee. The fresh winds on my face felt great.

At last, after a never-ending infinite loop of running uphills & downhills, it was close to 6 hours & my heart was racing. I was 1 km late than my calculations. To cover up, I put more effort, and more cadence while walking. Some downhills were doable so obviously ran & I did take a pause. I was scared that after all these efforts I did not want to miss the medal. I even ran on tired legs & fell down leading to bleeding knees. But I had to get up & get going—no time to cry or feel the pain. Last 2 km & I could see the road after such a long time. I was super happy & ran in my 7 pace & made up for the missed out time. I could not spot the finish line & was anxious but to my surprise again found uphills which slowed down. It was past 6 hours. I saw a glimpse of some humans & finally made it to the finish line at 6 hrs, 6 minutes. A picture & then many spotted my knees bleeding. It had almost dried. It felt surreal, & literally on top of the world for finishing it within the cut-off.

I was so proud of myself that I survived. It was literally survival of the fittest in these races. The self-confidence! If I can do it, I can do anything in life, no matter what obstacles come to me. It was a strong self of self-worth which I never wish to let go of. I’d love to enrol more ultras moving ahead. I will trek & even train better to do my next ones. You’ll know how strong you are until you go through tough situations is my learning from this experience. It was all worth it. The Maldnad Ultra 30k medal is worth all of my 60–80 medals summed up haha.