The above image captures a lot what I experienced on 23rd November 2024 in Mallandaru, Chikmagalur. The blue, yellow ribbons tied to coffee plantations were the route markers showing way to the runners through the coffee trails.
Me and my 3 running buddies took off from Mumbai on Thursday 21st Nov late evening to land in Bengaluru. After staying overnight, we started our 6 hour drive to Chikmagalur - the heartland of Indian coffee!! Soon we were at Estate Cafe, Malnad to collect our running bibs.
This was our first trail event experience and so were surprised to see sub-1000 runners registered across all categories (~550 in 30km, ~320 in 50km and ~70 in 100km). So far, our experiences were tens of thousands crowding the bib collection venues of multiple city marathon events plus the numerous shoes, apparels, health stuff being sold to the wannabe runners at the kiosks. Here we were given just a running bib, one gel and thats it !! What's in a goodie bag anyways !!?
More surprise awaited us next day early morning when we joined all fellow runners at start point.. No loud music, zumba sessions, cheerleaders etc etc which is the mainstay at any city event. Thats when it hits you that 'this is serious running' !! Be prepared to be on your own as you go about the route, with no one cheering you enroute other than fellow runners.
Malnad Ultra 2024 was in its 8th edition and we chose this one to debut into trail running as it is regarded as one of the premier endurance races in India. While Aditya decided to wet his feet with 30km category, the other three (Pramod, Ajit and I chose to take a bath registering for 50km). Most of our trail practise runs were on Yeoor Hills Thane which also offered a similar trail route experience at a lower altitude.
A glimpse of the map route was put out at the start point which showed the ups & downs that we had to navigate over the next 8-9 hours.
Kilometres 0:00- 3:00 (100m decline)
~330 runners gathered at the starting point with hydration backpacks, few with hiking poles, smeared with insect repellent (against leeches) and sunscreens. When we reached around 6:25 am, the 100km runners were just about to embark on 20-22 hour spiritual journey !! Once they had started, the 50km gang took their spot as the organisers gave a quick briefing of dos & don'ts, aid station locations etc. We had 10 hours to run/jog/walk/crawl (😁) the 50km to earn our badge of glory !! We had our mathematics sorted out - "Keep running 6.5 km every hour (i.e 9-10 mins per km) to ensure we finish sub-8 hours"...
..but as they say, 'Man proposes, God disposes' !! Very soon mathematics stopped working and it became a battle of 'mind over heart'.. more on that later in the blog...
For now, when the flag went off at 7 am, we started and the first 3 km were a breeze..in addition to our enthusism, energy, we also had a gradual decline of 100m which we enjoyed.... till we didn't !!
Kilometres 04 to 08 (270m incline, 150m decline)
At the end of 3rd km, we entered the first coffee plantation at 3250 ft elevation, and then the next 3.5 kms, we were climbing up the hill. It was an elevation of over 250m most of it spent walking.
We had our first aid station which was well stocked with oranges, lemon, salt, chikki, electral water, bananas etc. a refreshing break.
After this refreshing break, came the heartbreak decline... The 8th km had a sharp 140m decline on concrete roads. This was torture for the knees and difficult to jog/walk.
Kilometres 09-17 (280m incline)
Kms 18-21 (170m decline)
Kms 22-26 (120m incline , 150m decline)
The next 18 kms were test in resilience as we went on rolling hills through the plantations, jeep track trails and paved roads till we reached our mid-way checkpoint at 26th km. Ajit and I had made it so far in 4:50 minutes of road-time, so mathematically we were well within our calculated 10min/km marker. Happily we took some photos & messages for sharing with our family/friends back home !!
The half-way checkpoint made us heave a sigh of relief as we dug into some peanut-butter bread slices, fruits, refueling hydration bottles, applying Relispray to the worn-out muscles etc.
At this point, the 50km route split from the 30km who would go on to finish the balance 4 km leaving the 50km runners to brave out the balance 24 km (the worst was yet to come!)
Kilometres 27-34 (210m incline, 120m decline
The torture of the rolling hills continued, steep inclines testing your quadriceps and steep declines to test your calf muscles. The only positive in this phase was the green cover in most places. We were going through thick foliage, coffee plantations & some flowing waterbodies which were pleasing to the eyes.
I have to a brief pause here as I type this !! Phew ! So it goes!
The villainous trail now amped the antics to the next level. We were greeted with this sight somewhere in 35th km.
We first laughed at the sight of the steep hill, but soon the laughter subsided & were replaced by 'oohs & aahs' !!
350m incline from KM 35 to 39
These 4-5 km were the defining moment where it was pure human grit v/s the monstrous mountain.. we climbed and climbed and climbed some more, but it kept growing in front of our eyes.
Yashswi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were our saviours here giving us so much needed solace as they kept batting and scoring against the mighty Australians in Test 1, Day 2 India-Australia Border Gavaskar Trophy !!
We kept walking for almost 1:15-1:20 mins to reach back down for some refreshments at the 39th km. Our battered legs got some more Relispray, and our stomach some salt, oranges & chikkis as Ajit and I started our last 11 km stretch.
Last walk of fame !!
By the 42nd Km, we had descended most of the elevation gains from KM 35-39, as we may have reached about the same level as we started with. The problem with the declines were the stretches where the villagers had concretised the roads to enable their vehicles a smooth drive. These were not what a runner needed as it's very difficult for the knees and lower back as compared to natural trails.
My legs had almost lost its zeal to live on and the previously encountered knee injury was causing more pain. Special shoutout to my running buddy Ajit who motivated and pushed me to finish this last 8 kms which had its own share of rolling hills.
I took the opportunity to click few photos of the beauty around - lush green fields, lovely water streams in the backdrop of green hills & open blue skies.
The last 2 kms was again through another coffee plantation, post which I heard someone mentioning '100 metres to go'!!
Finally, it's all done !!
I had done it.... 8:30 hours on the road/trail... I am now officially an Trail Ultra-marathoner !! Got the Buckle (not a Medal like other events), took some self-congratulatory photos, before digging into some food!!
It was an awesome experience, full of pain but at the end of the day, in my opinion, all that matters are :
1) Strong recovery : the fact that I am alive (mentally & physically) and writing this blog day-after the run is testament that I am alright !
2) Sense of achievement : I used to be in awe of the ultra runners listening to their experiences in the wild. Now I am happy to have done atleast my first run.. there are many more such trails out there, but the best one is always the first one !!
3) Social accolades : Last but not the least, as I type, I have counted some 50+ Strava kudos/comments & many more likes on Meta universe (FB, Insta & Whatsapp).
Aur kya chahiye!! To re-word Dr Rustom's old Papa in Munnabhai MBBS movie, "Trail run karvanu, juice peevanu, majani life" 😊😊
Cheers !!
Sunil
P.s. - Hoping to see some more love in form of feedback in the Comments section below too !! 😁
