Conquering the known-unknown: Unplanned 100-Miler at Hennur Bamboo Ultra 2023

When I stood at the starting line of the Hennur Bamboo Ultra on October 27th, 2023, I embarked on a journey that would redefine my limits — a race that wasn’t just about covering miles, but about pushing boundaries in unexpected ways.

This wasn’t my first foray into the realm of 100-mile running. Having conquered the 100 miler at the challenging desert course from Jaisalmer to Longewala in December 2021(Hell Race Border Ultra 100 Miles) , I knew what to expect from a gruelling 100Miler. This race held its own set of surprises and tests mainly because I haven't covered much miles in last 1 year. However, I was still maintaining my 3 runs a week routine but the run distances were mostly short, like 10KM and 10miles.

Unlike the expansive landscapes of my previous 100-mile endeavour, the Hennur Bamboo Ultra presented a unique challenge—a 10Km loop course during day time and an unforgiving 1KM loop at night (due to forest area restrictions). What followed was running this 1KM loop throughout the night - an extraordinary test of mental fortitude. I looped 111 times covering 111KMs which is close to 70% of my race distance — a testament to adaptability and perseverance in the face of challenging circumstances.

I am not unfamiliar with running throughout the night, having run that way on 3 previous occasions, my first 100Miler, Stadium Run and 10hour run self-supported run while preparing for Khardung-la challange)

The decision to transition from initial thought of a 100-kilometer race to challenging myself with 100 miles wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment choice. It was a conscious effort to delve deeper into the reservoirs of my strength, to test the limits of my endurance and mental tenacity.

As a seasoned ultrarunner, I had experienced the rigors of such races, but this one was different. With minimal practice leading up to the event, each step of the way demanded unwavering determination and mental resilience.

This race held profound personal significance—it marked my second 100-mile endeavour, a milestone in my ultrarunning journey. Moreover, it was a symbolic return to the ultra racing circuit after embracing the beautiful chaos and joy of fatherhood—a journey that intertwined the responsibilities of nurturing a new life with pursuing my passion. 

Crossing the finish line after 20 hours and 45 minutes was more than a physical accomplishment; it was a testament to adaptability, mental resilience, and the unyielding human spirit. 

While merely completing the 100-mile journey is an accomplishment in itself, securing the leading position in the 100-mile category marked my victory, crossing the finish line a remarkable four hours ahead of the closest competitor.

 Having a casual conversation with Saikat & Alokik

To Babu sir, your support and belief in my capabilities were instrumental. Without your unwavering encouragement, this unexpected 100-mile journey would have been far more daunting. 

To Deepti akka, thank you for coming all the way and being part of the celebration - the positivity you bring in is something else 😊

Thanks Nitin & Ravi for taking time and meeting me on the day before the event - as a big time Introvert, I generally isolate myself before such events but this is a group that just adds positivity.

A few pics from the event

 

On Sunday around 30 runners from my running group Run Machines of Sutra ran different categories from 5KM till 50KM and we won 7 more podium position. This was an icing on the cake.

Reflecting on this unique and challenging experience, I'm reminded that every 100-mile race, regardless of prior experience, brings forth unforeseen tests and victories. It’s about embracing the unknown, pushing boundaries, discovering untapped reservoirs of strength within and finding resilience in the face of unexpected twists.

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Hennur Bamboo ultra is a special event for me as I won the runner up position in this very event in 100KM category in 2021 which I ran as a preparation for my Border Ultra 100Miler.

 

A few funny quotes on the route markers en-route the run:

  

 

The Hell Race, Border ultra 100 miler

Last 2 years has been crazy and it is no different for me. I have been regularly running with Babu sir and the RunMachines of Sutra team from last 4 years and the pandemic hit hard when we were in the best form possible. We has just run our best Marathon at New Delhi Marathon in 3hrs 12min, and were about to prepare for TCS 10K challenge 2020.

I moved to my native in march 2020 and since then I have been running only slow paced short and medium distances in the humid coastal conditions. For someone who has practiced in Bangalore, the extreme coastal climate is like running in a hot oven.

When you are slow you feel like ultras are better then marathons so in April 2021 when it looked like situation would ease, I contacted la-ultra guys for 111KM and they asked me to  provide timing of a 90km run which is completed in 12 hours. So I registered for Hennur Bamboo ultra 100k which was scheduled in April.

Unfortunately the 2nd wave of covid hit really bad and in the chaos, Hennur Bamboo Ultra was indefinitely postponed so I dropped the plan of la-ultra (which was eventually called off). 

I moved out of Bangalore permanently in July and I got notification from Bhasin sports that Hennur Ultra is re-scheduled in October. Since I wasn't in Bangalore I requested organizers to cancel my registration.

In the meantime I was losing motivation to do the practice runs and needed something that keeps me motivated. That's when I heard about the Border Ultra organized by THE HELL RACE. 

The race has 3 categories 50KM, 100Km & 100Miler. The 100Miler is unique because it is run between the golden city of Jaisalmer and Longewala, the place famous for 1971 Indo-Pak war which was fought between 120 Indian soldiers accompanied by 4 Hunter fighter aircraft and 2000–3000 Pakistani soldiers accompanied by 30–40 tanks.

100Miler is the most challenging category because the runner has to bear the direct sun in the afternoon, then go through the chilly desert at night and again has to run in the Sun next morning. Moreover 2021 edition of the border run was special because of the 50th anniversary of India's victory in 1971 war.

I did 2 things purely based on my gut feeling, I sent email to Bhasin Sports that I would run the 100k @ Hennur ultra and registered for 100 miler in the Border Ultra. Moreover I wanted to be more serious about this run so I asked my wife to sponsor me for the event, which she gladly did.

I still had 4 months so I was confident that I would practice and be prepared for the run. My plan was to test my body in Hennur 100k and see whether to go ahead or cancel the border ultra.

Unfortunately, multiple health conditions in family meant I had to miss a majority of weekend long runs & I had to rely on short weekday runs. Day by day the confidence was going down mainly because I was comparing this preparation with the one I did for Khardung-la challeng

 in 2018.

Very less mileage since registering for Border ultra

It's a critical mental dilemma to be in. I can't share this with anyone who doesn't understand running because they will go by my words and feel I am underprepared and underconfident, which will make them concerned and there by putting pressure on me indirectly. It so happened that, once my wife asked me out of genuine concern, "do you really think you can complete 100miler with this practice?". When you know the reality that you are under prepared and such things just increase the pressure.

Fortunately I can always talk about these things with Babu sir and will get some solutions. I spoke to Babu sir and he advised me to do a 50KM run before Hennur Ultra, but I had to drive on the weekend and could not do that. So we discussed a walk run strategy for Hennur Ultra. 

On Oct 10th, Hennur bamboo forest, which generally is a dry trail had become a slippery and slushy trail because of heavy rains in Bangalore. As some part of the 5k stretch was slippery and not fit for running, I was forced to walk & run which perfectly suited me. I completed the run in just over 12 hours to take 2nd position.

This was a huge confidence booster as I thought I could easily complete the 100 miler in the 28 hours cut off time.

Majority of the 8 weekends I had between Hennur and Border ultra were again eaten up because of travel for medical reason and for my Kid sister's wedding. 

I just had 1 weekend where I ran a self supported 50KM in Ankola. Given the humid conditions, I felt that was enough preparation. I was not in a mindset to let any negative self talk. For the same reason I chose to stay alone in Jaisalmer, I kind of self isolated myself to not let in any negative thoughts.

I met my close friends Babu sir, Aziz and Vinod before flying to Jaisalmer for the run.

I landed in Jaisalmer on 16th of December. The same day I met Yuvie and a group of few fantastic runners from Hyderabad led by the Subham(who was a 100miler here last year).

On 17th I collected bib and  prepared drop bags for 50k & 100k points and slept post dinner.

On 18th I woke up early had breakfast a and left to Chandra's room which was near by. From there we took an auto to the Indira stadium which was the start point.

Before the race I met 2 amazing souls from Bangalore (Manmohan sir & Shamala ma'am). I always cherish their company because of the cheerfulness and positivity they carry with them. 

I race was flagged off at 12.10 PM. As the race started, for the first time in a few months my mind was very clear. I was not thinking anymore about the 100 miles. All I was thinking about was to reach the next hydration station(which is at every 10th KM). I was mentally prepared to run all alone so I just sticked to my pace.

I had kept the strategy very simple. I was only carrying 5 gels & 4 salt tablets with me for the initial 50KM. Every hydration point I was filling electrolyte in my hydration bag. 

I met Yuvie at around 37KM. He was struggling with Back pain, I made sure I did not speak anything to demotivate him and carried with my run. After 45km, I met Pankaj from Indore. He was running around same pace and chose to stick with me. We reached 50KM check point in 5 & half hours. 

Since we are running in the middle of Thar desert, we get to experience extreme weathers. While for the initial 50KM Sun was directly hitting us, post evening the temperature drops sharply. So I put on my running tights (both upper and lower) and I also put on windcheater. Since I can tolerate cold better I chose not to put on gloves and head cover, instead I just had Bandana.

Temperature variation during the run (Max 34.0 °C, Min 5.0 °C)

After having some tea and a good break for changing, we started our journey towards 60Km where hot food was waiting. Just after crossing 50KM I saw one of the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.

Just before reaching 60KM, we hit few patches where the road was completely covered by sand. That was the first indication of what was about to come. 

We reached 60 KM and had a nice plate of hot rice, daal and potatoes. Post food we started towards our next checkpoint.

The speciality of Border ultra is that it is held on the weekend in December that is closest to full moon day. So the moon was out in full glory in the clear sky. The moon light was so bright that I hardly opened my head torch. But since it was night time the temperature had dropped to single digit and the mild but constant wind was making it much cooler. 

We started running on the moon lit path chasing the next hydration point. After 70KM we take a detour form highway and take a village road to Ramgarh. This route was challenging because the roads were broken and there were a lot of dogs that were chasing us, this delayed us a bit. Close to 80Km I saw a beautiful shooting star that was very close to us. As a mountaineer I have seen 100's of shooting stars but never saw one where the colour change was clearly visible.

As we approached 100KM, the road at Ramghar was completely dug up for 3KMS. We finally reached 100KM point after 13 hours. 

Crossing 100KM timing mat along side Pankaj

A 100KM we took a long rest, ate Maggie and omelette, got a good stretch from physio and started again after having a nice cup of tea. 

Pankaj started playing some nice Bollywood songs to kill the boredom. We were using a walk run technique and our plan was the same, to reach next check point.

After 120KM I was feeling drowsy while running. Close to 16 hours of running definitely takes a toll on your body but was able to somehow manage. 

When we were closing 130Km twilight started appearing. Over the next hour till sun was out, I saw one of the best orange sky in my life. To add to the beauty was the moon who was still in full glory towards the west. When we reached 140KM, sun was completely up. I removed my top tight and kept in Pankaj's bag. We continued our 350m Walk and 650m run.

Running with Pankaj in the final few KMs

With less than 15KM to go, Pankaj started getting severe IT Band pain. I showed him some stretches and motivated him to continue. With 10KM remaining my right foot started swelling and every step was painful. I was dealing with 2 issues, my pain and motivating Pankaj who was struggling. We continued the same walk run strategy. With just 3KM remaining Pankaj give-up and asked me to run forward, but I asked him not to give up and we completed the run together in close to 22:40 hours.

At the finish point we were awarded the finishers medal by Race director Vishwas

Well, I cannot end without thanking the near and dear ones who supported me throughout the journey, first and foremost its my guru Babu sir. He knew I was underprepared but there was no time he spoke anything negative about finishing the run. Aziz & Vinod anna for taking time out and meeting me before the event.

My wife Nada, for all the support during the long training runs and ORDERING me to not comeback without finishing :-D 

Vishnu for following up on the progress and for all the good wishes. My kid sister Suman for all the positivity, she is one person who has little doubt on me;-)

Last but not the least, the entire Run Machines of Sutra and Vibrant Velachery family. A big thank you for all the support.

The foot pain remained for a couple of days till I travelled back to Bangalore. But that was one of the sweetest running pain I ever had because I was a 100 miler.

12 hour stadium run Bengaluru 2019 - 113.2 km (unofficial 116.65 km)

A 12 hours run! Honestly, I don’t know what is the first thought that crosses your mind when you think of running 12 hours non-stop, but as someone who has experience of running a couple of 10 hour runs, I can say, it's scary even to think of it.

As serious runners based out of Bangalore, we are no strangers to the Stadium Run organised by NEB sports. In-fact in 2018 our team participated in the 12 hours relay where each runner is assigned a 2 hour running slot.

I had no intention of participating in this crazy event. But after returning from Annapurna Base Camp in April, in one of our practice runs, Babu sir asked me shall we run 12 hours in Bengaluru Stadium Run? Generally when Babu sir comes up with a running event plan, I just agree to it and it wasn't any different that time. 3 other guys (Aziz, Rajesh and Sourav) from our running group, Run Machines of Sutra also were ready to run this event. So I also sent a request to NEB sports for the registration.

I had a crazy schedule building up to this event. First of all, I was training for TCS-10k which was scheduled on 19th of May. So within 2 months I had to transform from a quick 10K run to a 12 hours Ultra marathon.

To make matters worse, I and Vishnu had almost finalised the plan for Stok Kangri Expedition in the first week of July. Given that Stok Kangri is a 6000er and was much higher than what I had ever ascended earlier, I was sure it would be a strenuous expedition. 

We were planning a 12 hours run just 2 weeks after the expedition. I had no idea how my body would cope up with 2 such extreme tortures with in a few days time.

I had a detailed discussion with Babu sir about all this. He asked me to continue the training specific for TCS 10K. I followed the same and I was able to run TCS-10K in 40 mins & 26 seconds.

A strong run at TCS-10K

After TCS-10K I had planned a ride to Bhagawati Tiger reserve so lost one more week there.

Following 3 weeks we put good mileage doing 3 hour/3.5 hour runs on weekends. 

On 22nd June, the weekend prior to my departure to Leh for Stok Kangri expedition, we planned a 60K run on Nandi hills road. But because of heavy rains in the initial part of the run we ran 50K and stopped. 

I was worried that I will miss running during expedition so I packed my rucksack the previous day and on the day of departure, the 28th June, I ran a self supported marathon before going to office.

50K and the Marathon before Stok Kangri expedition

Stok Kangri expedition did not go as per plan & it sucked a lot out of me. It was an emotional and a mental torture but on the summit day, the climate was favorable and I was able to be the first one to summit Stok Kangri in the summer trekking season of 2019.

Celebrating the first summit of the summer 2019

After returning to Leh from Stok, I wanted to make sure I relive the training run we did in Leh before the Khardung-La challenge. So I went for a short run in the morning. It was difficult to run because I was damn tired because of the expedition, but I was not the one to miss a chance to replicated our training run here last year. I ran 10K at a very comfortable pace.

LEH - trying to replicate the run before Khardung-la challenge

After returning to Bangalore, we ran 4 half marathons and a 35KM on the only weekend I had. We ran our last run on Wednesday, the 17th of July.

During these runs, I and Babu sir discussed extensively about how to approach the 12 hours run. 

We decided to go ahead with a simple plan, stick to 6min/KM Pace for 6 hours. And then depending on how the body reacts go ahead. We had a realistic target of at-least 100 KMs

On Saturday, I had simple daal-rice for lunch and reached Babu sir's home at 3PM. From there we went in Babu sir's car to the Stadium and we reached around 4:15.

We met our folks, Rajesh, Nitin, Vijay and Venu in the stadium. We went to Kadamba restaurant and had a strong coffee.

Since Sourav had collected our bibs, we waited for him inside the stadium. Basically he was coming with Aziz and both were stuck in traffic, but they reached just 5 mins before we were called to the start line.

We had 2 groups from Run Machines running the 12 hours relay at the same time. We also had a lot of friends and family present there to support us, I also met my good friend Pallavi before starting the run who came down just to cheer us for sometime. So we had good support form our Run Machines group through out the event.  

As the run started, I and Babu sir stuck to our plan and were maintaining a steady pace in between 5:45 min/KM & 6 min/KM. We were running together but after some time the race director, Nagaraj Adiga asked us not to run shoulder to shoulder as we might block the fast runners. So we started running behind one another.

Lapping the 400 mtrs track for hours together is not a joke. Its not the distance but the nature of the event that is challenging.

Running 10KM on a road is easy but if you have to run it around a track 25 times, it is really demoralising.

It is so frustrating that Adharanand Finn, in his book about Japanese running says, Japanese use it as away to build their mental strength.

That’s when running as a team helped us. I and Babu sir started leading for 5 loops alternately. After 5 loops or 2KMs we would take a few seconds to drink water/electrolyte and change the position.

It was a way to trick our minds. We felt we achieved something at the end of 2KM and we start again (This is exactly what Dean Karnazes calls baby steps, in his book Ultramarathon Man).

I and Babu sir ran continuously for 3 hours and took our first break after 30KMs. The break was for a couple of minutes and we started running again. We maintained the same pace and from then on we took breaks every 10KMs. During these breaks our team members gave us everything we asked for.

After running around 60Kms, in an attempt to give way to another runner, I stumbled on the trailing part of a barricade. I was hit hard on the right foot. Initially it pained like hell, but I wanted to keep up with Babu sir so I kept running. After few loops the pain subsided.

After 80KM I took a little longer break that was when Babu sir moved ahead. After the break I started running alone. It was 8 hours and 5 minutes on the watch and I had covered over 80KMs. I was going strong, with no major issues. I was certain that I was going to run at-least 100KMs so I was becoming emotional.

Running alone has its pros and cons. On one hand you have that me time to think about everything, on the other, if you get stuck in a thought it is really difficult to come out of it. Unfortunately my mind was on the wrong end. 

Whenever I feel like I have achieved something, the first thing that comes to my mind is the horrible accident I suffered 12 years back. May be its a subconscious way in which my mind makes me proud, saying "hey despite permanently losing a metatarsal bone, despite the plastic surgery you have achieved it". But when I get stuck thinking about the unfortunate incident, I get disturbed. I was a lot disturbed and wanted to come out of it, so I started running fast. I ran some crazy splits for someone who had run 85+ KMs (5:08, 5:10 and 4:49). This seemed to help a bit as I was running out of my comfort zone and my mind wasn't that free to think much.

Crazy splits after running 85KM to distract my mind

I reached 100KMs mark in 10 hours and 7 minutes. I continued doing this run/walk till 105KMs when I met Babu sir again. It was a big relief for me emotionally and again we ran together in the last 1 & half hour for another hand in hand finish.

I was also fortunate that my wife and then fiancee, who actually came for a couple of hours but ended up staying there till the run finished.

Last but not the least, a big thank you from the bottom of my heart to the entire RunMachines team for all the support and encouragement. It was really nice to see so many guys from RunMachines being awake all night to support us. A special mention to Nithin, Venu & Vijay who came just to cheer us and were supporting everyone from RunMachines.