After running three 100-milers, ideally logic should start dominating emotion. But probably, I am not wired that way.
After last year’s 100 miler at Jarakabande, was my first try at this challenging trail. And the fact that Bangalore had heat wave warning that day did little help to ease the situation. After the furnace at Jarakabande I had told myself I had “experienced it.” I had survived it. I had nothing more to prove there. However, when registrations opened for Jarakabande Ultra 2026, I signed up.
Not because I was in peak form. Not because I had trained like a man possessed. But because somewhere deep inside, I knew this wasn’t about mileage.
It was about mindset.
Training? What Training?
Let me be honest.
I am not running as much these days.
Two days of running a week. Two days strengthing in the gym. No long runs since Bahubali Ultra in September 2025.
The only meaningful distance before this was a birthday marathon on Feb 10th. That’s it.
No 50K. No 50 miles. No back-to-back long runs.
Yet I showed up at the start line knowing one thing — 100 miles is never purely physical. It is always a negotiation with your own mind.
New Route. Same Brutality.
2026 had a different start and finish point. Slightly tweaked route. Same forest. Same attitude.
The format remained — 5K loops with ~71m elevation.
Out of four registered 100-milers, only three of us stood at the start.
Small field. Big intentions. Podium guaranteed BUT ONLY IF YOU FINISH
Experience from last year whispered in my ears: “Start slow. Respect the heat. Hydrate before you feel thirsty.”
Loop after loop, I stayed disciplined.
The focus was simple:
Maintain hydration.
Stay on top of salt intake.
Don’t race anyone.
Don’t fight the course.
The weather had turned hostile suddenly in the last week. The sun was unforgiving. There is something about Jarakabande heat — it doesn’t just burn the skin, it drains intent.
But as all the ultras demand, I was prepared mentally.
85K Before Sunset
By 6 PM, I had completed 17 loops — 85 km.
That’s when the forest loop closes.
My colleague Hari, who stays nearby, came by in the evening and watched me grind through three 5k rounds. Small gestures like that matter more than people realize. When someone witnesses your suffering, it becomes real.
I bid him goodbye and prepared for the night shift.
The Field Narrows
Nithin, the only multi-time 100-mile finisher at Jarakabande (four previous finishes), stopped at 93 km. Unfortunate. He was strong.
Suddenly it was just Bose and me left in the 100-mile category.
A few 100K runners kept us company until around 3 AM. After that, it became a conversation between footsteps and silence.
Interestingly, I crossed: 50K, 80K and 100K all faster than the eventual winners of those categories.
Not intentional. Not strategic. Just steady pacing.
I even paced Ajeet for a couple of kilometers while he was finishing his 100K. That’s the beauty of ultras — competition dissolves into community.
Night, Fatigue and The 1K Loop
Around 5 AM, the shorter distance runners started arriving. The once silent 1K night loop suddenly felt crowded.
At 6:15 AM, I had completed 152 km.
Technically, I could have just kept repeating the flatter 1K loop to finish.
But something inside said — one last 5K forest loop.
Last year I had done the same.
Somehow, it feels incomplete otherwise.
So I went back in. One final climb. One final descent. One last handshake with the trail.
Finish Line – 25:34
I crossed 100 miles in 25 hours and 34 minutes.
Five minutes faster than last year.
And once again, I stood as the winner in the 100-mile category.
It was especially heartening to receive the winner’s memento from Vijayaraghavan the CEO if Fast&UP. There is something deeply fulfilling about being recognized by someone who understands the depth of what a 100-miler demands. The handshake, the smile, the quiet acknowledgment — those moments stay longer than the timing stats.
.jpeg)
More importantly, I finished injury free — except for a swelling on my right foot that stayed with me for about a week. Nothing dramatic. Just a quiet reminder of 100 hard-earned miles.
Gratitude
Ultras may look like solo efforts, but they never truly are.
Thanks to my running group — they kept checking on me throughout the night. Those calls, those messages, those small nudges — they matter when your mind starts dominating at 2 AM.
When you know people are tracking you, believing in you, it adds invisible fuel.
Special thanks to Sharan from Swaasthya Fitness & Physiotherapy for all the strength sessions.
And last but not the least, Babu sir - I don't think I have to write anything about him.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
What This 100 Miler Taught Me
Mileage builds fitness.
Experience builds intelligence.
But mindset builds finishers.
I am not running crazy mileage anymore. Life has added gym sessions, responsibilities, balance.
But somewhere inside, the ultra-runner still lives.
And sometimes, he needs to revisit the fire — not to prove strength to the world, but to remind himself who he is.
Until the next irrational registration.
No comments:
Post a Comment