Promises kept

THIS POST WAS TO BE PUBLISHED LONG TIME AGO. MY APOLOGIES FOR MISSING TO PUBLISH. THIS IS FROM LAST YEAR’S 24-HOUR EXPERIENCE. HOPE YOU ENJOY READING IT THIS LATE.

In my head, I crossed this line many times over. Powering through 20, 30 and 40 sleepless hours, running, working, and more running has been the norm for the last year and half, and when someone posed the question, ‘how long have you ever run/rode’, its been a tough question to answer.

My association with Santhosh goes back to the day I started to get back to running, after a long break, recovering from injuries. I was quite fit when I came to India, and unfortunate incidents threw me in to a spin, one which took me two years to recover. First thing I did when I met him at a fitness meeting was sign up to train with him. Everything else after that fell in to place like pieces of a puzzle. My love for running almost is as old as I am, my parents diligently waking us in the morning for a morning dash. Immediate next step was to purchase a cycle, another love of mine, and pedal on to the runs. I barely knew running/riding community in Bangalore at the time, but I kept with it on my own, finding a few friends here and there who would join me on short rides. Needless to say, I slowly started to figure out my way around Bangalore, and got to know more runners and riders.

While training with Santhosh for 6 weeks, of which I traveled a few, I put together a Himalayan Run with a couple of friends, and went on to run a 80k course in the Kanchanjunga Range. Needless to say, it was memorable, and impressionable. I knew things shifted within me from simple running to full on endurance. When any one asks me how long I can go, I tell them, for days if I must, but speed is not my thing! Inherently, if you put me on a race start line, I tend to run backwards 🙂

I kept in touch with Santhosh throughout, supporting and volunteering at his ASHA runs and efforts. He is a guy to depend on, and to go to when one wants blunt advice. I have seen him through some major changes in his life, and I am extremely impressed by his courage, foresight, commitment, and and maturity. Rather than using cliched statements as the ‘Monk who sold his Ferrari’, I would rather use the adage he prints on his every t-shirt. Run, Teach, Educate. Working just as any of us would for a living, he didn’t quite see the need to continue in that path, and he was all of 29 when he made the decision to quit a coveted job, and commit to educating and volunteering at a handful of schools such as Ananya, Sita School and Spastic Society. I can never summarize all he does without running through reams of paper. I will tell you a little about what we did over a weekend, a little over a week ago.

Santhosh attempted 24 hours 2 years ago, and logged 156kms. Last year, after soaking in rain, being chased by a bull, in addition to fever which developed overnight, he stopped after 20 hours of running.  He does this to raise money for ASHA, a organization he is an active part of. One may wonder why he suffers through any of it. That’s the thing. Why not? If he can put his talent and determination to good use for the good of others, why not? Over the last year, I saw him struggle with demons that settled in after not finishing one more run he planned, the 48-hour Strides of Hope. For any runner DNFs can outweigh any amount of motivation if one too many happen in a sequence. He trains one too many runners who fall in love with running all over again once he starts admonishing them for being irregular in his own not-too-serious but I-don’t-like-it sort of way ! The breakfasts, lunches, and the fun running groups give every runner a whole lot more reasons to stick with the plan. For him, personally, not finishing a run he trained for and aimed to do, is disheartening to say the least. What he needed was a good finish.

When we announced Bhati Lakes, I asked Santhosh if he wanted run it. He wanted to check with his coach before he committed. That, is the level of his professionalism, which is much appreciated. He might be able to run a 100miles on a whim, but he will not do it without preparing for it, mentally and physically. He came back to say that he will do the 100miles. I was thrilled as I had been trying to get some of my favorite runners together for a good race. Arun was going to be there, and this will be the first time they will meet. As time went on, Roger from Nepal confirmed he will come run Bhati Lakes too, in the 100-mile category. What more can a race director ask for? Needless to say, I was thrilled. As the time came closer to the race, Santhosh wanted to know if I would let him run the 50-miles and not 100-miles. Would I let him? Good question 🙂 Yes, ofcourse, I told him. I could sense his doubts. No more DNFs. I agree. And what a race he ran! A little hesitation after 60k but the finish made up for everything and all DNFs and things sundry, then again, I digress. Let me tell you about his 24-hour run two weekends ago 🙂

His usual emails went out to all those who support him on his runs, training, and events. A few answered in the positive, and a few weren’t available. The rest were running the race Sunday morning, and couldn’t afford to miss much needed sleep and rest. Rajeev, and Meenakshi showed up and, Manjula and I were there by 3pm to help set up. Manisha was a pleasant addition to the team though she has never been part of the runs or these events. Vinod who was to be there with his cycle couldn’t make it and we hadn’t taken Manjula’s cycle with us thinking two were good enough, mine and Vinod’s. With only one cycle which could be used on a trail, we were down to only one person who could pace him at night. Having ridden the trail and the fact that we didn’t have a powerful enough light on the cycle, I wasn’t inclined to letting anyone try it out. By the first loop was done, my cycle tires were balded by mud, brakes non-existent, and visibility near zero. It was time for a decision and it was to pace Santhosh all of 24-hours, whether I cycle or run. Day time will have about 600 runners on the same trail, and cycling on the narrow one-person sections was out of the question. Decided to ride through the night, and run the morning hours. Until the moment was I considering doing what I was going to do? Not a chance! Wasn’t prepared with anything, least of all nutrition! Thanks to Santhosh’s mom, who cooked up a storm, that I survived too.

We started at 5pm, Saturday evening, with many hugs, and wishes from friends and fellow runners, and headed out to get to know the route, greet people, and set a pace. I forgot my camera and rushed back to get it so I could capture a few sunset images of Santhosh on the trail. By the time we turned around, it started to slightly drizzle. Thankfully we made it back without it coming down on us, and I did the wise thing of tucking away the camera in the tent!

Now that we had the route figured out, and pleasantries done, it was time for some serious running. Darkness fell all around us. Trees rustled, light breeze brought in the chill, and tiny drops here and there set the tone for the night. Santhosh and I hoped that it won’t come down on us and impede our progress through the night. It was very important for us to log all the miles we could in the first 12 hours at an even pace. We set out on our second loop, and Santhosh set in to a pace he is comfortable with and I tried to adjust to the darkness, narrow path at places with ditches around, non-existent brakes, and mud that stuck to tires and chain with vengeance! An easy conversation ensued. All topics sundry. Our minds wandering, and tricking us in to a self-sympathetic state is a high possibility while running in darkness, mind and body protesting. Getting over these hurdles is practiced during night training runs when you shock your body a little resulting in it finding ways to cope and adjust to long hours of night running. Santhosh had been in training, and by now, he knows what the long haul results in. I, for one, have been through one too many long nights and days in a row that shocking my body any more, well, does shock it at all!

After each loop, we had our wonderful friends, who had come out to crew, take turns to take care of us. By the third loop, Rajeev figured out that I was in it for 24 hours, and prodded me to eat. Carbs it is, and we were surely eating our share. Nutrition, hydration, and timed rest are key. No two ways about it. If you ever plan to try out ultras, ensure you are talking to a coach, mentor, or a trainer. Listen to your body, and heed their advice.

By 5am, we recorded 7 loops, logging a little over 87.5km. No fatigue yet, just plain adrenalin kicking in. We had 6 loops to go in the next 12 hours if we wanted to meet our goal of 160kms+. Did I think we could do it? Absolutely. Another loop and we will have daylight to guide us better on the route. Through the night, I kept slipping, and falling, cycle chain would jump if I tried changing gears, and get stuck and had me running with the cycle, losing my phone, and searching for it in the fields alone, stumbling over rock and skipping became passe. Another loop and we had daylight. This brought on a different kind of trauma. The knowledge that any of those roots, rock, and narrow slippery paths could have had me taking a serious tumble was unsettling. But that is endurance sport to you. Deal with it, I thought to myself. I got through the night, and that’s that! As runners were set off in waves, path was crowded and half the trail wasn’t fit for cycling. So we ran those sections together, instep to maintain pace, and ease the strain of another step. What a sight it was to see runner after a runner pass us by both ways, greet if they knew us and cheer us loop after loop. It was great to experience their energy,  so bountiful, after a full 12 hour night. We felt refreshed, reenergised, and motivated to keep putting one foot in front of another with each passing runners’ encouraging words.

By the time we hit 20 hours mark, heat started to get to us. That day heat peaked at 39 degrees. For our tired bodies, it felt to be much higher. Hydration! We paid attention, and our crew Rajeev, Manisha and Ajay helped us cool off with ice rubs after each loop. What an essential factor it was during those hot noon hours. Manjula had come back that morning, and was keeping Nischal company on the route, ensuring she doubled-over and laughed at her jokes!!! Manjula is known for her pjs as we call ’em, but can’t help laughing every single time. They are intelligent, and highly apt 🙂 It actually helps to have such a pacer when one is struggling to stay focused, and log the miles.

As it got closer to 22 hours, we were neither in a position to go back for a longer loop psychologically not logistically. We wanted to hit the 24 hour mark and that was what the thought was. Santhosh and I decided to run shorter loops at that point of time, to manage our energy, be closer to the aid-station, and hit the time stop as planned. We calculated that, if we kept up the current pace, we could complete 160km n 24 hours. We trotted, walked, and ran at a good stride through the last 1 and half hours as our body’s limited resources influenced every step at that point of time. We came down one last short loop in the last 16 minutes, and it was a beautiful feeling, all tiredness pretty much starting to feel alien. We went out walking, and came back strong, sprinting the home stretch! WOW. We did it!!! What else? What more? Can we ask for anything more? I can’t think of anything at that moment, but I know we are moving on to bigger and tougher things! Now I can always say I have done 24 hours at a stretch when someone asks me although I know I have gone longer during my races! For me, it simply is a confirmation of my own strength, both physically and mentally, and a confirmation of my friends’ faith in me that I will stand by them when it matters.

Santhosh that day crossed a few milestones, set a record for himself with 160kms in 24 hours, and set the bar high for ultra runners. He is a runner, a coach, an educator and a great friend. Come join us for more runs, and the Strides of Hope in particular if you want to run a mile or a 100 with us in January 2011. Check out the event at http://www.stridesofhope.com.