Dusty Trails: January 2012

>1 Dusty Trails January 2012

Dusty TrailsRunning • Biking • Adventure

`10 For Private Circulation Only Issue # 2, January 2012

The Centurions

Indian marathoners in Antarctica

Training for the Ironman

Running the 100K >4

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RUNNING CALENDARJan 27: Dubai Marathon;

Visit: www.dubaimarathon.org

Jan 29: Mangalore Half Marathon 10K/21.1K/42.2K (Mangalore); Nagpur International Marathon

Jan 29: Khon Kaen International Marathon, Thailand. Visit: www.khonkaenmarathon.com/en/ Khon Kaen is 449 kilometres from Bangkok, with regular bus, train and flight services.

Feb 5: Vadodara Half Marathon. Visit: www.vadodaramarathon.com

Feb 5: Hong Kong Marathon Visit: www.hkmarathon.com/mara-thon/eng/home/default2.jsp

Feb 12: Auroville Marathon Visit: http://marathon.auroville.com

The Auroville Marathon was started in February 2008 to celebrate 40 years of the founding of Auroville. A training programme was scheduled for the residents of Auroville and surrounding villages. Organisers invited a few run-ners from Chennai and Bangalore. The event was called ‘Running the Spiral’. The enthusiastic response from the participants encouraged them to make it an annual event.

Feb 12: RAK Half Marathon (UAE) Visit: www.rakmarathon.org

Feb 19: Medio Marathon, Guadalajara Visit: http://medio.maratonguadala-jara.org

Feb 12: Bangkok Marathon (Thailand). Visit: http://www.bkkmarathon.com/eng/index.php

Feb 19: Maraton de la Ciudad de Sevilla (Spain). Visit: http://imd.sevilla.org/maraton.htm

Feb 26: Kilimanjaro Marathon (Tanzania). Visit: http://www.kilimanjaromara-thon.com

Feb 26: Tokyo Marathon (Japan). Visit: http://www.tokyo42195.com

Feb 27: Sahara Marathon (Algeria) Visit: http://www.saharamarathon.org

WANNA TRy THIS? 100 Km Pharonic Race25th Nov 2012The idea was initiated when in 1977 the Egyp-tologist Ahmed Moussa who discovered a piece of rock telling the story of Pharaonic soldiers running a race of 100 km. This race took place in 690-665 BC during the reign of king Taharka, when the king went to inspect an army camp and found the soldiers in perfect physical fitness. It was then that he laid down the rules for the running race. The translation of the hieroglyphic scriptures apparently states that the winner com-pleted the race in eight hours!

To revive interest in this episode, the race in Nov 2012 will take place in the same area and almost the same route.

BIKING CALENDARTOUR OF KANGRA (Jan 27-29, 2012)The Tour of Kangra starts on the 27th January 2012 and ends on the 29th, after 250 km through the Kangra valley in Himachal Pradesh, one of the best winter destinations in India. We arrive in Dharamshala on the 26th of January. The first day will find us pedaling 90 km through the heart of the valley passing ancient villages (Andretta, Paragpur) and the Masroor Rock temples to reach the banks of the Maharana Pratap Saagar (a.k.a Pong dam reservoir) where we set up our camp for the night. On the second day we ride some distance alongside the railway tracks to catch up with the paved road again and then riding the last 16 km through a single track through rolling meadows to reach our destination at Bir. The third day ride is a ride through the tea gardens of Palampur. An early arrival in Dharamshala finds us bidding farewell as we raise toasts yet again for the wonderful three days. Visit: www.tourofkangra.com Contact: Dhananjay Ahluwalia +91-86791-80331 or Parmod Zinta: [email protected]

adventure CALENDAR SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING in Gulmarg21 January to 30 January, 2012Gulmarg is a hill station in Baramula district of Jammu and Kashmir. The “heartland of winter sports in India”, as quoted by CNN, is a gathering ground for extreme sports. In the winter, the diverse and extreme terrain combines with tor-rential snowfall to create a snow destination that is among the best in the world.Contact: Spark Adventures. Mob: 0 98862 03018

GOeCHA lA TReK, Sikkim (April 6 to 15)Under the shadow of the mighty Kangchenjunga. Explore the sacred traditions of the Sikkimese,

Lepchas and the Bhutias. You make your way across forests of magnolia and rhododendrons, vast alpine meadows, pristine rivers and experi-ence stunning sunsets and sunrises over the mighty snow covered peaks. Organised by: Go Missing Expeditions Contact: +91 82853 49989 or email [email protected]

STOK KANGRI exPeDITION (June 15-22)This spectacular mountain standing out on the southern skyline of Leh is one of the most sought after peaks for enthusiastic climbers. Numerous successful attempts on this 6121m / 20,076ft high peak have made this a popular destina-tion for both experienced trekkers and amateur mountaineers. Organised by: Life Away From Life Contact: +91 022-66096693 / 98690158351

eNDURO-3 (Feb 25-26)Enduro3, India’s first and only adventure race, is back. The 10th edition of Enduro3 will host over 900 competitors. Race Route and Disciplines: The route will be through the panoramic Sahyadri ranges, crossing forts like Sinhagad, Torna and Rajgad; with the total distance accounting for almost 200km.Race Disciplines: Trekking (50km); Mountain Cycling (150km); Kayaking (2km); River crossing (300 meters); Rappelling (120 feet); Orienteering; 0.22 Rifle ShootingRace distances and disciplines vary from category to category. Each team consists of three members with at least one female member.With 12 different categories, seven adventure disciplines and prize money of Rs. 7 lakh, Enduro3 is a race individuals of diverse ages, ranging from 13 to 65, look forward to. Organised by: National Education Foundation Contact: +91 - 020 - 24428359Email: [email protected]: www.enduro3.com

editor: Dev S SukumarDesign: Venkatesh eN

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>3Dusty TrailsJanuary 2012

Training for the Ironman

I STARTED running a couple of years ago. I had a friend in Delhi, an Italian, who’d done two Ironman events. I was cycling

with him, and I too got interested in the triathlon. I knew how to swim, but I had to re-learn it completely. I couldn’t even swim 25m freestyle. A friend suggested the book Total Immersion by Terry Laughlin, a swim coach in New York. He shows you the right way to swim, so I learnt from the book and video. I started enjoying it much more.

I’d done the Half Ironman in Singapore in 2009, but the Full Ironman is a different challenge altogether. When I trained for the Half Ironman, my training wasn’t structured. I did a lot of everything. But with the Iron-man, it’s not just a question of the double of the half, but feels like thrice the distance, in terms of the training. I’ve done a few mountaineering expeditions, but training for the Ironman is different.

There’s a science behind the training. You cannot do whatever you want. We made a seven-month plan, with a buffer of 15-20 days. You plan a whole sequence, where you start with nine-ten workouts a week, 25 hours a week of training, and it builds. Five of us friends registered for the South Africa Ironman in Port Elizabeth. You need to commit in August for a race in April next year – you need to put in seven-eight months of training to enjoy the experience and complete it without problems.

The training starts easy; it’s about doing something or other each day. Our pro-gramme kicked off in September, with nine

workouts a week and one rest day. Some days you’re doing two workouts, like biking and swimming. There’s also weight training and stretching.

One thing was key – once you put the schedule on the table, you cannot miss a session. We do have other things in life, like work, travel, kids, but you’ve got to stick to the schedule. That’s the hardest part. Initially it seems easy. Sticking to that is the difficult part, and surviving that week, because you need to recover for the next week. So after a while you start feeling tired all the time. The first three weeks are fine, but you can’t go out for dinners or parties. After five or six weeks it starts to wear you out. And if there’s something extraordi-nary coming up… like my son was going to boarding school, and it’s a difficult time for the family... But you have to get your work done and still train.

It starts to get on to you. If you start missing workouts, that’s when the problems will start. But you also start enjoying the workouts.

With the Ironman, you need to be at your peak. And injury-free. It’s about getting to the start-line. You need to get through without breaking down. I did have energy slumps; some weeks I’d feel very low. But I tried to manage by working the diet, and increasing my protein intake.

Max and I would bike together on Sunday. We’d do 70 or 100km every week. I would get off work in the afternoon for a run. In Delhi, the swimming was a big

problem because the pools close in October for winter. Luckily my pool wasn’t closed because they had a tie-up with an airline company which was doing some water rescue drills.

Your training starts peaking in Jan-Feb. You start tapering in March. You have to be careful not to get sick, because your immunity goes down. As it turned out, I got chicken pox just after the Ironman.

Race day is obviously a big day. There were just five of us from Asia. Fortunately I managed to complete the race in 15 hours, but I was comfortable right through, and it was because of the training. I didn’t push myself too hard. I felt the training took me there, because I saw a lot of people end up in medical tents. It’s a good lesson for future events.

I feel more confident about doing other events. There is a science to this. I’ve trekked in the mountains, but you cannot say that because you have trekked at high altitude, you can do an Ironman. It’s differ-ent. You need to know the cadence to ride at, or the right pace in running or swim-ming… I was just trying to find the most efficient way. Like, what should be my stroke rate in water, how I should enter the water…

That’s how working people are doing well. Some are almost at a pro level, like my friends who did the Ironman in 12 hours. They’d studied it seriously. They’re always punctual and don’t fool around because they value time, and there’s a lack of time, and you need to plan your day.

The one lesson I learned –I shouldn’t have too many things happening with my life when I’m training for something like this.

Leave your message for Mohit at Facebook.com/dustytrailsindia

The Ironman triathlon is a killer of an endurance event – comprising of a 3.8km swim, a 180.25km bike ride and a marathon (42.195km) run. MOHIT OBEROI became one of the few Indians to have completed the distance, at the South Africa Ironman in April 2011. He recounts the experience

Mountaineer, rock climber and endurance athlete Mohit Oberoi (2nd from left) with his compatriots at the South Africa Ironman in April 2011


The Centurions

IT’S a sign of how far running has developed in India that the marathon doesn’t seem a formidable distance any

more. Only extreme running still surprises us – someone doing a 250K, for instance, or running an Ultra in difficult terrain – Antarctica, Ladakh, etc.

Having said that, there is something still captivating about the 100K. It’s the kind of distance that most serious runners would aspire for: a magic figure that weaves a spell around itself.

The very figure is awe-inducing – a hun-dred kilometres: more than two marathons put together. What is it like to run a hundred kilometres? Are 100K runners made of a different steel? What is the preparation like? Have they drawn their calendars months in advance, obsessing over every calorie that they ingest and expend? Are they following the latest in sports science that enables them to last the gruelling distance without major injury?

There was no better event to follow up on these questions than the Bangalore Ultra, India’s first ultra marathon. The fifth Bangalore Ultra took place on November 13 at (as before) Hessaraghatta, on a trail that cuts through a vast grassland. The one prob-lem that would face the Ultra runners was the heat and the lack of shade. The 100K finisher must therefore be an exceptionally

tough cookie.Intrigued by what it takes to finish the

distance, DeV S SUKUMAR interviewed the top five 100K finishers of the Bangalore Ultra: Jacob Boopalan, Udaya Kumar, Paramvir Narang, Sanjay yashwant Kasle and Vishwanathan Jayaraman. They were quizzed on their running backgrounds, daily training, diet and the mental challenge of attempting the 100K. We expected to hear stories of detailed planning, obsessive diets and the latest biomechanical theories. We came away surprised. Read on…

SANJAy yASHWANT KASle (Kasle, 46, works in the state MRP department in Mumbai)I STARTED distance running in 2009 at the Bangalore Ultra where I did 75K. Before that, I used to do a bit of body-building in the gym, and would run a little.

A coach named Vivek Patil changed me. He helps you develop your mind, because if your mind is fit, you can do anything. Patil thinks you’ve to be good at everything, not just running, so he even trains people in mal-khamb. I trained with Patil and three others for four months in 2009 for the Ultra. His training is intense – for example, we’d do 5000 skips in an hour, or run with little boys on our shoulders.

I started training for this year’s Ultra

from July 27. I never count the kilometres, I just run for two or three hours. On Sundays I run for six hours, and sometimes we do hill training at Malabar Hill for three hours.

I’d run two hours in the morning and two in the evening; I’d do that for two-three days. I avoided using my bike and would walk a lot. I’d walk 5km to the market, or I’d walk from office to the station, or station to home, and that is a lot of kilometres. I do weight training and stretching and I have a normal diet without protein supplements.

I was comfortable throughout on raceday, and in fact, I was surprised at the ease with which I completed the last lap, even though Vishwanathan and I missed the trail after 10K and we ran a few extra kilometres. I took 1:35 for the last loop – it was fantastic.

VISHWANATHAN JAyARAMAN(Vishwanathan, 49, works as a financial advisor with SW Railways)I USED to be sedentary and a heavy smoker. I eventually quit in August of 2000 when I was 38. When you quit smoking, you have problems with sleep and overeating. Some-one suggested rigorous physical exercise, so I started running. I was bad at it; 100 metres seemed a mountain. Eventually, I did my first Half Marathon in 2006 at Delhi, in 1:46.

I don’t do any specific training. I just run;

Vishwanathan Jayaraman (left) and Sanjay Yashwant Kasle close in on the finish line of the Bangalore Ultra Photos of the Ultra: Dev S Sukumar


I run as long as I enjoy it. I don’t even warm up or cool down. I read up about training on the Net. Over a period I realised that I can-not change my schedule from week to week.

Before last year’s Ultra, I did some long runs on the treadmill. You don’t need to run long distances to mimic what happens on race day. It’s all in the mind. If you can do 20K, you can do 100K. Last year we lost our way in the morning and it was 6am when I started. I tried to catch up with the others and I tripped and fell, so everything went wrong. I spent the year brooding over it.

This year, I just kept doing what time permitted. I could put in 60-70 minutes on the treadmill. I used to run 10-12K in the mornings and 10-12K in the evenings. I did that until the Thursday before the Ultra.

I try to run one marathon each month. I have to be in office until 9pm sometimes, so it’s hard to plan my training. I try to accom-modate some training in the time available. I don’t have any running buddies – I’ve always been a loner.

I wake up at 3am and start off on my chores. Sometimes I do 30K in the morning. I don’t do any other workout. Sometimes I swim. Being on the road, running, is like a religion.This year’s Bangalore Ultra was my first 100K. Sanjay (Kasle) and I took a wrong turn after 10K. We lost our way for a while and we were in danger of overshoot-ing the time limit. We started the last lap at 4.20pm, and we finished in 12 hr 50 min. I was comfortable throughout.

UDAyA KUMAR(Udaya Kumar, 37, works with MindTree in Bangalore)I WAS a body-builder in college, and even won a few state-level competitions, like the Karnataka Kumar title. I got into running in 2008 when I went to the US. I started run-ning with MCC (Marathon Charity Corpora-tion) which raises funds for charity.

I ran around 10 marathons and one 50K in the US – the Seneca Run in Maryland, which was tough because the route takes you across streams and over hills and it gets very cold over there in winter.

I trained by myself for the Bangalore Ultra. I usually train four-five days a week, besides one long run. I must mention that I have a severe sinus problem. When I’m running it doesn’t affect me, but when I’m resting it gets quite bad.

How you prepare is important. Before running a 100K, you should have at least four to five long runs (60-65K), so your body is able to take the load. This year, I thought of pulling out a week before the Ul-tra because my heel was troubling me. But I decided to take part any way. It was a tough course. The early part was hard because we were starting at 5am and visibility was poor,

THe WINNeR: JACOB BOOPAlAN (Boopalan, 34, works for an NGO. He won the 100K in 11hrs: 44:37)

I’VE been running for a long time. I start-ed in 1993 with the shorter distances.

This year I’m celebrating my 18th year of running. I’m from a small village called Mallur near Salem in Tamil Nadu. It’s a remote village, and we used to walk 3km to school and back, and we used to run on the hills nearby. That probably helped me develop as a runner.

Running the Ultra has everything to do with your head, and not so much about physical ability. I don’t think about running while running. I think about mu-sic and other things. That’s what running is about, enjoying yourself.

You tend to hit a wall at around 80K. Sometimes, when I get really tired, I get silly. I make jokes which don’t make sense, and I get friendly with the other runners. I think I distract myself. I do have pains.

As you get tired, it will seem like the distance is increasing. In some ways, the remaining distance can be intimidating. That’s when you look at other runners, and you try to distract yourself by encour-aging them. You want to finish because you’re hungry and tired and want to sleep.

Finishing: The first time, getting to the 100K was a special feeling. The second time… you just want to finish and go home. This time I thought of drinking cold beer or chicken biriyani, so that’s how I motivated myself.

Training: Mostly I do what works for me. It’s good to talk to other runners. For the 2011 Ultra, I had a coach who wrote out my plan. She’s an athletics coach from England.

This was the first time I used energy gels. I realised I should stick to normal food, like bananas and oranges, for ultra distances because I felt sick after taking those gels. For the shorter distance such as the marathon, it’s okay to take gels because they give you a spurt of energy.

I haven’t been to a gym since 2004. Sometimes I don’t even stretch. For my training, I do various kinds of running – sprints, uphill, and vary the timings, like doing a slow 16K and then a fast 21K. I don’t do anything else.

I do eight marathons in nine weeks before the Ultra. That is one marathon every week, except for the week before the Ultra. I don’t think of tapering. In fact, a week before the Ultra, I did a 32K. My average week is 80-90K.

Munching miles with a smile


and some stretches were uneven.With the 100K, it’s a mind game. I keep

smiling. I encourage others because when you call out their names and encourage them, you encourage yourself. I think about other people, or how I can improve my style, or various other things.

I love running long distance. My speed is not great, but I can run steadily for a long time. Fatigue comes at some point, but if you overcome that, you will feel a fresh wave of energy and you can go faster.

Intake: I drink a lot of water, but no supplements. I eat a lot. I’m from the fisher-man community, and I eat a lot of fish.

PARAMVIR NARANG (Paramvir Narang, 34, runs an infrastructure company)I’VE seen athletes using protein supple-ments. I use a lot of honey. At this year’s Bangalore Ultra, I was hoping to do it faster than last year, but during the run, I had had too much honey, and it gave me loose motions and cramps. I lost an hour because of that. I had cramps all over my body. It was a strange feeling, I felt like my body was rolling up into a ball. I even lay down on the grass for a while and stretched myself.

I’ve been running for two years. I was a

sprinter in school; I used to do the 400m and 800m. I ran my first Half Marathon last year, and then I graduated straight to the 100K. My first ultra was a 125K run from Chandi-garh to Shimla on September 22nd to raise resources for a charity organisation.

Long distance for me is not to satisfy any competitive streak – it’s spiritual. I

trained the whole summer, and ran two marathons every month. I would run a 45K every other Sunday.

I know myself quite well and I make my own training schedules. I used to be a boxer in college, and I’ve been working out in the gym, playing tennis, etc. For the 125K Chandigarh-Shimla run, I started training five months ahead.

I think constantly of my running. Each minute of my day should help for a particu-lar run. My diet and my weekly runs are planned so that I peak four weeks before the run. As far as training goes, I rely mainly on instinct.

My Chandigarh-Shimla 125K run had toughened me, and it was tougher than the Bangalore Ultra because of the incline. It was uphill all the way, and I did it in 20 hours. Bangalore Ultra was challenging in terms of the time limit.

100K top-five: 1. Jacob Boopalan 2. Udaya Kumar 3. Paramvir Narang 4. Sanjay Yashwant Kasle 5. Vishwanathan Jayaraman

Paramvir Narang

An unusual sight in an ultra: runner Priya is taken to hospital after being bitten by a dog

Arundathi Suresh wins an admirer

Former 100K winner Yasuhiro Honda runs in honour of his buddies at possibly his last Bangalore Ultra before leaving for JapanRahul Verghese, founder of Running And Living

A runner shows off his Popeye tattoo


Six runners braved the elements on course to finishing La Ultra- The High in Ladakh, one of the toughest endurance runs in the world, writes SHYAM G MENON

WELL-KNOWN British long distance runner Sharon Gayter won the 2011 edition of La

Ultra-The High, the ultra marathon held in Ladakh (August 11 to 13). Participants run 222 kilometres at an average altitude of over 14,000ft. Sharon won with a finishing time of 37 hr 34 min. Ray Sanchez, a boxer- turned-runner with some enviable achieve-ments in ultra running to his credit, was placed second at 39 hr 03 min.

The run started approximately 10 kilometres down the road from Khardung village, towards the Nubra Valley side. There were only six runners, all from abroad. Be-sides Sharon and Ray, there were Samantha Gash from Australia, Lisa Tamati from New Zealand, Australian-born American Jason Rita and Molly Sheridan of the US. Molly had run the race before but hadn’t finished it.

Ray shot off into the lead right from the beginning. He kept a steady pace and hung on to it tenaciously. Sharon, the most experi-enced runner in the field, stuck to second place, often within striking distance of Ray. However the gap between these two leaders and the rest of the field was formidable right from the start giving observers the impres-sion that even with nearly 200 kilometres to go, the winner would be either Ray or Sharon.

From the starting point to the top of Khardung La was not only a gain in altitude to 17,700ft, it was also a full marathon uphill. The athletes in the lead paused just long enough to replenish on fluids, have the

medical team monitor their vitals and do a quick weight check. They were off again without any time wasted. While it took well over an hour for the rest of the field to reach the top of the pass, the race leaders had already run past Leh town and were near Choglamsar.

In the tradition of ultra runs, it is up to the runner to decide how to balance one’s run between time on the move and time for

resting. Several hours after passing through Leh town, the runners hit the 17,583ft high-Tanglang La. This second pass on the route is lower than the Khardung La but it is more difficult to tackle because by the time they reach it the runners are dog-tired. This was where the switch in lead reportedly hap-pened. Ray began to slow down. He was also affected by the altitude and started to drift in and out of delirium. The medical team had to intervene. Although he insisted on con-tinuing to run and did just that, he lost his lead to Sharon while all this was going on.

The British ace was not without her problems. A constant irritation during the Ladakh Ultra, which is run on the road, was the fumes of passing vehicles. This was tough for the asthmatic Sharon to handle. She had to use a nebulizer every four hours or so. Over a long career in endurance run-ning Sharon had built up a wealth of experi-ence including superb self-awareness and a perfected race diet. However she had never run consistently in oxygen scarce-altitude like this before (in the Ladakh Ultra you are

never free of altitude). Her nutrition plan was not working properly.

The weather was also cold and bleak on Tanglang La, the last major challenge before the finishing point on the Morey Plains. Much later, relaxing in her hotel room, Sharon would describe the Ladakh Ultra as the toughest race she has run.

The 2011 edition is hoped to be a turning point for the Ladakh Ultra. All six athletes in the field had a wealth of experi-ence in endurance running; all completed the race within the stipulated cut-off time of 60 hours. Besides, Sharon is a prominent international athlete. The race’s coming of age was evident in the extent by which the finishing time was improved – more than eleven hours were cut from the timing of 2010. All eyes are now on 2012.(The author is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai)

Sharon fights asthma, altitude to win La Ultra

Sharon Gayter

Ray Sanchez

La Ultra comprises a 222km run at an average altitude of 14,000 ft

La Ultra-The High


Ajij springs a surprise

The dilemma of a champion

THE national men’s lead climbing cham-pion is a 20-year-old who’s worried about where he’s headed. Ajij Sheikh is from a family of modest means. His parents do not think much of a climbing career and want him to get ‘serious’ about life. “My father has a small job… my family knew nothing about climbing and they didn’t encourage me,” says Ajij. “The family situation wasn’t good. When I started winning medals, a lot of people tried to convince them to let me pursue climbing, but for the last two years my father has been telling me to quit.”

Ajij is a college dropout. He works as a freelance adventure guide but his family needs him to get a proper job. “Perhaps if I get a job I can continue climbing,” he says. “Abroad, you get paid to climb, but here, you have to pay to climb.”

Know your national champions

Speed Men 1.Praveen CM 2.Arun Baby 3.MurugarajanWomen 1.Debala Devi 2.Neha Prakash 3.Hemavathi VBoys 1.Vicky Ashok 2.Muhindro 3.Md RafiGirls 1.Chea Marak 2.Charita Venkatesh 3.Smera Jaidev

LeadMen: 1.Ajij Sheikh 2.Praveen CM 3.Somnath ShindeWomen: 1.Debala Devi 2.Hemavathi V 3.Namita Tukaram SawantBoys: 1.Muhindro 2.Tuhin Satarkar 3.Vicky AshokGirls: 1.Chea Marak 2.Sidhi Shekhar 3.Charita Venkatesh

BouLderinGMen 1.Ankit Sharma 2.Ravi Magan Waghela 3.Ajij SheikhWomen 1.Neha Prakash 2.Namita Tukaram 3.Hemavathi VBoys 1.Tuhin Satarkar 2.Vicky Ashok 3.MuhindroGirls 1.Chea Marak 2.Anjali Rao 3.Sidhi Shekhar

THE biggest upset of the 17th National Climbing Championships in New Delhi was in the men’s lead climb-

ing event, when Ajij Sheikh of Pune beat nine-time champion Praveen CM. Besides that, most other events went true to form, with Chea Marak (Karnataka) emerging the most successful climber with gold in all three events – speed, lead and bouldering. Muhindro Lamabam and Debala Devi (both Manipur) and Neha Prakash (Karnataka) won two gold each. Other winners included Vicky Ashok (boys, speed); Tuhin Satarkar (boys, bouldering) and Ankit Sharma (men, bouldering).

The nationals, held in a festive atmo-sphere at the international-standard wall at the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), was a triumph of sorts for its outgo-ing Chairman Keerthi Pais. The event was enlivened by music and competent emcee-ing, and interspersed with video shows and speeches by accomplished Antarctic ad-venturers like Col Anand Swaroop. Events were conducted on time, and an impressive number of competitions completed in just over two days, with enough time left for an elaborate closing ceremony.

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amInternational medallist Chea Marak is flawless as she negotiates the overhang on the climbing wall in the lead competition. Pic: Dev S Sukumar

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Praveen on climbingClimbing is everything; it’s part of my life. You think you can leave climbing and do something else, but then you can’t do anything else either. It’s become routine. I get up at 5am, go to the wall, do my workout, and then everything goes well for the rest of the day. But if I don’t climb in the morning, the day is wasted. Climbing helps shut out everything. You have something on your mind… you’re trying some moves on the wall, you’re trying to climb a route, and when you do, you can crack the problem on your mind as well. In France, people climb at gyms after their work hours; they do some new routes and feel fresh while they go back home.

Mahanya Sreedhar

THE highlight of the 17th National Sport Climbing Championships in early November was the final of the

speed climbing event. It will be remembered as the closest final ever. At the end of it, long-time national champion Praveen CM had retained his title with a new national record of 9.05 sec in his pocket. The speed wall is a 15-metre wall with a 5 degree gradient and a standard route; the event is therefore similar to a 100m sprint.

The speed competition consisted of two identical routes side by side and with elec-tronic touch pads at the top, which helped determine the winner with greater accuracy than the naked eye. This is the first national championship held with a touch pad.

It was the first day of the championship and events had gone late into the night. As the men’s final began, there was an electrifying atmosphere, for all the finalists – Praveen CM, Arun Baby, Gaurav Gupta, Shiva Linga, Palaniswamy, Murgaraj, Ankit Sharma and Somnath Shinde were accom-plished climbers.

As the knockout round progressed it was apparent that Praveen was in form, for he kept timing sub-10 seconds in each run. Arun Baby followed behind, although everybody was so spellbound by Praveen’s progression and some startling upsets to notice Baby and Murgaraj who slithered up un-noticed.

The final clash of the evening was be-tween Praveen and Arun Baby. It’s the kind of run that you witness once in a lifetime. At the word ‘go’, both burst upward and it was neck-and-neck at the halfway mark. To everybody’s shock, Praveen slipped and Baby powered on, and seemed to have taken the title as he touched the pad.

The attention of the audience had been on Baby and as they looked to the left they realized that Praveen had already swung away from the wall after touching the pad – he’d done an incredible dyno leap from three holds below!

The timer said 9.19 to Baby and 9.05 for Praveen. Everybody looked on in disbelief – not only had Praveen snatched the title from Baby, he’d done it in the only way pos-sible, with a leap, and a fraction of a second ahead!

“I didn’t plan that move,” said Praveen later. “It was instinctive. It just happened, I’d never done that move earlier. I don’t know how… I want to see the video. “I could feel him speeding by alongside, and I knew I had to do a dyno if I had to win.”

Speed King clinches it again

PRAVEEN CM has dominated the climbing scene in India over the last decade. The final of the speed event at the nationals showed exactly why he is so good


Dev S Sukumar

INDIAN running set another landmark when Anand Anantharaman and Mala Honnatti completed the Antarctic Ice

Marathon in early December. Mumbai-based Anantharaman finished 23rd in 8:45 hrs, while Mala Honnatti, from Gurgaon, was sixth out of nine finishers and timed 7:11:26. Anantharaman completed a ‘Grand Slam’ – a run on each of the seven continents.

More than 40 competitors from 15 countries gathered on the frozen continent to take part in the half marathon, marathon and ultramarathon (100K) races that would test the resolve of the most steely of run-ning enthusiasts.

The events, which are held at Union Glacier camp, are the only official foot races within the Antarctic Circle on the mainland continent. This year’s event was special as it coincided with the Centenary year of man reaching the South Pole.

On December 1, Clement Thevenet of France dominated the men’s marathon with a record time of 3:47:07. In amazingly bright sunshine and temperatures of -18C, the Frenchman led from start to finish to take the title ahead of the USA’s Alvin Mat-thews and Matthew Von Ertfelda.

Yvonne Brown of Britain won the wom-en’s marathon in 4:26:10, finishing ahead of two previous North Pole Marathon winners, Emer Dooley (IRL) and Alison Hamlett (GBR). The first three finishers broke the previous female record.

On December 2, Thevenet achieved an amazing double, by winning the 100K race as well, in a mere 12:09:06 hrs, another new Antarctic record. The temperature had dropped down to about -25C and the pro-longed exposure causing two competitors , including Thevenet, requiring IV fluids after the race. Former winner, Mark de Keyser (BEL) was a very close second and Dave Deany (AUS) third.

To round off the record setting week-end, Richard Donovan (IRL) ran an epic 100 miles in a day (24:35:02 hrs) to coincide with the Centenary year celebrations. Dark-ness was not a problem for the Irishman as there are 24 hours of daylight in the interior of the Antarctic at this time of year.

“There’s a great sense of content-ment,” said Anantharaman, on his return to Mumbai. “This completed my Grand Slam, of running in the seven continents. Next, I want to complete running barefoot in six continents. I already have run barefoot in Australia, and I will be running the Mumbai Marathon barefoot.”

Indians leave their markin Antarctic snow

Mala Honnatti


Anantharaman is a barefoot run-ning evangelist, and is an organiser of the Navi Mumbai Barefoot Half Marathon. In April 2011 he completed the North Pole Marathon (along with three other Indians – Krishna Prasad Chigurupati, Umadevi Chigurupati and Ajay Khandelwal), which puts him in a rare club of those who’ve run marathons in all the seven continents – Krishna Prasad and Umadevi are the other Indians in the elite 59-member club. “There are a lot of differences between the North and South Pole marathons,” said Anantharaman. “I’d say Antarctica is tougher, but of all the runs I’ve done, the Great Wall of China is the toughest.”

Anantharaman is a relative newcomer to running, having begun four years ago at the age of 55. He says his weekly schedule consists of yoga, weights and ab strengthen-ing exercises, and only one run. He’s also an avid trekker.

Mala Honnatti, a well-known moun-taineer and adventurer, had completed five marathons in 2011, including the Everest Marathon. “It’s different,” she says, compar-ing the Everest event with the Antarctica run. “You’re running in -20 deg and soft snow in Antarctica. In Everest we were coming down from 18000 ft, and running on mud, pebbles and rock. The one thing about Antarctica was that for the most part, you’re running alone.”

Honnatti’s next goal is the Boston Marathon, for which she says she will have to improve her timings.

Anand Anantharaman

To run at below -20deg C, one needs three layers all over the body - bala-

clava, mask and ice-goggles for the face; a thermal layer, a fleece layer and a wind jacket for the torso; an inner and an outer gloves or mittens for the hand; two layers of pants, and an outer wind pant for the lower body and three pairs of woollen socks. Regular running shoes will do the job. Go for a higher size to accommodate the sock lay-ers. I used size 11 against my usual 9.

The Antarctic Ice Marathon course con-sisted of two loops. The first one was 25K and the second smaller one was 17K. There were three aid stations: one every 8K.

The thickness of ice was 1.6 km. At places the top ice is full of soft snow, on which running is difficult as the feet keep plunging into it to ankle level at every step. In some other places, due to strong winds, the top soft layer of snow is blown away, exposing hard ice, which is called blue ice. Running on such stretches is dangerous as one may easily slip and fall. I used ice-cleats (www.yaktrax.com) which is a wire-like coil worn below the shoe to enable running on blue ice.

Surprisingly, even though the ground temperature was -20deg C, the heat of the sun was scorching and due to high radiation from the ice, it felt like a furnace inside the three layers of warm clothing I was wearing.

I was sweating profusely. Suddenly the course took a turn and very chilly winds blew, taking air temperature to -30deg C. We had been warned that when the cold winds blow, it can freeze the sweat inside the layers, leading to frostbite. The solution to that was to ‘avoid sweating’! That was a tall order, as I was already dripping inside. What else could I do but pray to escape frostbite and keep running on? I did precisely that, and passed the wind side without damage.

Runners have to wear large ice-goggles to protect the eyes from intense radiation, or else temporary blindness may result. The problem in wearing ice-goggles on top of a balaclava is that our own breath condenses into ice on the goggles, rendering them opaque. This problem was acute during my North Pole run in April 2011. Later I had purchased a special type of face mask which lessens fogging. So during the Antarctic run, I was not much troubled by goggle-fogging.

The silence on these icy expanses is absolute. There being no trees, branches or leaves, birds don’t chirp around. As the wind can’t ruffle anything, it too blows silently. Being the last in the run, for miles around me there was no life of any form. I was left

to run in semi-meditation, soaking in the majestic, eerie hush of the icy desert sur-rounding me.

I completed the marathon in 8:45 hours, finishing last. Still it was creditably better than the 9:20 I had clocked in the North Pole marathon, where too I was hauling rear guard. The camp was surprisingly well-provisioned.

Within minutes of completing the run, I could call up my daughter on satellite phone and inform her of the successful run.

I started running at the age of 55. I did my first half marathon (Mumbai) on 21 January 2007. Soon I started running in other countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai. At that time I came across the website www.marathontours.com, which talked of the Seven Continents Club (SCC), whose members are those who have com-pleted a full marathon in each of the seven continents including Antarctica. That was in early 2010, and I started planning my runs in each continent. During the later part of the year, I also came to know of the Marathon Grand Slam Club, which entails a full mara-thon in the seven continents, plus one in the North Pole. That reset my sights. I decided to run the North Pole also.

I completed my Marathon Grand Slam runs on 1 December 2011, with a run in the Antarctic continent. I feel a great sense of contentment when I now see my name listed amongst the 50-odd marathoners in the MGS Club.

Negotiating ice and snow

Anand Anantharaman is all wrapped up and ready for the chills and thrills of the Antarctic Ice Marathon


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Dusty Trails: January 2012

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Transcript of Dusty Trails: January 2012