Brief Summary
Event : Bangalore Ultra 2013 - 25 KM
Date : 10 November 2013 06:00 AM
Place : Kingston County Annexe, Bangalore
Distance : 25 KM
Time Taken To Run : 3Hr 43Min 45Sec
?It was a moment of happiness and joy ?which I will try to put it in words.
On November 10 2013 I participated my first running event. Yes and that happened in my 29 YEARS of age. But the wait was awesome.
I had been enjoying my running from almost 550 days . But I never thought or got enthused to participate in any event.
One fine day I was browsing through some running websites and came to know about www.runnersforlife.com. Even they organized some running events. And surprisingly they were from Bangalore and they had plans to organize Bangalore Ultra. This Bangalore Ultra has events like 12.5 KM, 25 KM, 50 KM, 100 KM and the amazing 24 Hr running events. I had to chose one event. I was in a confusion weather to take 12.5 KM or 25 KM. Rest other were not my cup of tea at this moment. Then I applied online on October 08 2013 and my registration was confirmed. I had to pay Rs. 2675 including Event(1700), Tshirt(650), Transport(325)(which i didnt use).
Countdown started from the day I registered by reading a lot of online blogs and articles about the Bangalore Ultra. And researched even a lot more how to complete a race without any injuries, read related articles about running, read motivational stories. In short I invested almost half an hour at home in reading such articles. Regarding training I am in a Running Streak from more than 550 days. So I just need to run smart and train properly. I hoped rest everything would be taken care by itself.
I told couple of my colleagues and friends about the Bangalore Ultra. No one seemed to be interested in running and running by investing money. But one guy was readily interested and he was AjitKumar Hegde. Artist and photographer by passion but is working as a Flash Animation guy for his bread and butter. The moment I said about the event to him initially he was not confident in participating and competing in the event. But somehow he got convinced and registered in the 12.5 KM category. And for a beginner runner running a 12.5 KM is not a small task.
Sooner I and Ajit practiced everyday in Sankey Tank. It was really fun to run in Sankey Tank. Many walkers and joggers would come there and automatically we used to get motivated to do very well.
Sankey Tank Run
Pre Race
It was like an examination for me. For the first time I was running in an event. I had run a 25 KM before in normal roads. But to run a 25 KM on a trail was a different ball game and that too to participate in an event. Like every normal human many thoughts would crop in my mind. Some positive and negative thoughts which used to occur were
Negative
a) Will I be able to finish 25K
b) What if I came last
c) What if I quit the race in between due to bad bowel movement or some injury
d) What if I don't wake up early in the morning of the race day
e) What if I get injured during the race which may hamper my running streak
f) What if my timing chip failed at the moment and I get disqualified due to that
Positive
a) What a feeling would it be
b) My mom, wife and everyone who is closely associated would be very happy to know I completed the race
c) To write a blog and brag about my running
d) To get a finisher medal and certificate which shall be treasured for life long and get motivated by seeing that
The race day came nearby and my excitement of participating in the race grew exponentially. Couple of days back I and Ajit went to get the Racer Kit. It was at Reliance Trends, Richmond Road, Bangalore. In the racer kit we had our T Shirt, Bib , Timing Chip, Food Coupon, Travel Coupon, Brochure, Route Map, Electral Sachet and Donation Pamplet. We even ended up purchasing a track pant for running.
Racer Kit
Bib
Timing Chip
I had heard a lot about Timing chip which we have to tie in our shoe lace. But this timing chip was different, which we have to paste it behind the Bib. I and Ajit used to discuss what we should carry, which clothing should we prefer, should we carry camera, should we listen to music while running, when and where should we meet and go to the destination and many more small and big issues which we discussed before the race day.
In the last moment the day before the Race day I purchased a small hand bag which can be wore in the waist. But I preferred wearing diagonally across my shoulder.
I told Ajit to wake me up if he gets up early or I will wake him up if I get up early. I was so engrossed and obsessed with the race that I slept last two days before the race wearing the Tshirt and the track pant which I was planning to run with.
Race Day
Ajit woke me up exactly 2 minutes before 3 AM. Got ready by completing the morning chores. Stuffed myself with a banana. Packed my hand bag which I would be carrying while running with my headphones, mobile phone, Soridon Tablets (For a precaution if my head ache starts). Did a quick meditation for 5 minutes to motivate myself and do some pep talks to keep my spirits higher. I left home exactly by 3:45 AM to pick Ajit by 4 AM near his home. Then we started our journey towards the Venue. By mistake we typed in a different Latitude Longitude to the Google Map. So it took us to a different destination thankfully the main destination was only 4 KM from our wrong destination. Then we typed in the correct destination named as Kingston County Annexe. Then we reached the venue by 45 minutes earlier. We had time to deposit our baggage, clear our bowel at the last minute, do some pre run stretches, see the inspiring 24 Hr and 100 KM runners finishing the races. Hats off to those people.
Ajit's event of 12.5 KM was about to start at 6:30 AM and my event was about to start at 6:00 AM sharp. The announcer before the race briefed about the race and the number of people participating in the 25 KM and 12.5 KM races, and asked to shift our running position according to our speed. And I diligently moved myself to the last position. Because I knew I did't want to run fast and as this was my first running event I wanted to run in a slow and steady pace. There were total of 1200 odd people who were running for the 25 KM and 12.5 KM together. It was an inspiring scene to see such huge number of participants participating in one of the toughest races in India. RunnersForLife claims it is one of the 100 toughest trail run in the whole world.
Ketan Before Race
Ajit Before race
The race route for 25 KM runners was divided into 4 splits of 6.25 KM each. First 6.25 KM to and fro and repeat it for 2 times. Race started exactly by 6:00 AM. Punctuality is what I like. I started to run slowly and steadily leaving many runners behind me. After some couple of kilometers I shifted the gear and started to run slightly faster than my training runs and I was cruising like an awesome runner. But it was very difficult to catch some runners(girls and boys) even when you pace yourself very fast. I reached the first land mark of 6.25 KM in 46 Minutes. I took a sip of water at the water station. Mistake which I did was I didn't take any energy drink at this moment. I never knew this would hamper my running in the coming kms. Turned around myself to reach the next 12.5 KM mark and reached there at a total of 1Hr 37Mins. By this time my pace was dropping and surprisingly I didn't stop at this water station to even drink water. That must be the most over confidence mistake which I must have done while running this distance. During this time I took my mobile and took a small video to make a video blog of my experience.
Now started the grueling next half of the race. Slowly I started to see many runners running past me. I slowly reduced my pace without even me realizing. Then exactly on the 18.75 KM mark there was another water station I took water, energy drink and some oranges which were placed by the organizers.
Slowly I started to run the remaining 6.25 KM. But something happened to me and I was running in a pace which was slower than many people who were walking. Then I realized what have I done to myself and many probabilities were popping in my mind, is this slow pace because of skipping some water station earlier or is it I am hitting the famous WALL. I din't want to walk, I wanted to complete the race by running. After struggling a lot I quit and started to walk and run for 2 kms from 20 to 22 KM .These were the most painful 2 KM in this run. But after some time I mustered energy and started to run in a pace which was surprisingly faster than the pace which I maintained during 10 to 15 KM. And when I was nearing the 25 KM mark I took another video of my running. Then the moment arrived I was only 200 to 400 meters away from the end point and people were cheering cmon run stronger , keep it up . The moment I reached the finish point Ajit was waiting with his camera to take some pictures of me completing the race. The volunteer congratulated and garlanded me with the finisher medal. The moment was quite emotional and it was my first running event and my first medal (Not a winning medal, finisher medal).
I was not able to believe myself I made it and completed the event. It was a tough route with lots of narrow paths and uneven roads. That is why they call it as a trail I realized.
I completed the race of 25 KM in 3Hr 43Min 45Sec ,I know it was a very slow run compared to other runners, but I completed and that satisfaction still surrounds my mind. Ajit completed his 12.5 KM in 2Hr. Even he must have felt happy the moment he completed his distance. He trained for only 20 days and he was about to run 12.5 KM without any problems.
Garmin Data of Bangalore Ultra 2013 - 25 KM
Ketan in the Middle of Running
Ajit in the Middle of Running
Ketan Receiving Medal
Stretching After the Race
Ajit in Stage
Ketan in Stage
Ajit and Ketan in Stage with Medal
Medal Closeup
Ajit With Medal
Ketan Kissing the medal
Ajit And Ketan with Medal
We met each other and had our post race meal of Idli,Vada and Pongal. Drank lots of liquid after the run. After the meal we took some video and pictures of ourselves by posing in different position.
Then it was the time to head back from venue to home. Even after a tough run on the trail my legs were strong enough to kick start my Bullet Standard 350 in a single kick.
We both reached home together with a satisfaction, experience and joy which will be remembered for a long time. Moreover I didn't listen to any music while running.
Video of My experience in Bangalore Ultra 2013 - 25 KM
Moral : Bangalore Ultra 2013 was a very nice experience. Even though I ran a small distance but running in such an event was for the first time. Enjoyed a lot.