Conquering a 50Km ultramarathon

Running a 50km ultramarathon is the first milestone when graduating from Half and Full Marathons to Ultra marathons. Fortunately the basics of running never changes whether we start running long distances with a 5km run or we are learning to run our first 21km, or 42.2km. Then what are the basics of training for any run, or more particularly a 50km run? So it is assumed that the reader is already a marathoner and has completed at least one Full Marathon and many half marathons, of course. I shall break this analysis into three parts: Pace, Diet and General Tips. 

Pace

Let us take a runner who runs a FM distance in about 4hrs/4hrs 30min. To achieve this, the average pace is around 5:41 / 6:24min/km respectively. The same runner would be doing a Half marathon in approximately 1:45 min at an average pace of  5:00 min/km. So it is clear that as you graduate from HM to FM the pace has reduced by approximately  1 min/km. While the average pace is only indicating the final result, what is more important is the starting pace, mid level pace and final stretch pace. Half marathon and below distances are well within the human energy threshold, so a suitably trained runner can exert himself/ herself to achieve a slightly better timing, even though there would be consequences of pushing yourself beyond your normal pace, which would be felt mostly after the run in terms of muscle soreness, cramps etc. However, this is not likely to work in case of a Full Marathon, because this distance is beyond the normal human energy threshold, and therefore a strategic pace maintenance especially in the starting of the run is very critical. If the pace is the same/ higher than normal HM pace, there is a high probability of cramps /muscle failure/ fatigue after approximately 28-30 kms. Many people refer to this as "hitting the wall". Maintaining a slower pace in the beginning sends messages to the brain that you are in for a long haul and there is a conservation of energy that kicks in automatically. Just as one has to reduce the pace in a FM as compared to a HM, in case of a 50km run, the same capability runner has to further reduce the average pace to about 6:00/ 6:30 min/km to get a completion time of 5 hrs / 5hrs 30  min for a 50km run. Please note that this average time is inclusive of all pit stops at aid stations, walking time etc. during the run. So the actual running pace may be a bit faster than this.  As you start the run, run very slowly, for an ultra it is recommended not to warm up too much, just some dynamic swings to open out your hip joints and knee joints are sufficient. Warm up as you start running, that will ensure that you do not have a higher pace while starting. This is the most important part of the run. As you get warmed up in this distance, there would be a feeling to increase pace, it is important here not to increase the pace and continue running at the same pace. 

Western Ghats Ultra 2015

The Western Ghats Ultra was announced soon after the completion of Pune Ultra on 22 Nov 2015. It was a pleasant surprise to em as I was feeling low for not having been able to run a 50km in Pune Ultra being the Race Director of the event. I felt happy though that we had initiated/ pioneered the Ultramarathon in Pune and given confidence to organisers to conduct the same. I was anyway planning to run a 50km soon along with Parag Dongre, who also could not complete the run on 22 Nov 2015 due to official commitments. 

So we decided to register for this event and run our 50km here. The Western Ghats Ultra was organised at Oxford Golf Course club/ resort which is a very beautiful place located on top of a hill. The route comprised of a 12.5km stretch which had to be done out and back twice to complete 50kms. This 12.5kms stretch had the first 1.5km downhill, and then a 3.7km stretch through a trail( pebbled/mud path) followed by a road leading to vilage Chande and then further to another village where the turn around point was located. We had to cross a river( bridge) and a "shamshan Bhumi(funeral place)" enroute. There were four Check Points (CP0, CP1, CP2 and CP3). There were many water stations in the intial stretch and then for a good stretch of about 5kms, there was no water station and then again two water stations just about 2km apart on the main road to village Chande. 

As we started the run, the morning was dark and chilled, with a full moon but because we were going down-slope and we turned into a trail path, the moon was almost hidden behind the hills and we were in absolute darkness. As we were running downhill, I was constantly checking myself to run slowly and towards that, I had purposely not warmed up. So the warming up was just not happening as it was quite cold and I was wearing a sleeveless vest and a shorts. I met the famous Piyush Shah during the run, and saw many people overtake us in the beginning. We just started 

Training Novice Runners to become FreeRunners

The running journey continues, albeit in different forms as I train novices/ amateur runners and of course training is learning as you learn everyday from the novice and other runners in the group.  A few points about training runners which are relevant in today's context of running marathons are given below:-

Training Runners

Training is an activity which I have started enjoying as it is mostly about "giving" your energy to the new runners who need to learn about "form" and "breathing" and correct techniques to avoid running injuries and also to build good habits which keep them in good shape always. Running is an activity which needs constant focus and attention on the "posture" while running. Training runners involves a lot of personal attention while they run and most of the times, you have to run along and point out the correct way to run, especially for beginners who have not run/ played sports earlier in their lives. This has to be completely personalized as each runner has a typical form and you need to be highly observant to know where the change is required to make their running more efficient. Constant pointing out and making them realize and experience the correct posture is key to their improvement. 

FreeRunners has a unique method of doing this through the 5 day week training program which includes Tempo Running, Interval training, Trail running with hill repeats, Slow Running, and Strength Training followed by a weekend Log run. Each of these activities are focused on form improvement and muscle strengthening which are the basics for running strong.  Consistency in attending all the 5 days training is important for proper training of the muscle groups and form improvement. During the training, a lot of emphasis is given on improving breathing techniques, which needs to be practiced 24x7 and not only during running. The same is true for form, and if you notice most of the old group members, you will be surprised to see the similarity in form of all the runners. The entire training program has a very strong focus on "form"and "breathing" always which results eventually in getting a good "speed" also as the muscles get strengthened and running becomes more efficient. 

The biggest challenge here is in the consistency of runners and when you miss any day of training , it is like a "snake" and "Ladder"  game and you have to re-start/ re-correct. Old habits die hard, and so does form as we always tend to return to our old ways especially when we are not mindful of it. 

To summarize, Running training is about consistency, and complete focus on posture and breathing, at all times.

Join the FreeRunners group which operates Tuesday to Friday and Sundays at two places: Kedari Ground in Wanowrie, and Opposite DPS school at Mohammadwadi/ Undri. Contact the following to join: Jeetendran Nair at 9421038552 or Naveen at 8879105249.

Madness of Running Events

Running Events

I have been managing a few running events and I have quite a bit of learning from here too. Having participated in many events earlier, though I have stopped participating in events now, I know what happens in each runners mind and what they need. So the entire focus of any event we organise is runner-centric to keep them supported. However, what I see in events nowadays is a mite disappointing. While it is heartening to see many "couch-potatoes" stepping out to join a Marathon event and this is very good from a health perspective overall, on the other side, the thirst for "Facebook likes" is actually creating a mockery of the word " marathon". It is a human need to seek recognition and there is no harm in getting some recognition when you achieve something. But the key word is "achievement" and "marathon" so there has to be some benchmark as we are talking about a sport and not a picnic. 

While each person is different, marathon is about running and not about jay-walking. We have people who walk to temples and do parikramas which are very long distances, but are they to be considered as marathon runners? This is a sport and needs to be given some respect. If you were to open Facebook today, we find people being praised and congratulated for timings which are "shameful" for a HM, and the good runners who actually perform well are not even spoken about, especially those from the lower strata of society. As marathon organisers, we need to respect this sport and set some bench mark and timing cut-off. Pleasing the runners to get a huge ticket size and get more entries in the next edition seems to be the mantra at least in most Indian races today, where we boast of large number of participants, where quality of a runner does not seem to be a concern. 

I still remember when I ran my first HM in ADHM at Delhi in 2008, I was shit scared that I will be a DNF if I reach beyond 3 hours and I pushed myself to complete in 2 hr 40 min. The runner was not entitled to a certificate or a medal if he/she did not complete within 3 hrs. Nowadays, there is a marathon event almost every Sunday and there is no time limit, thereby assuring each runner of a medal and certificate, though I don't know if I can call a person who completes a half marathon in more than 3 hrs 30  min as a "runner" or a "walk-runner". A runner completing in sub 2 hrs is not differentiated from a runner who does it in 4 hrs and therefore I do not approve of this model. A runner needs to train for running any event, and the training is actually more important than the event itself. If we claim that we are promoting good health by organising marathons, then we must dissuade jay-walking runners and ask them to start training properly and consistently so that they actually become "seasoned runners" and not "seasonal runners". 

Therefore, I have a suggestion: Let all marathon organizers have three categories: Elite Runners, Amateur Recreational Runners, and Novice Recreational Runners. The novice recreational runners are those who cannot complete a HM in less than 3 hrs and they will only get a participation certificate. They have to earn their medal by completing the run in less than 3 hrs. Set some benchmarks in this sport which brings some competitive spirit in all runners and they strive to achieve some personal goals.  In this way an amateur runner who completes in 2 hrs 30 min will also feel good as he is differentiated from a jay-walker/ runner who just walked his way in a HM to complete in 4 hrs. Ideally, novice runners should not be encouraged to participate in an event, rather they should train and improve themselves to finish a HM in at least 2.5 hrs before they are allowed to register.  A test of a 5 km run in at least 30 min should be a good bench mark to start with. 

FreeRunning- Transcend Pain and suffering- Run with peace and happiness

Marathon running events are a full-fledged craze now and India has more than 100 events registered online and new events are being created constantly every month.  When I started running marathons, and I look back at how and why I started running marathons, probably one of the main factors was to participate in an event. And then, it was kind of an addiction each year to participate in the same event and do better than last time. I was getting more and more addicted as each year my timing was improving and my “facebook likes” were only increasing and my self esteem was sky-high in the running domain. As the years passed by, and I felt that I was stagnating or had touched a flat  in my improvement, and whenever I tried to push myself, I was getting some injury, but being conservative and cautious by nature, I used to pull back and recover and then again start trying. In retrospect, I now realise that somewhere the bug of events had bitten me then and I was being carried by the “wild horse” rather than me riding the horse with control and caution. FreeRunners happened to me in 2014 and till SCMM 2015, the event bug was strong within me. But somewhere deep within, I was introspecting as to why am I running, what is the reason that I love to run, and was searching for answers. So in 2015, I decided to abstain from events as much as possible and continue running long distances on my own, and also if I do participate in events, do not mention about it too much on Facebook and restrain my desire to tell the whole world about the event. I have not been very successful in this as the mind is tempted very strongly to run events and write blogs, so is the reason I am writing this blog too. But the main reason why I am blogging now is that I realised something during running this last year and I feel like sharing it, maybe it would be help some runners out there.

There are two issues I learnt about, one is the concept of running properly which is related to “form” and “breathing” which I have talked about many times in my earlier blogs (click here to read about it), and for which I am ever grateful to Jeetendran Nair and FreeRunners group, where we swear by the manifesto of the group and train everyone to run properly.  The second and main issue in this blog is the “freeing” of the mind especially when we run in events.  I am only discussing recreational runners here and not elite runners/ competitive runners. In recreational running too, there are competitive recreational runners especially in the senior categories, who aspire to be on the podium and win prizes and trophies, and there are runners who want to qualify for international marathons like Boston etc.. and they may not be able to avoid the pain and suffering that comes along with pushing your bodies to the maximum in these events. However, when it comes to the other recreational runners, who are not competing for positions on the podium or specific international events selection timings, need not suffer and endure pain in each event to achieve their PBs. Timings are important to benchmark your performance and to act as an feedback to train properly and probably focus on learning to run properly, but obsession of timings while you are running, is it really necessary? The answer boils down to only one thing- Training. Have you been consistent in your training? Consistency and proper training throughout the year will always ensure that you grow stronger and stronger and are bound to improve. However, a cautionary note:- I strongly believe that each person is unique and different and coaches can only guide the trainee with respect to the correct style of running, and try and enforce some consistency and persistence in the training and nutrition patterns. The ability of the body of each individual to respond and perform will be absolutely different for each individual and that needs to be respected. Some learn very fast and yet take longer time to recover, some take long time to learn but have got excellent recovery and many such permutations and combinations exist.  Further, each day is different and no one can say what will happen on the final day of the event, even stalwart veteran marathoners have faltered and had DNFs in events. That does not in any way make them bad runners, just that the particular day was not a good day for them.  Hence it is always about human dynamics and it’s response to multiple factors being way too complex than we can imagine and articulate. It is however very important for every runner to train well to understand their own bodies and mind well, so that they can feel and realise the signs of thirst, heat, fatigue etc. and take timely corrective actions during any run. Also, runners tend to lose their form when they are tired and if they are alert, will be able to realise and feel the difference when they break their form. The pressure of timing cheats the mind and runners tend to push themselves unnecessarily, most of the times doing more harm than good. If you are in touch with yourself always, the probability of a strong finish during any run is the highest. Running is more like meditation where you are constantly looking at your mind and body and realising what is happening within you as you run. This of course comes with practice and has to be practiced during training also.

Another factor is social media where the craze of putting up pictures on Facebook and boasting of PBs etc. has become a routine. Yes, all of us go through this phase as we evolve as runners and there is nothing wrong in basking in this social glory to feel good about yourself, but I feel that running is an enjoyable sport by itself and attaching too much of importance to events and PBs etc. is kind of externalizing the aspect of running to an extent that running any event leads to anxiety and tension of performance. Recreational runners should enjoy running, whether in an event or otherwise, and if you have been training consistently throughout the year, every week and every month, then this one event of a Full marathon and maybe two events of half marathons in a year, should be treated as just another long Sunday run and run with ease. The chances are very bright that you will finish very strong and the timing may also be slightly better than what you do on a normal long Sunday run. But the icing on the cake really is the “strong finish” and the good feeling after the run because you are relaxed and there is no fatigue, other than slight soreness in the muscles and knees after a FM, which is normal.  Be realistic in setting targets for events and be happy with the results that you get. You train for one more year consistently and keep running in events without tensing yourself on timings and see the improvement. Running marathons recreationally is all about enjoying yourself and learning to run in a relaxed manner without tensing your mind or body.

Running in early mornings is a pleasure as you can always witness the rising Sun and absorb the warmth and the positive energy and minerals of the first rays of the Sun while witnessing the beauty and resplendence of the Sun changing shape and colours and getting diffused within minutes into the sky and lighting up the morning.  You get to hear and see a variety of birds chirping and playing around and wonder how much noise they make and try and identify the birds by the different sounds. The sound of the waves in the ocean for the coastal runners is another beautiful music to the ears. Nature provides us enough entertainment to keep our minds occupied and relaxed, yet we want to ignore all this and fill up our mind with unnecessary tension and anxiety, which only acts as poison to the body, as muscles stiffen and lead to cramping as soon as energy levels are depleted. 

Therefore, I am writing this blog to evangelise what I define as “FreeRunning”, where we learn to run keeping our minds free and relaxed, body( muscles) relaxed, and we enjoy and appreciate the beauty of the surrounding environment while we run.  Of course, all this is possible only after we learn how to run properly and practice the running form and breathing consistently and persistently till we get to a point where it becomes part and parcel of ourselves, just like we eat food or brush our teeth, when we don’t have to think about how we are doing it.  So signing out with this food for thought to Run Free and enjoy the feeling of running where it transcends all pain and suffering, in fact, makes it blissful and peaceful. Yes, it is possible to run effortlessly and still get good results! 

Cheers to Happy and Peaceful FreeRunning! 

Basics of Running Form and Breathing for Beginners

FreeRunners group headed by Jeetu alias Cdr Jeetendran Nair( Retd)  also called as "Ustaad" by many is blessed with a huge group of highly energetic and enthusiastic members who are always willing to give their best to learn and improve their running. Today, I was listening to Jeetu advising the freshers of the group after the strength training session and I joined the discussion to just understand and emulate the way he coaches the freshers. While I listened to what he said, I realised that the aspect of "form" and "breathing" that we keep emphasizing on in the group is actually so basic and natural to our body, yet, we are ignorant about it most of the time. Running helps us to get back in touch with our basic nature and understand the functioning of the body and the mind and every new day is a new learning. As it is said, learning never ends and running is an evolutionary process which is taking us "back to the basics" as we are realising and experiencing a much stronger and resilient self which we all never knew existed in our own body and mind. Actually, the human body is designed to adapt itself to circumstances and as we push ourselves beyond our respective boundaries, of course, under guidance of a coach, to ensure that we don't overdo it,  the body keeps adapting and also tells us if we are going wrong. In fact, the pains and niggles we often get after a run indicate to us that there is something wrong somewhere in our kinematic chain and we need to focus on that part and correct it by persistent practice and endeavour. There are only two ,main aspects in running which we always focus on and so let us try and look at them in some detail:-

(a) Breathing:- Belly or diaphragm breathing has been talked about enough. How important is this? I personally feel it is the most important facet of a healthy life. Yes, it is not only about running, it is about how we breathe 24/7. Breathing is involuntary and we have to breathe to live. But the body being adaptable, adapts to our sedentary lifestyles and we start breathing in a manner that under utilizes our lung capacity and very soon, the unused lungs get weaker and weaker. Most of the times, beginners start panting very soon and feel out of breath, because their incorrect breathing style was catering for their sedentary lifestyle where the lung capacity was only partially utilised. Here is where the first change has to be initiated. So the trainee is asked to learn how to breathe using the belly/ diaphragm. While running, it is advised to exhale forcefully while contracting your belly simultaneously simulating the correct style of breathing. Inhalation happens involuntarily and the belly swells up during this phase. So the correct style is: "Inhale- the belly swells up, chest does not move at all." and "Exhale: the Belly contracts completely". Continuous practice of this sequence/ style of breathing is essential for a fresher who has just started running. Very soon, the body is going to adapt and with hours and hours of practice of this breathing technique, the runner will find breathing at faster paces or uphill climbs also very comfortable, simply because the body has adapted itself and the lungs are now being used to higher capacities.

(b) Form :  Form is something that seems to be overhyped and a lot of pictures and advice is available on the internet. We can see the elite runners and observe their running form to know how an ideal form should be. But how easy is it to correct one's form? It is an extremely difficult and time consuming task. Patience, determination and persistence is required, because, over a period of time, the body and mind have been conditioned to a particular way of walking, sitting, running etc. which as you notice different individuals, each one will have a different style/ gait. So is it right to say that one form is correct while the other is not? In my opinion, yes! Running has taught me that form is equally important for a healthy life. The skeleton is actually floating in our bodies and it is our muscles, tendons and ligaments that are holding the skeleton in position. How we hold it determines our form. So what is a correct form and how should a fresher start correcting form?  First thing I feel that needs to be taught to most Indians is that we all must try to always walk/sit/ run tall.  My experience has revealed that most Indians tend to slouch/ have a shortened form, I don't know if it is a legacy of being slaves for a long period of time, but this needs to be corrected. We all must walk tall and that way a lot of things get corrected on their own. For instance, the collar bone gets pushed up and the chest is out, and as soon as the chest is out, the core gets engaged, with the shoulders relaxed yet firm and not slouched. As soon as the core gets engaged, the effort required to walk or run shifts uniformly to all parts of the kinematic chain ( mainly the glutes and the abdomen), thereby effectively reducing the load on the legs.  Continuous practice of such posture correction at home, in office, while walking etc. will keep strengthening the muscles which have got weakened because of years of disuse due to sedentary lifestyle and habits. This has added benefits, as you will start looking more smarter and will effuse confidence as you walk as if you are walking a ramp. Yes, models are actually taught to walk tall and confident and that is the right form.

Another tip to practice running tall is to use your core to push the chest up and out and use shoulder/arms for propulsion while running. The arms must move more behind the body and very little ahead. Imagine someone has tied a rope to your waist and is pulling you from 5m ahead. This will take your hip slightly ahead and legs will follow the hip. Take small steps and try to keep the knees straight while running as if you are pushing off the ground. Leg muscles should be relaxed and one must feel comfortable while running.

Our predecessors who used to sit cross legged on the floor were much better off than us sitting on chairs, because that is a much better posture as it uses all core muscles and enriches the tissues, muscles and associated parts as they are getting exercised and stretched keeping those ligaments and tendons supple enough. Western toilets have spoilt our daily morning stretching exercise which was good for our calf muscles, hip flexors and glutes.  Automation in terms of pumps, mixies, grinder, washing machines etc. has ensured that we don't use our body for the excellent exercises that used to strengthen our arms, backs, upper bodies etc.

Therefore, since we are living in a capitalistic growing economy and our life style is only going to get more sedentary with more automation and urbanisation, distance running serves as the correction mechanism to ensure that we remain strong physically and mentally by maintaining a good form and posture and ensuring that our lungs are used to their full capacities.  Patience persistence and determination are key attributes for improvement in running as well as for a healthy life.

Disclaimer: I am no medical professional nor am I a certified specialist in physical training. I have only expressed my personal learning  in order to share my experiences and help other beginners to run freely . Each body and mind is unique and each person has to discover, realise and experience the reality within their own minds and bodies to see how to adapt these corrections, if required. However,  form and breathing are universal to all human beings and is a basic fact which has to be given utmost focus and emphasis especially for distance running.

Training Run as well as Route Recconaisance run for Pune Ultra-50K

The First Pune Ultra is about to be launched by FreeRunners. Therefore, I decided to get a feel of the route. The Ultra-marathon event would be a niche event for trained ultra runners. As the discussion progressed on Facebook Ultramarathoners page, runners decided not to have any T-shirts, BIBs or timing chips. The numbers would be kept to a manageable size and therefore, individual attention could be given to the runners. Costs would be kept to a minimum, catering for the route management, organisation of stay and food for the participants at actual costs. Cost of medals, hydration and food would be the main components. As for the route and cut-off timings, it was decided to have a timing cut-off which would be challenging and make the event interesting. Route would be a mixture of tar roads, mud tracks, and trail, with a number of rolling hills through natural environments of villages and small hills and water bodies. The runner will definitely feel refreshed by the beauty of nature around him/ her. However, training will be essential to run this route in order to succeed in meeting the cut off timings. The date for this event has been decided as 22Nov 2015, a week after Diwali is over. In order to do the route reconnaissance, an impromptu plan was made and a group of FreeRunners also training for the Bengaluru Full Marathon decided to run this Ultra route as a practice long run of approx distance 33K. The Ultra route will have a loop of 12.5k and back done twice to complete 50K. So we decided to start at a point 7k away from the Start point and complete one loop of the Ultra route. The Ultra Start point is planned to be at “Innovera High School" which will partner FreeRunners in organising this event with the gracious hospitality of Mr Vinay Joshi, a FreeRunner and Founder Director of Innovera High School.The training run commenced at 0505 hrs with 8 runners and we started running from a point on the Pune-Solapur road with a lot of truck traffic and insufficient light on the road. All were scared of any injury as it was only three weeks left for the Bengaluru Marathon. Vinay Joshi accompanied the runners on his cycle and two ladies, Anupama and Sangeetha, wives of two FreeRunners were the angel supporters. I was not feeling very well this morning, as I was having a slight niggle in my glutes after a fast 12k yesterday at Magarpatta with Vivek Bhargava. My stomach was also feeling queasy as I had not de-ballasted completely in the morning and I was wondering how I would be able to manage this for the long run. I reaffirmed to myself that the body always adapts to the mind and focused on my run. The darkness on the roads made us run quietly and carefully watching the road like an amateur barefoot runner, especially with the blinding headlights of trucks coming from ahead. I was cursing myself to have decided to chose this as the starting point, but now that we had started, there was no looking back and all of us ran amidst all the darkness and pollution waiting eagerly for the turning tothe school ensuring better environmental conditions for the remaining run.So the first 7.8K approximately took us about 40/45 minutes as we entered the school from the back gate and Vinay was already there waiting for us. But since there was another group coming behind, he could not accompany us to show us the route, but Shyamal knew the route as he had run earlier on the same route. So we all took off on the first part of the route which was 8k of motorable roads, a mix of tar roads and mud roads through quaint villages and open grounds. So we started running, the time was about 05:45 hrs and it was dark but the signs of daylight were visible already.

As we ran, we could feel the change in environment from the pollution of the vehicles to the fresh air and the surrounding vegetable fields and we were running towards the hills at a distant backdrop. We reached a point where we took a left turn onto a mud track alongside a canal, which was not having much of water, indicative of the water shortage in this city, and we continued on this route for about 3-4K till we hit a main road and a bridge which this track joins, and then we ran on the road on the other side of the canal and this road meandered into a village and then a slow climb up a hill raising the elevation of the route. Since none of us were mentally prepared for this uphill, and we tried to maintain our pace, we were panting as we reached the top, but the angels (damsels (sic)) came to the rescue of the “knights in distress” and gave us enerzal and water. This was our first pit-stop, and we then continued on the route till we reached the end of the road at “Ram Garrha” a beautiful ancient temple with a water body. 





This was approx 8 kms from the school. None of us knew the route ahead of this point and Vinay was not in sight, so we decided to take our chance and continue, so we guessed the route and took a right turn and the route was a trail with stones and slush patches in between where we had to do some gymnastics to cross puddles. There were rolling hills and then we just started following our instincts and kept running into the villages and kept a constant direction. Soon we hit a Tar road and could see the ghats from there on the left, and also the building of Hadapsar and Handewadi, hinting that if we continued running on this road, we could reach back to Hadapsar/ Kedari. The Garmin worn by Muthukrishnan, Vivek and Shyamal was registering that we needed to run another 700m to complete the distance of 12.5K from the school, and so we continued on the tar road till the Garmin registered 12.5k and then we retraced our way back. There was a bit of confusion on the way back, but we were finally able to trace our way back. I forgot to mention that in our tryst with this unknown route, as we were crossing one village, two dogs( bitches to be specific) tagged along with us and kept us company for the entire route till we reached back the temple. We were appreciating their fitness and ease with which they were tackling all the up-slopes and down-slopes and they were running across us into the fields and then again joining us as if they were making fun of our running ability.On our way back, we soon saw Vinay standing near a field and we realised that we had taken a slight detour from the original planned route and he showed us the path next to a field which lead to the main road. Then we reached the temple and found our angels waiting to re-energize us for the balance 8k back to the school. The Sun was up by now and as we ran back, I was reenergized after having enerzal and water, and increased my pace along with Shyamal, and both of us surged ahead as this part was mostly downhill and soon we reached the turning point into the mud road alongside the canal. Here, Shyamal was feeling dried up, and he wanted to hydrate himself, but there was nothing in sight, and the Garmin showed that we had another 4k to do, so we decide to just run and complete it. This stretch was difficult as there was absolutely no shade and sun was directly up and the road seemed never-ending. Finally the turn came and then the tar road through the village/ township also seemed very long. I finished the run at about 08:20 am(3hrs:15min) from our starting time of 05:05 am. The distance covered was 33k.Vinay was there at the school and an awesome treat of boiled eggs and hot tea with bread was waiting for us. This was a totally unexpected surprise treat from Vinay and we landed up gobbling up the eggs at a pretty rapid pace as we were all famished and hungry. The icing on top of the cake was the “refreshing” pipe shower rather a pressurized “body wash” provided by Vinay by running a water pump from the well in the school. All of us were completely fresh and charged up again at the end of the run. Thus a memorable run came to an end with absolutely endearing and great memories that will be embedded in our minds for eternity. A zillion thanks to Vinay Joshi and the angel supporters Sangeetha and Anupama for the brilliant support provided by them. Vinay actually cycled about 40-45k today for providing us this support. So watch out for this special event for trained runners- “Pune Ultra-50K” to be launched very soon..