The Answer lies within

Your mind is your stereo player and the environment your playlist - Run and enjoy

I started running in Dec 2000 and listened to music as I ran on a treadmill in our basement in a Chicago Suburb.
Once Winter was over I searched for the newest, lightest, Sony MP3 at the time, and listened to I think 16 MB of music (yes MB) and would never run without it. In Oct 2001 when I was running my first ever marathon, I met my dad at the half marathon mark and gave him my MP3 and then I really tuned in to my run.

I heard the sound of thousands of foot steps, I heard my own foot strikes, the cheers around, the music, the clapping, the bands, the music of individuals and so much more. My second half of the marathon was decidedly more interesting even though I was so much more tired. But I felt I was more alive, and I could think of positive thoughts of my last training run, that with every 8-9 minutes passing there was one mile less to go, that I could dream of the beer waiting around the finish line, and so on.

Ten years later, I was running on several trails and enjoying running out in nature, enjoying the spectacular views, listening to the birds,  the wind in my hair, the gentle ripple of the waves when I ran on a beach, or the crunching through the early morning snow in the Himalaya and getting down to the next level which could be ice, or softer snow or leaves and dirt trail and mushy water tracks... as when I was running the Everest Marathon in May that year.

I have NEVER listened to music since my first half of my 1st marathon, and in the hundreds of runs we have organised across India, I have always advised people to avoid their music and tune in to themselves and the world around them and therefore become a better runner and enjoy the run more. A few do, but many don't. I strongly advise them against music when they are on one of our cross country runs in particular, as apart from other things, not having music gets you to focus on the trail, the directional markings and also the beauty of the surroundings.

Here is a link to a brief article which also gives several reasons, many of which I have experienced myself and touched upon above,, and some others - read on https://www.active.com/running/articles/8-reasons-to-run-without-headphones?cmp=17N-DP20-BND50-SD20-DM10-T9-1090

and be your own music - the playlist is varied and vast.

Happy running

Mumbai Magic - The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2017

The Marathon in Mumbai is an annual affair for me from it's first edition in 2004 where we were around 80 finishers, to yesterday in 2017 when we were around 5000, but with the engagement of the city and it's people - it is unlike any other in India.

Have always had my batchmate Jerry cheering me on at the base of Peddar road at around the 10K mark and then at around 35k on the way back.

Haji Ali in all  it's glory early morning,

the Hi Fives of kids oozing energy at Worli Fishing Village and Mahim and Dadar in particular, the residents with all their snacks and toffees and water at Worli, Dadar and Peddar road, the dholaks and dancers at Bandra Reclamation,

the Japanese group on the top of Peddar road, and the smiling policemen have always been wonderful connects.

But the most special part of the Mumbai Marathon Experience year on year are with fellow runners, some whom I don't know at all and exchange a smile of a cheer, some whom I meet annually at this party, and other close friends and some whom I am lucky to run into, at this social, and re-connect.

I stuck mostly to my plan this year with the core objective of meeting up with as many people of different paces and finishing with a smile, as I used this to physically be back into shape after a long hiatus given the Delhi pollution.
I started a little ahead of the 4 hour bus and somewhere around Chowpati joined Dinesh in his 4:15 bus. Hopped on and hopped off of many buses after that as the sea link emerged out of the mist and haze with a gorgeous orange sun. The Bandra Reclamation dance and music troupe were truly energising - hats off to them.

The icing on the cake for me was at around km 25, running into two old friends - Breeze Sharma who had just run a 100 miler the week before and was cooling down with this Marathon and with Pedong express - Roshni - who was also taking it easy. We chatted about various experiences, tales of running - both highs and lows, of cheating, or breaking of records and about each other. It was a wonderful connect - we were taking it easy and soaking it in, making the most of our time together. I had always wanted to run with breeze behind me, and a gentle light in front, and this time, I had both, with Breeze and Roshni as we finished the run together!!

I always look forward to the after party party at Leopold's where we are all 5 year old kids again. This time was no exception and it was wonderful to connect with fellow blistered and bruised and energised folks. This time we were perhaps 4 year olds!!
Then I went to Cafe Mondegar and saw all the staff wearing singlets - where the front said - the race is over, its beer time now, and the back had a print of several runners headed to the finish line - for beer. Only in Mumbai!! The whole city really does get engaged.

Cheers to Mumbai. You sure infect all those who come from various cities, towns and villages and India and I am sure that slowly and steadily, other runs across the country will become more and more engaging for the city and the participants.

Cheers to running bringing all of us together regardless of caste, creed, gender, economics, religion..... and at the finish line, gets us weak at the knees

Running And Your Knees - Demythified!!

Running is Good for your knees and joints - go forth and run!!

Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas concluded in a study in 2014 that regular running can prevent a person's chance of developing painful osteoarthritis - Read more

Running lowers inflammation in the knee joints – concludes a study at Brigham Young University – Dec 2016. Read more

Dr. Stephen G. Rice, Director of Sports Medicine at Jersey Shore University Medical Center:

The person who is active and fit and moving around is doing the most active defense against arthritis. There's a happy medium between whether you run smart, slowly building up your endurance, and stay active, and if you put extra force on your knees.

Some people who are genetically set up for arthritis, and no matter how well they run, they will end up developing arthritis.

Dr. Michelle Wolcott, associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine:

If you haven't had an injury, a broken bone or a ligament injury where you are predisposed to arthritis, then your chances of creating arthritis are minimal.

We know that weight-bearing exercise, such as running, helps prevent osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Repetitive weight bearing and motion are good for the joints, and running essentially does that.

Read More 

Some basics for great knees

Proper training programs.

Rest days - critical for protecting the knees.

Running form is key in avoiding knee problems.

Running when injured can cause serious damage.

All runners need strength training.

Every run should include stretching.

The surface you run on, matters - mix the surfaces. Cross country running also helps rehab and strengthening, given the non repetitive nature of the foot strike on an uneven surface.

Read more

Use your common sense and listen to your body. Ease into running gradually and feel the difference.

 

No running away from this one - Currently indoors is in and outdoors is out

Long run or short run?

Indoors or outdoors?

Mask or no mask?

Run or walk?

Downtown or countryside?



Questions of all hues from enthusiastic cyclists, runners and walkers have been doing the rounds over the last 3 weeks, as Diwali normally marks the start of the peak running, and cycling season.

Today Gurgaon had an air quality index of 177-unhealthy, RK Puram 798-hazardous,  Faridabad 309-hazardous, Noida 550-hazardous and ITO 223-unhealthy. Even a level of 135 at Palam is categorised as unhealthy for sensitive groups. As a contrast AQI of 54 at Rohtak was categorised as moderate and Nashik at 28 was good.

Lucknow at 523, Agra at 352, Jaipur at 165, Chandigarh at 148, and Patna at 318 round off the picture for the major urban monitoring centres across N India.

Central India is not a pretty picture either with a band of RED right through the urban agglomerations from West to East



But these levels are 50% better than a week earlier, in most places.  Runners said ”things are much better than earlier, lets do a short fast run’. Or let’s wear a mask.

It’ll be OK.

But is it?



We need to know a few things



1-    Understand the implications of each level of air quality



 

2-    Realise that this is not a normal situation. Schools have been closed by the Government, doctors have advised people not to walk outdoors unless absolutely essential. UNICEH and WHO are very concerned. Delhi has been crowned the most polluted city in the world.

3-    Air quality levels improved from levels of 1000 to 400/500 over the last week, much like a fire which reduces in temperature from 2000 Celsius to 500 Celsius. But it will burn you just the same.

4-    Masks - N95 and N99 (i.e. normally filtering 95% and 99% of PM 2.5 (i.e. particulate matter of 2.5 microns) with a valve are good for walking, when the air quality levels are moderate or at a stretch, marginally unhealthy at worst. They would be progressively less efficient at higher levels of AQI

5-    These respirator ‘dust’ masks are made for miners, construction workers and those in other industries where the environment has fine particulate matter.

6-    There are NO respirator masks made for running

7-    These masks are not and cannot be airtight like diving masks and there will be ingestion of some unfiltered air, no matter what; just like we do not use a splash proof watch, no matter how expensive, under water

8-While running over a 2-3 hour period, the heavy and quick air intake, reaches the deepest recesses of the lungs, and with more severe AQI, the fine 2.5 micron particles, do too.

9-    In the unhealthy AQI range and beyond, children should not be outdoors, even with a mask, as their lungs are even more susceptible to harm.

10-    AQI levels are generally lower during the warmer part of the day



So what can we do?

·     Exercise indoors and keep doors and windows closed.

·     Open the windows with the fan on, if and when the sun comes out and the air clearer, during the later part of the day.

·     Run on a treadmill

·     Do indoor freehand exercises

·     Focus on stretching and yoga

·     Check if the AQI in the mid /latter part of the day is OK and squeeze in a short outdoor run where possible

·     Drive out to the outskirts of your town where the air is fresher and run / cycle there

Meanwhile work towards photographing and reporting any burning of waste, polluting vehicles, big exposed dusty patches and muddy construction sites, while you try and reduce travel and start carpooling where possible.

See if there are some activities like adopting dusty areas and grassing and maintaining them, operationalising Dr MS Swaminathan’s ideas on converting crop stubble into animal feed, and other simple but disruptive actions under our company CSR  activities to make our environment better and breathable. Those of us in the media can spread the good positive stories, those of us in the bureaucracy can work towards enabling citizen groups, individuals and companies doing good, or wanting to do good.
Spread the word to other you know who are active, to be watchful and take care of themselves and as Trump may say - Let’s make the air around my country great again!!

Best Regards
Rahul Verghese

What Running Shoes should I buy??

WHAT RUNNING SHOE IS BEST FOR ME?

"The shoe maketh the man"
This is the time when every seasoned runner and every aspiring 5km runner, is asking the same questions:

what shoe do you wear?
what brand is good?
what model is good for me?

Few basics in the long term:
Running form and style is a critical area to focus on, which over time makes the running shoe less critical
Less and less is more, going as minimalist as possible over time, improves running form
Different running surfaces require different shoe types - road running, cross country and trail running
Different running objectives require a different shoe type - racing, long distance (where you ultimately possibly resort to heel striking when tired), short distance running.

and the side benefits of focusing on your running form are:
Lower chance of injury
More efficient running and therefore better stamina and speed
More enjoyment during each run

It is then, that the man maketh the shoe

In the short term:
Your shoe needs to make up for your perhaps imperfect running style (which by the way applies to perhaps 90% of us) AND NOT PERPETUATE IT.

The best guide to knowing what shoe is best for you in the short term is to have a look at the soles of your old running shoe and see which parts are the most worn out.
And then buy something that is more fortified in those areas.

would urge you to find out more about what is good for your feet - https://runningandliving.com/get-started/running-shoes

Check out multiple brands, multiple styles once you are armed with some basic information about yourself and your feet.
DO NOT get totally swayed by what someone else finds comfortable to good for them, become even if you and I are the same weight and we run similar distances and speeds and have the same objectives, our running styles and the way we land may be different and therefore our shoe needs are different.

Definitely keep at least 2 running shoes in your cupboard and alternate them. Also, start noting down what makes you comfortable and over what terrain and over what distance etc etc, and gradually become more knowledgeable about your own needs and what works for you over time.

And then, go back to focusing on your running form over time - check out the mid strike, and your photographs of your foot landing when you review your running snaps. While running in a group, give feedback to your friend whom you run behind and by the side of, and get them to give you feedback too. That's what group running is about - having fun and learning a lot from each other.
Use your selfies well and also focus on the feet, not just the smiles.

And then if you register now before Aug 31st you will save 40% off the final price with the early bird rates, for your favorite distance - from 5km to 63.3km in the 9th edition of the Gurgaon running and living marathon and a half on 11th Dec 2016
click on https://runningandliving.com/ou…/gurgaon-marathon-and-a-half

And enjoy the ride with your new shoes

Many reasons why Hill running makes you a better runner

#RunningHills can be challenging but they are good in the long run as they strengthen leg muscles and the cardio vascular system improving both speed and stamina.

Below are some of my learnings and a summary from an article in Runners World, summing up why hill running is great and what to focus on while running uphill and downhill.
Hill sessions, unlike gym strength training, gets the muscles in your hips, legs, ankles and feet to work while supporting your full body weight, just as they have to during normal running. In addition, on uphill sections your muscles contract more powerfully than usual because they are forced to overcome gravity to move you up the hill. The result is more power, which in turn leads to longer, faster running strides.
Those who run on hills have also been shown to be less likely to lose fitness when they take time off from training. And many scientists believe that hill training can improve the elasticity of muscles, tendons and ligaments, allowing these tissues to carry out more work with less effort and fatigue.

Going Up
It is the moment all runners dread. You turn the corner and right in front of you is a big, imposing hill. But don’t wince, focus. Shift gears both mentally and physically and prepare. Running hills well is all about rhythm; if you make the proper adjustments and maintain your cadence you’ll smile your way up. Here’s how:
As you start #runninguphill, shorten your stride and reduce the pace.
You are aiming for equal effort going up as well as down, not equal pace.
Your posture should be upright – don’t lean forward or back – your head, shoulders and back should form a straight line over the feet.
Keep your feet low to the ground.
If your breathing begins to quicken it means that you’re either going too fast, over-striding or bounding too far off the ground as you run.
Use a light, ankle-flicking push-off with each step, not an explosive motion, which will waste energy. If the hill is long or the gradient increases, keep shortening your stride to maintain a smooth and efficient breathing pattern. If the gradient decreases, extend your stride again. Try to maintain the same steady effort and breathing throughout.
Accelerate gradually into the downhill.

Coming Down
Sprinting down can cause muscle soreness later, or constantly braking fatigues the quadriceps muscles. Step lightly and don’t reach out with your feet. Slapping can be a sign of weak muscles in the shin area, in which case you need to strengthen them.

Follow these simple tips on your #downhillrun on Sept 25th in Shimla at the #RunningAndLiving 25K

Try to maintain an upright body posture, keeping your torso perpendicular to the horizontal.
Keep your feet close to the ground for maximum control, and land lightly.
As you increase your pace, emphasise quicker turnover rather than longer strides, though your strides can be slightly longer than normal.
The key to efficient downhill running is to stay in control. When you start, keep your stride slightly shortened and let your turnover increase. When you feel in control, gradually lengthen your stride.

We would love to see you soon and get faster and stronger in your runs as you train for, and enjoy some great views of

the mountains and history at Shimla, like no other, at the 8th #Shimla Running And Living 25k runs on Sep 25th.
To find out more and register today, click on
https://runningandliving.com/our-runs/shimla-25k
See you soon

Seven good reasons why trail running on rocky, uneven surfaces is good at this time of year

Our diet may be mostly rice, or mostly wheat or corn based, but it has much else to make it a balanced diet and also a tasty meal, every time.

Road running is more fun than treadmill running, but concrete roads for regular long runs can be tough on our bodies.
City running is interesting and convenient - just step out of home and run, but if you are in crowded locations or higher transport locations the dribble from your nose when wiped against the sleeve of your running tee, leaves a grey streak.
The same 5k around the block or the same spot for the long run sometimes leads to boredom.
Traffic can make your weekday run a bit of a hassle.

That's where it's good to throw in some trail running whenever you can, out in nature, and let your mind, body and soul (and sole for that matter) commune with nature.

1- Uneven surfaces mean varied foot strike lengths and landing points which means pressure points are randomly different rather than measured and in the same spots, leading to pressure builds given out road run foot strike. Many runners use trail running to recuperate from muscular injury because of gait/ running style over a long run, or just to ease into running after a marathon or a half marathon race.

2- Quicker eye and foot coordination which makes us more agile and better tuned to our environs as we jump over a few rocks, or step sideways to avoid a puddle. This keeps us focused on the road ahead and keeps our mind off speed and distance and other mechanical metrics.

3- The air is fresher and cleaner in this suburban or natural location and we fill our lungs with the same as we inhale deeply.

4- The twists and turns in the trails add to the thrill of the route, compared to straight and long roads.

5- Mind, Body and Soul commune with nature - making for a therapeutic experience.

6- While out on a trail go minimal - rid yourself of GPS, stop watches etc and just enjoy the run. Listen to the birds, spot the animals, look at the cloud formations, feel the breeze on your face - the way it was meant to be.

7- No headphones. Focus on the trail, the directions and the environment as you see the butterfly in front of you and hear the frogs croaking in the rain. And automatically start listening to yourself, in a more educated manner

Just go out and find yourself a trail and some friends to run with.
Enjoy your run.

Rahul Verghese

Run with a smile and light up another

The Mumbai Marathon is always special for me. 2004 was my first marathon in India and 2016 my most recent with the numbers of marathon finishers climbing from 300 to 3400 - way to go!

This time around I was keen to finish in a better time than usual and was getting back into shape after the tough (hot and humid) Singapore Marathon in early December. I did a few semi long runs in between but the Delhi smog got the better of me and I did shorter but faster runs on my treadmill.

Two weeks before the run my warm up started :-) My stomach started running (and weakened me just as I contemplated my long run) and then a few days later my nose started running!!

 

Reached Mumbai and then my stomach decided to go for a long run again before my legs did and I lost my voice.. That's when I decided my goal - run with different pacing groups, meet old friends and make some new acquaintances along the 42.2k, and soak in the atmosphere.

On race day my camera was charged and so was I. I erased all the issues of weakness and hopeless preparedness and also focused on being sensible and listening to my body and going with the flow.

Met up with Guruchandran early on and we decided to run together and then through the darkness till Peddar road went on and off with the 4:30 pacing group. Met Jerry John at Peddar road - my IIM Batchmate - who is religously there at Prabhu Kunj every year. Took a blurred selfie with him in the darkness and carried on.



We got onto Worli sea face soon and the beginnings of the sea link as we saw the sun come out.

Then the 4-5km of the sea link where the 4:45 bus with Nikhil Shah caught up with us and we took some pics
      

Met Kiranmai from Hyderabad along the way and took more selfies.
By now I realised I was a lot weaker than what I wanted to be so early into the run so I added in some more walking breaks and as we passed the Half Marathon mark and started heading towards Dadar, the 5 hour bus caught up with us.

All along, the way it was greatly energising to be greeted by and yell out to acquaintances and friends and strangers from over the years and spur each other on with a smile and a shout. In the long Worli Loop I saw the 5:45 bus entering the loop which we were leaving and I jumped over the divider to take a click with Dinesh Laungani and his bus. and then Himanshu and his 5 hr bus caught up with us.



Then Guru and I were taking shorter but more frequent walking breaks as we kept working on the next target - that traffic light, or that billboard, or that bus stop, and we kept pushing each other on, as well as a few others who would join us from time to time.

Then back to Jerry on Peddar road - this time in the sun with a much sharper image.



And then by the time we reached Chowpati - we bumped into Devander from Bangalore and Nandita from Kolkatta and formed yet another group, this time to the finish line.


 

And we sprinted the last 200m to the finish line, big smiles, and better friends at the end of it.

And then rushed to Leopolds to hydrate :-) :-) of course only after some sensible ingestion of the sandwich and milk and a rub down at the Volini recovery tent. Was great to see and meet so many folks - a dentists delight as everyone was smiling and laughing with their teeth glistening :-)



Leopolds was as usual boisterous and loud with runners from all over the country celebrating there - all of us were 5 year olds again.



Cheers to that and Mumbai - see you next year again

What's so special about a marathon medal?

When you cross the finish line of a marathon, no matter how beat you are, you are proud of the achievement. Beaming and glowing and feeling like a champ.

I always wear my medal from that time on, for the rest of the day, and then wear it at work the next day, to let that feeling soak in and post the runner's high, get the medal's high.

It gets people who see you, smile; and perhaps ask you what you won. And that's when you can chat with a stranger and perhaps get them interested in running the next time themselves, or starting running, or whatever.

So yesterday, post crossing the finish line of the Marathon in Hyderabad,I wore the medal back to the hotel where I was greeted by the smiling receptionists who asked about the medal, the run, and whether I had won - to which I told them that everyone who crossed the finish line that morning, had won! They then wanted to have a photograph along with them. And their GM wanted to meet us, and the 2 of us got a free lunch that day - which even included some chilled draught beer as the kicker.

When I got to the airport, there was a long line at the Indigo counter and as I was making progress, one of the ground staff, saw the medals and heralded me out of turn to a check in counter. Three fellow runners behind me asked if they could also join since they had also run but were not wearing their medals. The Indigo staff obliged and asked them to get out their medals so that they could take a group photograph with all of us. Not only that, he was incredibly sweet to offer to and check in my hand baggage also!! Now that is a huge - random act of kindness. I in turn, post all the photographs, gave him a book I had written on Running and Life - strangely enough, entitled running and living. He had run a half marathon in Delhi a few years ago, and I asked him to be in touch.

I then chatted with the other three folks who were also traveling to Delhi. I met up with another runner from Indore who wanted to train for a half marathon and we chatted for a while before her flight was called.

These are some of the random and amazing things that happen when you wear your medal post a run, for the day and perhaps into work on Monday. So DO NOT put it in your pocket, never to be seen again immediately after you cross the finish line. You have earned your right to wear it, and make a few new friends for the day.

:-)

D Day - Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon 2014 - May 29th 8 hrs 8 mins and 48 secs

D Day – The 2014 Everest Marathon 29^th May 8 hrs 8mins and 48 secs – flag off time

Flag off time was approaching. The whole of last evening was spent trying to figure out what clothes to carry- will it be warm, cold, wet or what?

I decided to wear my long sleeve compression T with the race T on top with my Puma windcheater – I was not going to carry any warm gear as I was targeting to finish around 9 – 9:30 hrs which wd be around 530pm. I do not carry spare shoes either as the terrain was too rough for my lightweight Puma trail racing shoe but was great for my heavy duty Puma trail shoe. I carried a few extra socks, borrowed Pasang’s sunglasses again, and left my warm beanie and took my ear muffs and a headband and Puma gloves – left the heavy ones behind. TP for emergencies, 2 water bottles and one with a sports drink – chocolates, raisins, cashewnuts and seeds to munch. Additional Gatorade powder and salt to make some more sports drink at the half way point – and I was about done. Put on my Puma briefs and ACTV leggings and I was all Puma’d up and now ready to crash. Could not sleep much at night – the paracetamol had brought the mild fever under control and my coughing was a bit better – rolled out of bed – went to the Gorakshep toilet for one last time and said to myself – never again!! Packed our stuff and got the kit bag ready to give to the porters and down we went for brekker.

The crazy 60km ultra had been flagged off at 6am and now we were led to the start line with our names being called for a final attendance – definitely required in this sort of race. Two Brazilians who had returned from base camp at the same time as Lara and myself were stricken with snow blindness and had to be helicoptered off to Kathmandu – a reminder of what all could go wrong.

So here we were – calf and knee deep in snow – at 17000 ft and ready to start our run – we were already battered and bruised in the most part – but that was only physically – mentally we were all raring to go.

The countdown began and in a few moments the 50 Nepalese were off – they ran as if this was some level road race at sea level. Then followed the 100 foreign participants – a few running but most of us walking behind – trying to catch our breath at the first uphill section. The sky was clear and the views of the peaks around gorgeous as we continued towards Lobuche. I had set a 90 minute goal for those 5km – had no walking sticks (wd have been a boon on the run down) and then on a level part of the slippery icy track made by the 50-60 people ahead, started a slow jog with small steps. Felt great and continued till – whoooosh – I was down on my back – having slipped. The snow was soft and so was the landing and then I got up and started walking again. There were smiles on our faces as I and several others stopped frequently to take photographs and videos of this phenomenal experience and –slam! Down I went again with my right hand once again breaking my fall. This time my arm went down shoulder deep into the snow – but this was noting much to worry about – other than telling me I had to walk on this snow and icy section. So I continued down as did the 50 others behind me and we tried to quicken our pace wherever possible.

Reached Lobuche in around 1 hr 20 mins so was delighted about being on track with my target time.

The snow continued beyond Lobuche to Thula and the Memorial at the end of the Khumbu Glacier – it just looked so different from when we had seen it just 5 days before that – no snow vs everything being covered in snow. Stopped for a minute’s silence in this serene spot where memorials were set up for so many, from across the world, united to doing what they loved to do – climb!

The flat section where all of us said we would speed up, was now full of mushy snow, melting snow, water puddles and juniper as we criss crossed in our now squelching shoes down here. Started running again and on a few occasions had to get my right arm out to balance and felt a shooting pain come down from the shoulder and I realized that some damage had been done to my right shoulder and wrist but I did not know how bad it was. Decided to give it a rest by walking as briskly as I could.

I was frustrated that I had to walk on this flat section which was still snowy and mushy but the pace was decent. Then came the stupa above Dingboche and as I looked over the ridge on the left I saw the Vivre loop of around 10km which was scenic but incredibly tough – going steadily uphill before the descent, and on the right was the route towards Pangboche and onwards to Namche.

Came quickly down the track to Upper Dingboche and got on towards Vivre – met Rex as I also downed some soup out here and had a glug of water. Left my backpack and continued up the loop. Met Steve and Chris as they were finishing the loop – looking somewhat drained but going very strong. Saw tons of other folks coming down and encouraged many who were broken – going up – ‘”This is impossible! I cant do it” said a few folks as I passed them – told them they were almost at the half way mark of the marathon and to think of their friends and family who would be thinking of them right now, and to carry on.

Saw Samir at the U turn point of the Vivre loop – which was an uphill without end – the peaks around were a visual treat and a reward for all of us as we finally made it to the half way point and began the 5k descent. Met Lara and Harry and Bee and Ulefat and several others as I came down. The sun had by now gotten covered by clouds that had come up the valley and the wind upped its speed a little .Luckily it was not too cold and I was wondering if it would have been a good idea to get my fleece jacket along too. But no point crying over spilt milk, I was glad it was not too cold. Back at the junction the noodle soup I was dreaming about for the previous 2km, was over. So I picked up my backpack and started the journey down to Pangboche from Dingboche. I was alone and met up with trekkers and porters and villagers as they made their way up the mountain track as the steady drizzle began.

The rain is what I was dreading – but then again luckily there was no strong wind. The windcheater kept the water at bay and I started dreaming about ordering a noodle soup at the next village. I was hungry. I reached a small restaurant in Pangbiche and ordered a soup- tried to see if I could get a big plastic bag for my daypack and myself or an umbrella but no luck. The Rara noodle soup was great for Rs300 and after another selfie and a Fb post I carried down – I had lost around 30 minutes with this stop but felt it was well worth it as I felt rejuvenated and the rain did not matter any longer. Thyangboche was the next place to head for and the steep switchback descent to the river began. Had to be a little careful about not slipping on the wet gravelly sections of the track, Soon I came across Gunther and Monique from Germany and I shared some raisins with them as we continued pretty much together. We crossed the collapsed bridge too and then started the climb up to Thyangboche monastery – up though the rhododendron forest with white and pink flowers, past Rivendell lodge in Debuche where we had stayed a night and then the climb continued up as we got closer to Thyangboche. That’s when I got a fright – red pee. Wow – this was a sign of severe dehydration although it could have been something else too – so I glugged down my water, gave more of the salty snacks to Gunther and Monique and tried to keep my mid off it. An hour later we were on the other side of Thyangboche making the 500m descent to the river over the 3km distance over steep switchbacks. And then after 2 more water bottles glugged down – the pee was still red. I called up Pasang and told him what was happening – He also told me it was most likely acute dehydration and I should drink more water and meet the doc at the next check point. So I kept glugging and reached the check point finally but the doc was not there. Filled up more water and glugged again. Met Sahara and Bindra who were walking back to Namche too and they joined me – gave them my dark toblerone chocolates since I could not have them with my dehydration and now all my snacks had finished.

The steep and never ending climb towards Khumjung turn had begun. Every 5 mins needed a few seconds to regain my breath and perhaps take a pic every now and then.

I asked Sahara – how much longer to the top to which he said – 30 minutes.

The sound of the gushing river waters seemed more and more distance as the last of the 1500 ft climb was done and the seemingly level ground reached.

It was here that I was delighted to meet with Smiley Norbu, a 60km ultra runner who was coming in 10^th. We started chatting and he said he would walk with me to the finish. We chatted about what he was doing in college in Pokhara, and his French GodMother who had funded his education and his dreams of doing some adventure camp training in India. His music from his cell phone kept us going as the shadows became longer the light started fading around 7pm. I told him I desperately wanted to finish while there was still light as I did not have a headlamp and I only had a small torch with me. Chatting with him kept me off worrying about my red pee and dehydration – though surprisingly I was not feeling weak at all. Smiley was a sweet guy and as we passed the last aid station and I filled my bottle for the last time – I picked up the Indian flag kept there for me and he – a Nepali flag and a French flag for his godmother.

It had gotten dark by now and out came my small torch flashing away brightly 10 ft ahead of the two of us on this rocky track.

After what seemed like eternity we saw the finish line and ran towards it arm in arm and flags in hand. We had finished this run together and I had done my 50^th Marathon and this one was decidedly the most grueling and punishing one which was about 10 marathons in one experience.

We got our photographs taken, we hugged each other and then I collected my track suit and cert and continued down to our lodge to a boisterous greeting from those of our group already there – to whom I was able to only whisper about my delight in having joined them, at a time when for a few moments at pangboche in particular, I was tempted to consider the option of sleeping in the night there and contuing the next morning which was permissible under the race rules.

I told Colin – an anesthetist from Melbourne about my red pee and apart from dehydration it could be the busting of some capillaries with all the downhill and the pounding and if I was not having any other symptoms of dehydration – the latter could potentially be the issue.

I could not have beer given my throat condition so I settled for some Khukhri rum – felt great, throat felt better and I downed the delicious mushroom soup. There was mutton curry awaiting us and I downed a few helpings of that.

Another round of Khukhri rum later I decided to book my shower for Rs 300 and also decided to have a shave – with no mirror however. I returned t the gang a cleaner, and a less smelly version of the guy who had gone in for the bath, with the 10 day stubble removed in parts from my face!! And most importantly the pee was colourless – Khukhri rum had done it. I told Colin and Pasang about the magical medicinal properties of Khukhri run.

It was amazing – we were strangers hurled together, a fortnight ago, and now we were discussing bowel movements and more!!

Everest had brought us so close together!

Namche Bazar was the most comfortable home and we had a great evening as Pasang got out a Birthday cake for Kurt’s 40^th – he had cracked it in an amazing time of 6 hrs 42 mins. One Nepali ultra runner was down with a fracture and was being airlifted to Kathmandu. A pole who had come in 1^st had finished in around 4 hrs 20 – amazingly awesome and suffered a few broken fingers on a fall.

We were champions all, delighted to have been humbled but not humiliated by Everest.

The next 2 days of the trek back to Lukla were fun, full of chatter ( although I could not speak yet) an then we reached Lukla on May 31^st and we spent the night at Buddha Lodge just overlooking the airport.

If the weather was good our flights would take off to Kathmandu starting at 6am so we had to be ready at 5am on June 1^st. But before that we had an important event of our party with the porters and staff attached to support our group.

We got our tips together and gear that we were not going to take back – the gear was divided into piles each with a number and the staff got a lucky dip. They were delighted and each did a little jig and went around shaking our hands. They had been great, selflessly waiting on us attentively- shaking off the snow from our tents at base camp at 2am and 3am in the morning and more – always smiling. We may never see them again but I know we will always remember them and learn from them about some aspects of life, and working with passion.

1^st June Sunday

We got up at 445am and were ready by 530am and down at the airport. Group A had got onto the 1^st flight of Tara air and we were on the 2^nd plane. Waiting in the departure lounge for our plane to come in, we had a flight from Siat air land and then all of a sudden 20 people rain out near the runway with sirens wailing to see what help they could be off. The Sita plane apparently had a brake jammed on the right wheel and the plane veered to the right on this short 400m airstrip. The pilot had to then jam on full power to get the plan to keep going up the 15% inclined runway and safely offload the passengers – that was frightening.

Our Tara air flight landed without any undue excitement, we boarded and then were off- 30 minutes later at Kathmandu airport and then back to Shanker Hotel.

Went out for steak that night and did some shopping along with Kurt.

Monday June 2^nd

Went to the Himex office and met with a supplier who took me to  a printing house where I got portraits onto mugs and a group photo on a slate for each of our group

And then we had a wild farewell party at Shanker hosted by the organisers – wine, beer, dancing, chatting and celebration was what it was all about.

We were all on top of the world!!

Everest Marathon - The saga continues - May 27th/28th

Throat much better, fever seems to have subsided but now the headache and tummy flu have kicked in. This marathon is a pharma company’s delight. Hope I get these two out of the way by tomorrow, and focus on the run down. This I was told by our doc that this could be cold induced so I had to wait till tomorrow to see how things go. Meanwhile the snow continued unabated and the dry land we had walked into, with Kala Patthar black as stone, now white as snow. Incredible change over the last 24 hrs.  Took some paracetamol and went to sleep waiting for the big day to get to base camp.

Tue May 27^th

The snow was coming down thick and fast as we made our way through breakfast looking out of the window, downing the porridge and egg and waiting to get out.

The loos in each of the lodges as we went higher got more and more basic with running water and flushes in Namche with a separate bin for TP, to no running water and water to be chucked into the flush, to flushes not working!!! With the temperature dropping as we gained altitude from 13000 ft in Namche to 16500 ft in Gorak Shep.

Each bit we ascended was a learning in how important the basics of life were, and how much we had to be grateful for.

So off we went while the snow continued to fall incessantly and we trudged up and forward gradually. My child hood dream of getting to Everest Base Camp was on its way to being fulfilled. I was not focused at all on the run now, it was all about the trek to EBC from Gorak Shep. Another ridge and then we had great views of glacial pools and seracs on Khumbu Glacier. Then a descent to cross a gushing river and up again to get closer and closer to EBC.

A great cheer came up from the leaders of the group as the view of the tents came into sight. The amazing porters had already carried out big bags and made it to Base Camp to set up the tents, the toilet tents and mess tents – while the snow kept on its onslaught.

Hot tea and soup later we had another round of diamox to act as a preventive for altitude sickness. The only downside was that you had to drink tons of water and pee every few hours including at night. Kurt and I got into our tent and set up our thermarests on top of the mattresses that had been laid out, and set up our tent. Got out for dinner after an attempted snooze with heavy breathing wondering how I would last that night and another night. I thought about all the nights in our college expeditions or school treks, staying at similar altitudes and I realised I was now tending towards being claustrophobic and would need to give up my sleeping bags and tent living after all these years now when I had great equipment.

The dinner was great. It was luxury to get served hot food on our plates at Everest Base Camp. Everest did not want to be seen and the tragedy of the Sherpa lives lost on the mountain was fresh in everyone’s minds and all we could see were clouds and tents and a few bits of the Khumbu icefall whenever visibility improved. We then trudged back to our tents and got ready for our 1^st night at base camp while the snow kept coming down- every 5 minutes the tracks to the 70 tents were obliterated as we slipped and went waist deep in parts, as we went off the ‘track’, It took 15 minutes to get inside our tent as Kurt and I dusted the snow off our jackets, snow off our shoes, and pause to catch our breath. Were we actually going to be able to run(?) over here J I t was going to be one exciting and challenging night. I hoped I was not going to have to pee often given that we were still on diamox for preventing acute mountain sickness. No stars, no view, just snow coming down like crazy – we were lucky there was no wind else that would have been crazy. Our tent was on a bit of a slope and that was going to be a challenging sleep particularly as I was still coughing like crazy and was worried that Kurt would be the next group casualty.

Wed 28^th May

The decision had been taken to move back to Gorak Shep – there was too much snow for us to have the run start at Base Camp – it had NEVER been so bad in the 13 years of this event. So we were to pack up and move back to Gorak Shep.

I was happy since the night had been rough on me and I would rather start from a sleep in a lodge at Gorak Shep as opposed to starting from EBC in the tent – wet, cold, a bit claustrophobic and then having to pack everything back before the run. The 15 times we had to kick and hit the top and sides of the tent to get the snow off and reduce condensation, and the 2 times the staff cleared the tents again, and the incessant snowfall all added to the excitement but also took it’s toll as I coughed and spluttered through the night.

The tea was great in the morning but for the life of me I could not find my sunglasses either in the mess tent or our tent and my running pack. I have to thank Pasang our leader and 7 time Everester - for gallantly lending me his sunglasses for me to use on the way down, to prevent snow blindness – even though it was overcast and snowing. We took quick pics as we then packed and began our slow and somewhat dicey descent down on a freshly made slippery track. The glacial lakes were beautiful, made somewhat more ethereal by the low visibility and the clouds and the falling snow. That 5k trip took a loooooong time to happen. It was almost as if Everest did not want to reveal her face and yet wanted us to be close by for as long as possible. We had stayed a night on base camp – a privilege kept only for mountaineering expeditions and now the marathoners. That was a treat in itself.

Since many of the porters had already been sent back down, we were carrying heavier loads down than when we were coming up, and the conditions made it quite and exercise, not the best for a total rest day before a grueling marathon.

Two of the Brazilians who were just behind us seemed dehydrated and we gave them water and some munchies and later the next morning we were horrified to learn that both were down with snow blindness since they had now worn sunglasses that day, and were helicoptered down to Kathmandu, as was another couple also down with snow blindness, and another participant who had to opt out after an hour of the race for the same reason.

Reaching the start line with no injury and in a fit condition was a feat in itself as many of us were depleted with one or more of headache, tummy flu, fever, poor acclimatization, and more. Over the last few days I had been hit by laryngitis, tummy flu (which luckily only lasted a day), fever which was more off than on particularly in the last 3 days, and a headache – something that under normal circumstances would have gotten me to pull out of the run. But running was also the quickest way down the mountain – and so I quickly scratched out any plan B from my imagination. Paracetamol for getting the mild temperature down, lozenges for the throat and cough were popped and sucked while I got into my race gear, added a few layers, and the post a great dinner, went off to sleep.