Tale of the Run by muscleontherun

​ Yes yes, I do short runs too and unlike the ultra runs that help me test endurance, the short sprints test the intensity. Talk about bringing in versatility in your running career, switching distance at will can be one of it.  This wasn't me a while ago when every ultra run in and around was for grabs but this is also me when I want to have more fun while I age and challenge myself with tasks that have been done before and see If I can still test the waters.  A gist of the event - The Navi Mumbai 15k run was organised by the Rotary club and I participated in the 5k timed run and bagged a 1st runner run in my age category. The event was well curated with the road all for yourself to test your calibre. It was a straight up run and a U turn from halfway of the distance category. I consumed a gel before the race and two during the race. The 5km started at 6:30am and I happen to stay consistent with my past performances stats dated 2024 in TCS world 10k and hence felt like yet an...

The debut edition at Goa by The renowned Hell Race Academy announced the Goa Ultra categories and I fell for it in true sense. Having beaten, almost drowned and burnt under the sun the numerous run editions of The Hell Race has taught me to immensely grow as a avid runner. The remarkable event of Solang Sky Ultra 100K race was a daunting task and a debut 100k in trails, and with my naive skills, I emerged as a character that possessed a strong will. yes, I surprised myself too and so to be called the famous DNF despite having completed the course and missing the timeline by 3 minutes. Not receiving the medal for the 32 hours long haul on the trails was not disheartening but helped me evolve as a humbled individual who witnessed the worst and still made it to the finish line. Since then I have been attending the Hell race events just to push my calibre and had it in me to look forward to the next big what!  Cut to 10 years after the Solang Ultra triumph, here I am at Goa Ultra tryin...

Shifting base closer to the western ghats has definitely made trails more accessible and the plans to venture out need no much of a thinking. It could be a Friday evening affair to head towards the mountains for a good night sleep and the mornings could wake us up for yet another trail event. As I have moved my preference to shorter distance runs now, the longer ones have been knocking my door since then. Could it be the feeling of missing out or its just not a good feeling anymore having done the longer format races in the past and the longevity demands for a whole new perspective of ultra distance running. Mixed trail could be your favourite too, if you plan to explore the trails but also want to taste the tar at the same time. K2S is one such race that can cater to this requirement but the elevation can still pose a challenge considering the mountain terrain both on and off road. A familiar route if you have done jumping gorilla editions but the tweak here was a kilometre or two cli...

Talked about a photo finish a day before and guess thats what we bagged incidentally. While Subham was at it since 2:30am in 50km category, my plight began at 6am and much relieved with less or no rain during the entire run of 21kms at Lonavala Varsha Marathon. This was the first for me at Lonavala and was pretty overwhelmed with the number of people not just turning up for the event but the usual tourist made their presence felt with the long queues of vehicles right in the heart of this hill escapade. If you plan to be in Lonavala, its advised to cross the bhushi dam before 10:30am else the travel time bound to increase by 1-2hours especially on the weekend. Having rested the legs from the Ultra runs, the shorter category was chosen to keep the momentum going and keep the strings attached to the events that help me try something new. So far, I have been in a hurry to finish the shorter runs, but eventually I am also getting to know how demanding it gets when you try to be competitive...