Tale of the Run by muscleontherun

​ With some serious break from back to back events and much needed attention at work was to blame for not showing up at running events or for that matter not signing up any further events was a subdue task, while the travel and explore journey still continued and the need for versatility introduced me to Muay Thai and seemed equally demanding.  While pumping iron continued at the gym along with cross fitness sessions that gave me a beating and eye opener on how much more is always needed in terms of endurance training. Frankly, I have just been at it from time to time only to befriend pain.  The idea is to be better than your past, it could just be an extra punch or a kick or a few meters more of run or walk, as long as the resolution of staying healthy prevails, you will be at its disposal and living healthy every other day will be a blessing in disguise.  I couldn't make it to Vietnam last year and just when the visa expiration in Indonesia was asking me to exit the cou...

​ 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...