Sinhagad Epic Trail 30kms - Keeping up with my differently abled pinkie
A few trail events lined up in June, one of which had to be called off due to the little finger injury and giving it much needed time to heal and be on the way to recovery. The Sinhagad Epic Trail did not catch much attention as the distances were limited to a marathon and not an intimidating ultra unlike the Jumping Gorilla. Mind you, both these events are in the neighbouring mountains and both are known to give you a taste of trails for the beginners.
https://strava.app.link/ybVc3UR61Kb
A renowned race was attended by 500+ runners from across 6 countries as stated by the organizers
The narrow fit hasn't been a issue, the sole extended to the toe does protect you from those mini boulder that hit you awkwardly at times and does protect your toe from impact.The shoe is bit on the heavier side, the grip doesn't do wonders as such on wet technical trails. I felt that lack of confidence in me when I sought to running on the boulder tracks.
The Sinhagad Epic Trail and SRT ultra are the brain child of the Western Ghats Running Foundation. SRT being an Ultra event organised in December and is still on the bucket list.
More can be ready at https://www.wgrf.in.
This event has to be a laid back one post UTMB Australia 100k as I wasn't ready to take on yet another stressful journey in the mountains. The justice however was done by signing up to the mammoth miler event in August to be conducted for the first time in Leh by One hundred trail.
https://onehundredtrail.com/en/races/ladakh-india
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8OpA2uNJHy/?igsh=MTRuZGI1OXRnc3IyeA==
How I feel about it? Goosebumps everyday from here on.
Guess the manifestation had to be put back to work and that is the only approach I have seen so far to be fruitful.
So, what's in the bag at Sinhgad, that humble 30k is not going to be a easy one either. One being the elevation gain and second, if it's not the rain, the heat is going to make life difficult on the trail.
As per the map, a total of three climbs and the rolling terrain seems to be a part of the ordeal.
A couple of days in advance arrival the the foothills was necessary to ensure that we are aware of what we are against or make do peace with. An evening hike to singhad unfolded a couple of things. The drizzles did not stop and the boulder route did not give any grip for the trail shoes. The cadence had to be kept in control with shorter strides.
The downhill felt tricky compared to the uphill hike and not to forget the humidity stayed consistent till the end of the climb. This was the first time ever I was physically present in the vicinity of the fort. Flocked my many tourists who tend to take the road to reach the landmark, many also chose the trek route to the top. Either ways, I am sure it is a good experience reaching to the chilly and windy and topsy turvry ambience of the fort.
About Sinhgad Fort
https://g.co/kgs/q63DYoS
Sinhagad Fort has played a vital role in India's freedom struggle. Bal Gangadhar Tilak also known as 'The Father of Indian Unrest', used the fort as a summer retreat. It is here where Mahatma Gandhi after his return from South Africa had a historic meeting with Tilak.
The bib collection happened a day before which conducted the bib collection in the city during the first half along with the briefing and then at the Kondhana hotel just a few 100 meters away from the start line. The email from the organizers was pretty crisp attached with the athelete guide that has answers to all the queries that you may have.
Know more about the run here
https://www.wgrf.in/
A renowned race was attended by 500+ runners from across 6 countries as stated by the organizers
The race was scheduled on a Saturday which seems so much relaxing knowing that you have the entire Sunday to rest and may be travel back home and be ready for your working Mondays. The start time of the race being post 6am didn't hold the need of using a head torch however it was mandatory for the 42km category as it was starting closer to 6am and the initial kms on the climb would need some light before the day light breaks in.
Currently unsure as to why Garmin showed up 2000+ elevation gain when the actual race specs reports around 1600 meters gain. So, yes the three major climbs demanded good amount of effort while the latter two were painstaking due the fatigueness that grows as you cover those miles.
The first climb was now know post the recce, so we knew what the approx 2.5km will take to reach the top before you hit the road for another 2kms before you head you way for another short climb towards the right. This is where you also find the first aid station. Now, about that, I tried to cut down the dependencies on the aid stations till the 20th km and wanted to rely all that I was carrying in my hydration bag. This is necessary to train yourself to survive the 10km apart aid stations placement at the international runs, especially UTMB.
The rain in form of drizzle continued from the the downhill till the end of the race and was often on and off on the route. The sun didn't show up a lot which made few portions of the run a bit chilly just incase you ended up getting wet in the run. Your Vaseline may act up at times if prone to a washout in the rain, so it's advised to carry that very small container that you can often reach out to to apply whenever necessary. And mind you, this is very important as it saves you from all that friction that lead to rashes and trust me, you don't want to end up in such situations.
A hunky dory route till the 10th km and then you are subject to a few rolling climbs, short one for sure but keeps you alive in the game of some altitude gains. The ambience is always green during this time of the month and with rains around the clock, the route does get sluggish with all the muck sticking on to your shoes and you have keep shedding it against the boulders to retain that grip while continuing to run on these trails.
And by the way, if you are worried on judging when the climb is approaching, the BIB saves you here with the printed elevation map and then you know how much to pace and use your reserve before you hit the climb. Ofcourse the gpx file is available too for your gizmo sport watches and yes, it's bound to eat up some more battery power as it continuously tracks your navigation and nudges if you go off track. Feel free to test it over your training trails to get a hang of it and you will end up understanding how much more efficient your run can be now that you don't have to worry about loosing your site on the trails. And guess what, this trail was also a part of the great mawla ghati run and you end up see red and white ribbon that leads to confusion if you haven't attended the briefing or not read the athelete guide thoroughly. SET featured all orange ribbons 🎗️ and quite visible on the route. Job well done in terms of route marking 👍.
So now the rain ain't taking any breaks and you tend to get drenched and this being a short race, a good breathable rain jacket can serve the purpose of not getting wet but at the same time, the humidity tends to kill you. I chose to pace through the rains and mind you, the vaseline needs to be brought in use whenever necessary. The slush and the mud gets heavier on your shoe sole and guess what, you are also complimented with the presence of some good fresh cow dung in the muck you are up against. This definitely gives you the desi feels of being in a village the hosts farming as the primary source of income. The stretch of about 50-100 meters offers this ordeal and on the way back as you are to return back to the 20th km checkpoint from a U turn and then head to the last climb at the 21st or so kilometre.
The beauty of the last climb was that you could see runners climb it from a distance and the elevation is right in your sight and know what's coming up next. This seemed like a crawl uphill and could only pray it to get over in no time. As a matter of fact the uphills looked more safer and confident in terms of shoe grip when compared to the downhills where you tend to often slip on the rocks and boulders. The gravel too had lost it grip as many trekkers and runners had sped through and all you could do it keep an eye on the patches of the route less used or support your feet against a boulder on the way down.
The last downhill to the finish line was tricky in terms of the grip the route offered and also the multiple detour you get exposed to but all leading to the one and only finish line. You need worry here and just have to be vigilant enough to not choose the rocky down side and rather stick to the natural trail and help you keep up with the pace and are less taxing on your knees and they take a lot of the brunt when you continue landing on it and feel that pressure with every step.
The rain ain't stopping yet but as I approached the finish line, the sun seemed to have made its presence felt. This was a sort of a relief if it not showing up early, else the heat and humidity could have lead to more problems to deal with. And talking about muck, be happy to roll into it when you finish it on a high under the redbull arch.
For me it was more of a temperament that I need to establish with the dislocated and relocated little finger of my right hand that needed a reality check and to understand what more needs to be done to heal ahead. The K-tape wrapped around the little finger and it's buddy finger definitely had it own challenges in the wet running conditions and continued to bother for the entire race. So bacc home in Bangalore, the regime was now clear. One definitely to undergo the physio sessions to reduce the pain and undertake functional training to resume its not so normal abilities but atleast to make sure the pain is not troublesome.
Yet another trail run in the NIKE Pegasus Trail 3 lead to a healthy finish
I ran with the decathlon trail hydration bag with a waterproof pocket for phone and was a much needed one when compared to the last I used.
Often sold out on the decathlon website, recommended to enquire at stores and it's availability, else just end up buying it online to tackle the purchase hustle https://www.decathlon.in/qr/8488290/-1
Strava activity
https://strava.app.link/hm7zxd9YfLb
The ITRA stats of the event placed me 8th on the ranking out of the 92 runners who showed up at the start line
https://itra.run/Races/RaceResults/Sinhagad.Epic.Trail.2024.30.Km/2024/85271
Event website
https://www.wgrf.in/
And don't forget to read the athelete guide post signup as it articulates all the nitty gritties of the route and the event arrangement right from the travel to stay to event location. Please note not many resort or hotels are hosted online for bookings, you can search them on google and call the phone numbers to book your stays. Food shouldn't be a problem as there are ample restaurants and if you have the means of commute, feel free to explore the drive up to Singhad too.
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