Matheran Ultra 50kms - A tough pill too early swallow!
I remember connecting with Kush through his brain child Runmonk and got an opportunity to put forward the early thoughts of being a runner and what it takes to continue passionate about your goals. Care to watch it on YouTube at https://youtu.be/yBxKBLoVPLg?si=QZQj69LOjwmu2RPw
If the above interest you, do spend some time watching the interview at https://youtu.be/hDUCkyE4miw?si=QZvGRGUfsY-FOWWH
Being a former colleague at my workplace, the comfort level already existed as we have high regards in leading a fit life and till date thrive to do so apart from celebrating our birthdays together on the 7th of March year on year. BRUTE is where it all began and with 4 editions executed, it just gets growing bigger and better. The Naneghat Ultra took shape last year and is a treat if nature is something that one cannot miss.
Matheran Ultra 50kms is to be used to set the stage for the ultra season and with fingers crossed, a miler trail Ultra is manifested too and what better place than Australia could it be. So looking forward to UTMB Kosci https://kosciuszko.utmb.world/. 😍
Stayed put this month in Mumbai due to work travels, might as well juice it up with some mileage and elevation gains in the ghats here. The route recces are a bliss at times but I tried avoiding the overdo.
This being a home grown event, I took all the liberty to laze myself and not stress much about the distance anymore. 50kms was indeed a mile high target when compared to the 25-30km range and felt too soon to be up for it. A slow and steady effort was being planned on to tame this one. Also, knowing the knee would take some more beating after the last trail event, this has to be carefully executed.
The run was scheduled on a Saturday and had gotten to be a favourite as you get the whole of Sunday to either rest or head back home. The bib collection and briefing was scheduled post working hours on Friday and did not affect the schedule as much. Goathlos was kind enough to cough up some tshirts for the event and was something I looked forward to wearing at the run. This was the first time I would have tried a new attire at a run. Considering this to be one of the training runs, it won't harm much.
The ritual of signing up the indemnity form at the bib collection does give you gentle reminder of what you are up against and the stringent guidelines are meant to be there for a reason. It is a mandatory activity to ensure you are operating with the safe zone and also to make the organizers wary that you may or may not need support at any given point of time.
A good night meal and off we go to the bed. The start time for the race has a few changes to be done owing to the sunrise and a little delayed start didn't matter much as we had abundance day light to cover the 50km category. The usual hydration running bag with electrolytes and caffeine and munchies and ofcourse the running poles that were brought in to use after a 22nd kilometres or so. The initial HM was a gradual down hill that does set the pace for the event.
So first up the elevation profile for a good insights on the number of peaks you have to climb in the 50km category
So the first half or rather a little less than a half is a hunkey dorey run till the Sun is out and generously says Hi in your face. A gradual downhill and technical at certain phases of the route, followed by a run on plains in passing villages gives you a heads-up in terms of the warmup and also be the judge of the growing heat around you. Drowning yourself in water is all that keeps running in your mind because after a certain point, the heat does become unbearable.
The route does get a little tricky in the plains and looking out for the red ribbons is an added task. A glittering one could have helped. Also, it's always good to always have the gpx file loaded in your smart watches if feasible. I took some help from Arun doing the 30k category to figure a way out of the dry bushes.
Off he goes after the 22-23km mark to pace his last kilometres for a splendid finish. While I continue to dread, I slowed down a bit as the hunger was kicking in quite frequently. Lunch was arranged at the 40km mark and was 2 peaks away. The first peak which also was a part of the 30km category did take a toll and all this due to the heat building around. Minor rest stops under the bushes gave some respite but was short lived and didn't want to give the sun a chance to grow on us. It could only turn in to a night mare. This reminded me of the Malaysia trail running mountain festival, I literally was seeing stars at the 20km mark.
The downhill post the 27th km wasn't all that fancy either as the trail does get technical and every step counted to avoid a downfall. That mandates the usage of the trail shoe which is highly recommended and this time on, tested the new Asics Trabuco max 3 and can vouch for the grip it gave me on the trails.
While I continued running towards the start of the next peak that needed yet another lifeline by now because physically my body demanded for food and the immense intake of water and electrolyte did bloat my stomach to an extent. The climb was slow and steady and towards the Osbourne house. Btw, a good part of mental stress was relieved with the milestones printed on your bib. It gives you a fair understanding of how much is covered and aid station whereabouts than having to bother the volunteers who may not have the complete information and only responsible for manning the aid stations.
The second climb wasn't easy either both interms of physical endurance it demanded and mental will to make it to the top for some food that you could gulp down in a jiffy because you are that hungry. Matheran is a trekkers delight to climb one peak at a time and enjoy the leap in natures lap. Doing three peaks on a single day here with summer just round the corner can make your life miserable. Hence frequent hydration in terms of sips of water and electrolyte is a must to replenish those lost salts and hence avoid any cramps. Things can go south if hydration strategies are not put in place. I also felt it was too early for a 50km run, instead could have graduated the 30km before taking on more mileage under the belt. Moments when I sat at the aid station and consoling myself that just one peak to go but again the downhill for the last peak gotten tricky too. The pace wasn't developing anymore and my only effort was to keep moving than wanting to blaze past any of the trail by now.
Reaching down to the last village and a known location covered during the earlier recces did manage to give and idea of how much more the mayhem would last. I rested myself for good amount of time before I began the last climb. This was it, one step at a time and nothing else that mattered. A look up to the farthest point and fixate it as a milestone to conquer and keep at it. It had started getting on my nerves too and only wished for someone to call off the race due to unavoidable conditions 😛. See that, that's the kind of misery I was going through. Ultra runs ain't easy and on trails with massive elevations with added discomfort of weather, you only tend to learn the hard way. Half of the climb done and with bottoms down on the ground again, the nausea feeling had to be handled. Any more sips of electrolyte and I knew I would throw up and that is exactly what happened and was quite a relief. This made me feel quite light and movement became a lot easier. I gathered myself and started the climb again. One step at a time, one step at a time. It could not get any better and all those strength training helped me go past this phase. By now, I had mixed feel of whether to praise Roshan to curating this route that raises the bar of trail running or the other way around if you know what I mean after reading all of the above.
The amount of physical endurance and mental fitness this 50km demanded was beyond my calibre at this time of the year. I was just getting started and this leap had me question my well being especially the recovery period I need to concentrate on after back to back runs and yes, couldn't forget the knee injury bagged at jumping Gorilla run.
Phew phew phew, there I am resting my bottoms again at the end of the last peak. Perfect thought the gentleman sitting next to me has a about me and my state of mind. I am sure the question he has is what and why and ofcourse how when things get interesting for him. Guess its just one answer to all - embracing pain.
Another 2-2.5 kms to the finish line was all that was left in the race and in me too. The climbs had already taken a toll on me and as I approach the finish line, I am stopped for celebration preps only realising then that I am finishing third after Ganesh and Vj. Naveen seems to have lost his way on the trail and was tagged for rescue by the team. A bit unfortunate for him to have lost his way knowing he was doing really well.
Lipi and Nishka were the wonder woman's at Matheran Ultra bagging the 1st and 2nd place accordingly.
Sumeet making every moment despite being ill and carefully executing the run to avoid the burn out.
Race results right here:-
https://run-monks.com/matheran/results-matheran-ultra-2025/
Strava stats:-
Check out this Flyover of my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/RLmY9dtCWQb
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And Yes, running can be considered "ugly" in the sense that it can sometimes lead to an unflattering appearance, particularly when referring to the "runner's face" which can appear gaunt, wrinkled, or tired due to excessive weight loss and sun exposure, especially for long-distance runners; this is often described as an "ugly" side effect of running.
Until then, keep miling and smiling!
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