Race Report 80km — Bhatti Lakes Ultra X Edition 2019
The stage was set. The story took a year in making. An intense training plan was followed for 4.5 months. All for those 9 hours and 56 minutes to conquer the 80km route at Bhatti Lakes Ultra X Edition 2019 — with a podium #1 finish.
Recap
I recently wrote about how I trained for this one. Armed with grit, focus, determination and a spreadsheet, the goal was clear — to finish the race in under 10 hours. The ‘aggressive’ option was to finish under 9 hours (plan A), and the ‘hard deadline’ option was under 10 (plan B). Anything later would’ve meant another defeat for me at the hands of the hallowed turf.
And so the drop bags were packed, dropped with the required tags and markings, and sent to their respective aid station destinations. The plan was simple:
- Keep 5km time targets of 30–32 minutes.
- Rest for 2–3 minutes at each aid station.
- Take one gel after every 5km.
- Keep munching throughout.
- Stay hydrated throughout.
- Keep water and electrolyte mix available at all times.
- Restock on gels and munchies at each aid station.
- Take stock of the situation at 40km and 60km.
And most importantly,
Don’t rely on aid station supplies — stay self-sufficient at all times.
Raceday — The Early Hours
With the race scheduled to start at 6 AM, my friend Prerna (who decided to volunteer at the event once her other plans got cancelled) and I reached the venue at around 4:45. I wanted to be there early so that I could take in the surroundings — not really acclimatise but just absorb the vibes — and after all the meet-and-greets with fellow runners, toe the start line on time. I had run a few times on the route during my training regime, so I was familiar with all the twists and turns, the rocky sections, the thorns, the sand, the views — everything.
6 AM, roll call, all set for a 6:10 AM start.
And there came my first surprise — that it won’t be 4 out-and-back loops of 20km and that it’d be a 10km ‘half’ loop, followed by three 20km ‘full’ loops, and the final 10km ‘half’ loop again.
The next few minutes had me juggle between ‘why the hell did I not attend the pre-race briefing’ and all sorts of calculations regarding how I want my drop-bag strategy to play out. My bags, which were strategically placed at the 10km and 20km stations and stocked items for half and full loop targets, were suddenly now interchanged.
And it all mingled with the sound of ‘I don’t blow a horn, I don’t light a cigarette, I just say go and the race starts’.
And just like that, the race started.
The First Half
As soon as the first 2km were done, I decided not to let the change in loops bother me. The calculations had come to a satisfactory conclusion and what was to happen at 40km could now just happen at 50km. I had enough spares in both my bags to see me through such eventualities.
To my sheer pleasure and surprise, I was running easy 5km blocks in 28–30 minutes on average, with fuel breaks being kept at the planned 2–3 minutes. By the time I reached the halfway point at 40km, I was running a good 14 minutes faster than plan A (sub 9hr) and an even better 46 minutes faster than plan B (sub 10hr).
On its regular course, halfway would’ve been at the start point. In this case, it wasn’t — start point was another 10km away. So while I did end up taking a planned, long 15-minute break at 40km, I knew I would end up taking a food break again at 50km.
That would put plan A in jeopardy.
The Break at 50
Right from the beginning, I was running neck-a-neck with my fellow 80km runners Vikrant, Arun, Rooparam and Kalpana. At 25, we decided to run alongside each other and till 40, we did. We were all equally stoked to have finished a strong first half — and knew equally well of the trouble the second half would entail.
We all reached the start point at 50km together in 5 hours 25 minutes — within a minute or two of each other. If we were running the 50km race, we all would’ve fought for those 2nd and 3rd podium spots. The guys who did finish 2nd and 3rd came in a good 15–16 minutes after we got there.
The plan was to eat anything that wasn’t a banana or those munchy-crackies. That, get some stretches in and head off on the final 30.
Which is when we found out that the kitchen was still being set up and almost an hour separated us from the taste of anything solid.
A disappointed look at each other, a little shrug of ‘sh*t happens’, a bowl of curd with honey shared between us, a few stretches, a change of t-shirt and socks, and we were ready for the final lap and a half.
Discovering The Soul
I told the guys, ‘I’ll start walking, take your time and join me, and we’ll finish this together’.
Already past my previous longest distance of 50km, I started walking. After the extended 30-minute break, at 11:55 AM, I knew that plan A was off the table. There was no way I would be able to finish the remaining 30km in 3 hours and 15 minutes. The only option now was to keep going and bring home that plan B.
There was only one problem. It had started hurting like never before. My back, glutes, calves, arms — pain that I had never felt before. I kept walking.
Then I ran a few steps.
The pain subsided. Then the running started hurting. At which, I walked again. Till walking started to hurt.
And then I realised that what was driving me was not physical. The pain clawed at me to stop at every step. I found myself moving purely on mental and emotional energy.
Oh yes, emotional.
I remembered why I was doing this. I cried. I called my wife at home to tell her what was happening. I needed her to know that I was still going to finish this and finish strong. I needed her to tell me to keep going and that she was proud of me.
And I also told her that I was leading the race.
The race, yes. I finally realised that I was in the race now. Not competing against anyone else, but fighting inner demons. I would start running when walking would become painful, and walking when running would become painful.
There was no stopping the pain — only working with it.
Which was also when I found myself almost 3km ahead of the pack.
The Watch and Liberation
The journey from 50 to 55 was filled with smiles through pain, on seeing familiar runners in the 50km category on their final 5. Ashish, Lalchung, Rohan, Salil, Alfredo, everyone about to finish, and I couldn’t help but feel jealous of having 30km more to go before I could enjoy that feeling.
Just before the aid station at 55km, my watch gave me that dreaded ‘10% left, switch to reserve power’ message. With 25km left and the thought of no Strava run to boast of, anger became the dominant emotion. More importantly, I would lose any sense of timing. After a few tussles of whether to start tracking the remaining distance on the phone or to let the watch die out naturally, with a few (actually, a lot of) expletives thrown around at Apple for making a battery that can’t even last one run, I decided to give it all up and break free.
Fueled by anger and pain, I once again met Prerna at the aid station. She had already become a ray of hope for me at that aid station, the affairs of which she had pretty much started managing flawlessly like a newly oiled machine.
‘Here, keep my watch. I don’t need this sh*t any more. I’m bringing it home now and I’m not stopping till I finish this’ — I said to her as I sipped on some ice-cold water and munched on some bread and peanut butter.
The whole episode made me realise how the moments leading up to this one, right from the beginning of training, were defined by crutches. The need to redeem myself at Bhatti Lakes, the losses along the way, the emotional impetus, the spreadsheet, those metrics, GPS — everything was just a crutch as I moved along this journey.
The fact that they all expired liberated me at last.
And so I left for my final 25km without anything to hold on to.
The Final 10
At 70km, I saw more familiar faces who had just finished their 50km. Ashish, Alfredo, Salil. As I finished munching on some curd rice to fuel me for the final 10, Alfredo came to me and in his heavy Spanish accent, said, ‘Oh last 10 kilometres. Just take off your bag and finish it in style’.
‘Yes, Alfie, that’s exactly what I’m going to do’.
And then came Ashish, my partner-in-crime with whom I had done a bunch of my long training runs leading up to this, saying ‘You’re leading. Bring it home’.
‘Yes, Ashish. It’s a *beep* race now. I’m *beep* racing it. No stopping now’.
And with that, I let go of my backpack, filled 2 bottles with cold water, and went off.
The plan was clear. Reach the aid station at 75km and regroup. Without any sense of remaining distance or time, I found myself automatically orienting to the trail’s landmarks. Being the fifth time running on this segment, I turned to memory and familiar sights.
That electricity pole? 1km done. That water tank? 2km done. That turn to take? 3.5km done. That route marker? 4.5km done.
I reached the final aid station for the last time, gave away one of my bottles to Prerna, refilled the other one and took off into the setting sun for the last time.
I took one last look at the clock — 3:38 PM — which meant I had 32 minutes to finish the final 5km to hit plan B.
Pain no longer bothered me. I had learnt how to play with it. It was my friend now.
On my way, I saw Vikrant, Kalpana and Arun on the opposite side. Rooparam had had to take a forced break but had resumed with renewed focus. Each one powering through. Each one telling their own tales of pain. Each one formulating their own raceday story. Each one winning the game in their own way and cheering on for the others to bring on their best.
That route marker? 4.5km to go. That turn? 3.5km to go. That water tank? 2km to go. That electricity pole? 1km to go. That yellow stone? 700m to go.
Yes, 700.
And then came the glimpse of those tents at the finish line.
And then came that final sprint.
The clock? 4:06 PM.
I had brought it home in 9 hours 56 minutes — 4 minutes under my goal, with a totally unexpected #1 at the podium.
The High
Redemption round, won!
Between the tears that followed and the high that ensued, I learnt a little more of that ‘mental plane’ that ultrarunners talk about. You enter it when you’ve reached your physical limits. It’s meditative, therapeutic and cathartic. That’s when the race actually starts. The constant battle between your body that has already given up and your mind that just won’t let you. And in the middle of it all, you find that soul — the very reason why you’ve made this attempt.
I came out a little more in awe of the people who do this day in and day out. It is often said that your best comes out when you’re surrounded by people who are better than you. I witnessed camaraderie, discipline, respect, non-stop relentlessness, sheer humility, superbly high spirits and determination from all those who toed the start line at Bhatti for distance targets going up to 338km. There is so much to learn from and look up to. And so much to try and emulate.
The Aftermath
As I sifted through previous years’ results, I also found myself as one of three people who have finished the 80km course in under 10 hours, making me the third fastest on the course (9:15 and 7:17 being the faster ones).
For the first time in 4.5 months, I find myself without a plan to go by. Though I have the next event in sight, I really don’t know if I’ll be able to fuse method and madness at this scale.
On one hand, this is just a beginning. There are longer distances that need to be conquered and shorter ones to be done better. But on the other hand, this is also a wake-up call. To not get consumed to the extent I did. To respect the body, the surroundings, and others’ needs. To be aware that while you may be chasing something close to your heart, you’re also affecting your family and loved ones. The whole Bhatti experience made me realise that lost time can never be made up.
Yes, it had taken a toll on me.
So as I rechart my running goals and try to reshape my journey as an ultra/trail runner, I’ve got clarity on one thing, which is also a thought that I’ll sign off with — blood, sweat, tears, that’s what the joy of running is.
All pictures, courtesy Globeracers team.
Raceday gear: Athlos Distance Running tee, Athlos Zero tee, Athlos Distance Running shorts, Kalenji Kiprun running socks, Merrell Trail Glove 5 shoes, Apple Watch series 3.
Fuel: water, Enerzal, Snickers, Unived Gel, Unived Elite Gel, lots of bananas and munchies along the way.
P.S: I’m not sponsored by or associated with any of the brands mentioned above.
