Deep Japan ultra 100
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. -Albert Einstein
Landed in Haneda. Was a deer in spotlights, having just flown in from Indonesia. Was really worried about my cash situation (or lack thereof), so I purchased a Suica card and loaded all my money in it. Had instant noodles with hot water from the convenience store. Slept overnight at the departure hall because metro trains operated only after dawn. Then I bought a SIM and took off according to Google maps. The Shinkansen (i.e. fast train which is 3x expensive) was out of question, so opted for the slow local train with multiple transfers. What should have been a 2.5 hour journey turned out to be 10 hours. Lost my way at a station Ikebukuro. Frustrated and hungry, I stepped out to MC Donald's for some fries. Fascinated to see Tokyo. Crowded but super clean. Everyone followed rules and everything functioned with clockwork precision.
Thereon, Google maps suggested to take the bus, so that's what I did till Koide ¥ 4k. Ate a bag of chips on the way.
Bear in mind, I did not know anyone and the the RD was busy and suggested that I coordinate with a travel agent for logistics. When he told me to check in to a "cheap" accommodation for ¥ 9k a night, I politely refused stating that's my monthly income oftentimes. No need your shuttle service as well sir, I'll walk to the venue, thank you.
The bus stopped just off the expressway and I walked along the village about 5k to the train station. Waited for a couple of hours in the waiting room. It was dusk. Outside, was the only restaurant in town, the sort where it's someone's hall serving as an eating place with bar stools, tap beer etc. There was a plate of spaghetti outside kept to indicate what's available. Took a pic of that and showed it to the elderly lady inside. She wrote 1500 or ¥500 on a paper but I was shocked. Eeoh eeoh I said and asked her if I can get hot water instead atleast. She didn't seem to like me and motioned me outwards. That made me sad. I still had some chips left, so munched that. Finally the train to Oshirakawa arrived. I bought the ticket for ¥ 410 and boarded the rickety old mountain train. The lady loco pilot doubled up as a TTE, checked tickets and punched a hole in mine. I was transformed to a bygone era from Tokyo 2023 in a few hours. With a toot, we set off and reached the last station at approximately 9 pm. I was the only guy to alight there because everyone else had left at previous stations. I thought of my options. I could lie down on the solitary bench for the night but it was cold and I was advised against it. There was a slight drizzle. Google map showed it as 6 km uphill to start line.
Inactivity is not my style, so I started walking. And it started raining. In the middle of nowhere, stood a gentleman with his camera mounted on a tripod under an umbrella. Nothing around for miles. He was probably a wildlife photographer waiting patiently. I did spot a fox crossing the road, actually. Getting wet was not a good option so I went back to this man and pleaded for a lift in his car. He spoke zero English, so had to show him where on Google maps. After a while, I guess, he took pity on me and asked me to step in his car. After he dropped me to the venue, I thanked him profusely. Asakusa sanso was some fancy resort. I walked into a storage area where aid station supplies were stocked hoping to meet someone. A lady with her child was lingering around. Yayoi was her name and she was a Tor des geants runner. Was volunteering there. Asked her if I could lie on the floor there as I had no place to sleep. She had a word with her friend. He flattened the back seat and said that I could sleep in his car. Will do. Saw a kettle and boiled water and my noodle+ rice and my dinner was sorted. Tired, I shut eye at midnight
Race day
The morning was cloudy and rain was in the air. I was looking zombie eyed at the resort for some water while the sweet receptionist offered me black coffee. Charged up, I went on to pack my drop bag. After that was race pack collection. Yayoi was my only hope as she spoke little English and understood my sign language. She gave me her bear bell which was mandatory. A trinket to scare bears away. Ha ha! Received a Cocoheli tracker. Two chips were also tagged to shoelaces. The bib had a barcode to be scanned at aid stations. Japanese people certainty got their technology dialled in. Needed to borrow poles but the RD had told me beforehand by email to buy them at the stall. He can't give me according to the rules, apparently. The black diamond ones cost ¥ 20000. No way I was blowing that for this race. Besides , airlines don't allow them in cabin baggage on my return anyway. I saw a kiwi dude, Dean Stewart and told him my predicament. "Let me see", he said. After a while, have approached me and offered me his own poles. This 19 year old athlete had just run the previous week and was crewing his friend here. Serendipity. When you truly want something, the universe conspires, I guess.
The gun was about to go off and my bowels felt queer. Dashed to the potty and just as I finished, it was 3, 2, 1 go. Joined a minute later and was cruising downhill. The new shoe - hoka zinal fitted like a glove. There was still the Plantar fasciitis pain but that didn't alter my gait. I had clearly overtrained in the aftermath of Rinjani 100, just 20 days prior. Every day I rubbed Geliga to my soles, hoping that the pain would go away. Injuries are part and parcel of this sport, pain omnipresent. Was in the top 5 soon as it was all trail after the asphalt. Whipped my poles open and started to climb. Met Masahiro Ono, he podiumed TOR des Glaciers 2021. Confessed that I look upto him and we exchanged the usual race talk. He told me poles are not allowed in this section even though I had the caps on. "Then where?" I asked "After the second mountain", he replied. Km? Around 40. Clearly, I didn't understand what he tried to say so I folded and stashed away my poles. Took the lead briefly as I felt good. Overconfidence leads to over speeding and I deviated from the course. Just a minute or so, but many had gone ahead by then. Met bib 166 Hikomichi Watanabe and he told something in Japanese which I didn't understand. Waving his palms at each other, I caught a word. Pacing. He wanted me to run with him I guess and pace each other. Normally I run on my own and this turned out to be a good learning for me. Really helpful if you are with an athlete of similar calibre. It was still initial stages so I reckoned he looked good too. Let's see for a while. But I dropped him soon, albeit not consciously. In the downhill road, I was doing 6 minute miles. As I overtook Ono, he claimed to hate roads. Yeah me too, I chuckled. Before I reached AS 1, I observed a chip had fallen off my right shoelace. Scared, I took a photo. Thoughts of DQ crossed my mind. As I entered check point 1, I informed them sheepishly of my predicament. They were on the walkie talkie to RD - Hiroaki and a new one emerged soon. I tied it on as I chomped a banana. In this duration, Ono went ahead. Roads, gradual uphill. I hated those. Hikko caught up and we were together for a long time. Till the last summit actually. This was when we shared a bond. I taught him English words and he taught me Japanese. Goju goju when I stepped in slush! Dikka! Me in the front but him always tagging behind. Side by side on roads. Such a nice guy. The best in Japan were racing here and he told me their names as they zoomed by. Kazufumi Ose, Doi Takashi, Taro Ueda etc. many were running in twos and threes and seemed super fast. No, it's just that I am slow on gentle uphill roads and keep forgetting to maintain effort/cadence.
Even when I was slow, stopped to eat, Hiko stood by. He was clearly stronger in many places and could have left me eating dust, but no. He had climb pro on his Garmin. Curious, I asked him once, how many meters was the next climb? Thereon, every climb and descent, I was promptly informed by him. I never pestered. That's the unspoken bond we shared. It was cold at the peaks, cool for me. Ice patches were prevalent and I had to navigate them with caution. Not a concern for me. I was used to running on ice all day. They scanned my bib at the top and just when I thought it was all downhill, there were some rolling mountains. Hiko and I parted ways briefly and I was all solo for a while. Then it was dusk and we were together again. On the downhill was a technical jungle section. I was too lazy to remove my bag and dig out my headlight from the bottom. So I asked Hiko to lead and I followed him. He said it's just 2 km. Definitely not. Took over 40 mins easily. Pulled out my mobile phone flash light and managed till we reached the drop bag aid station. Lingered longer than I should have. Hiko said he was sleepy so I suggested a 10 min nap. Pleasantly surprised to find volunteer Hydi Peterson, from the US who spoke fluent Japanese. All my requests were tended to promptly. First, a chair to put my feet up. Second, I had dropped my chip from the other shoe. A phonecall later, I got a replacement. Third, I asked for noodles. Yum. And there was sweet corn soup. Devoured both and asked for a second helping. This time I mixed both and Hydi raised her eyebrows seeing this combo. Meanwhile, I cleaned my feet with a tissue and wore fresh socks and my trusty ol Brooks caldera. The cushioning and freshness felt good. This time I ensured that both the timing chips were firmly fastened to the laces. It was here that Ono decided to quit. After longer than required, I told Hiko, we better scoot. On my way out I saw Nescafe and sought out some in my foldable cup. Aah. Black coffee, sugarless, not the Indian taste, but a welcome change on my palate. After thanking everyone profusely, we set out for a long night. Miles and miles traversed along the electrical lines and broken roads. It seemed as though the roads had been laid and never had any vehicle plied on it since. I did not spot a single one throughout the race. Unused the grass grew from the surface of roads. And to think of tar roads as a luxury back in the Himalayas. More rolling hills at night and Hiko was by my side. Made small talk with him. Learnt some Japanese and taught him some Hindi too. The time was passing. I used my headlights sparingly, especially the cheap chargeable ones I had purchased in Indonesia.
Only used double headlights on technical downhills. Otherwise a single one did the job. The poles did not help with the caps on. It had rained and was slushy everywhere. My mind told me I was working extra hard since the poles did not assist in traction. Continued nevertheless since Hiko did too. Long hours passed and the second mountain was done too. As dawn approached, I switched off my lights. I knew that the loop was finishing and soon will reach the drop bag aid station. Took longer than it should have but atleast the rain had stopped and the sun was out. I changed into sleeveless tee and took a hard call. I had to decide between the old, grip less but dry Speedgoats or the wet Zinals. Chose the latter. And forgot to transfer the chips on my shoelace. Little did I realise what was in store for me. A 2000m climb all on tarmac. Did a bit of dynamic stretching but my legs were rusty and aching. Especially my Achilles. Definitely some trouble there. Luckily Mr. Koji who had taped me earlier was there at the next aid station and he got me new timing chips (last ones) and taped my Achilles again with K tape (it's his family business, I was told). Psychologically I felt better. Sadly, my pace was pathetic. Tried as I could, I couldn't up that. Did counting, 10 sec strides, nothing worked. Frustrated I continued run walk. If there's anything I have to improve, it's this - speed on uphill roads. Didn't practice this cause I thought it's gonna be all technical. Nope. Honestly, this race has large runnable sections wherein a road marathoner's cadence and mindset would be imperative. Reached the next aid station hot and tired. Just refilled bottles cause I had gels all along. The Japanese gel Koda was amazing. By noon, the sun was out and my squinting gave me a headache. Luckily there was a trail with technical climbs. Dug deep and kept moving. Many ropes were tied here and there. Clearly these were steep sections. Deep Japan ultra. Reached the top alone and decided to belt it down. This was probably the most wet and slippery downhill. Water was flowing. I didn't care. Hikers were treading gingerly while I flew downhill. Hello, konnichiwa and arigatou. That's all I said. Was pleasantly happy with my progress. Little did I realise that I had a long way to go. Lots of roads. As I entered the penultimate aid station, I saw a group of 4 leaving. Well, I'm way behind the rankings I thought. Trudged in and out of this place where I had been the previous day. Rolling roads ensued. Shoes were trashed. At one place there was water flowing in a drain by the side of the road. I sat and did a full foot clean-up here. Felt better even though I lost a lot of time. This was where my mindset changed. I spotted Koji Beppu approaching steadily. The dude liked Indian food and practiced Ashtanga yoga from Mysore. All right, just stay with him, I told myself and pushed. I started talking to him as though I was the senior guy and could pace him in strong. He fell for it. Clearly the chatting helped and soon we were both at the same pace, pushing. My body began cooperating. Clearly, I was a notch behind him, but kept telling him to stay focused, long way to go etc. Imposter syndrome. Informed him that we are within touching distance of a pack of runners ahead. We approached the last check point. He needed to pee. I said I'll refill water and head out. Soon after the last CP, we were back again. He had enquired how far ahead the pack were. Barely 5 mins, he told me. It was all uphill and I was huffing and puffing. Thats when we spotted the 3 runners in a pack but they were clearly struggling. I surged to take the lead here with confident strides. Let Beppu do the talking. As we overtook them, Koki from the pack broke off and shifted gears. He was right at our tail with his poles clicking on the road. Didn't match upto our pace but could hear him right behind. Probably it was his deliberate strategy. This was about 9 km to the finish. Every step was excruciating torture. Our exhaling was loud. Saw the red bridge in the distance. The chatter in my head says you can almost smell the barn. Home and dry. The end is nigh. Rubbish! Just thud thud of the knees and burning lungs. Then the road curved uphill. Here, despite prodigious arm movements, my petrol went dry. The finish line was visible, barely 50 meters. Out of nowhere, Beppu put in a sprint and Koki charged behind. Saw them finish seconds apart. Then I followed. A hundred miles, a crazy journey but it all came down to this. Damn. 31 hours 59 mins. 7th place. Eventually.
Post race.
RD Aki was there all the time and congratulated every finisher. I loved everything about this race, this country. Hobbled on my dodgy heel to reach the hot water spring indoors. Wallowed around for long and even took a nap there. Met Gediminas Grinius, the world champ who sadly DNF ed the 80k and we chatted for quite a while naked in the pool. Met this guy Yusuke, who made my stay in Japan the most memorable one. Filled with gratitude, I crashed for the night. Next morning was the ceremony and top 10 were handed beautiful wooden trophies and a goodie bag. Mutual admiration was apparent, photos clicked. I'm sure, we all dug deep. Deep in the jungles during Deep Japan Ultra 100.
https://strava.app.link/JwlEwJQqABb
https://strava.app.link/WUJk0eOqABb
Malnad ultra 2022
From there I headed towards Jaipur. Hot weather did not hamper steady going. Rested at night beyond Chittorgarh in an empty field few km off the highway. Lit a fire and took warmth behind Haathi.
At dawn I was peered at by curious villagers who had walked several miles to take a shit. Women separate area, men separate. This is India in 2022. So much for swachh Bharat mission. I finished my ablutions with them and took off. Roads were terrible in MP so it was frustrating and hot as hell. Indore, Dhule etc bypassed. Around midnight, Haathi was behaving wierd with the lights flickering and battery discharging. I halted at a petrol pump somewhere as I crossed the border. Next day entirely I drove towards Pune. Kedar motors, Karad was my destination workshop. Mr Chaitanya, fixed the electricals and added gear oil on my insistance making gear changes butter-smooth. He didnt even charge a paise. Nice guy.
Crossed over to Karnataka late evening and felt relaxed. Excellent roads from Belgaum all the way till Davangere. Off the NH, I detoured and dozed off at dawn. Woke up shortly and headed to the venue. At Kaimara check post there was the bib distribution. So many old faces, many from Himachal even. Was a deer in spotlights as I'm wary of such situations. Being an endurance athlete, rarely do I socialize as I'm alone training. And when so many people want to greet you, congratulate you, take selfies with you, I'm short of words and akward. Words from back home, "Kutte bhi nahin sungte". My addendum - jab sungte toh "socks sungke behosh ho jaate hain". So after a quick chat with Anand, I took my bib and headed off towards the start line going all uphill. On the climb towards Attigungi, Haathi was groaning, steaming. Stopped her 2 times, refilled radiator water and resumed after she cooled down. Thats how women are, I guess.
Terrible roads through slushy coffee estates. One km before the start was the parking lot and I decided that's enough. Met Shyam sir at the start line and bumped into Rakesh running the 30k. He drove his Vento there and after we exchanged pleasentries, we became camping buddies for the night. Lit a bonfire and it was an amazing night under the starry sky.
As usual, I was a nervous wreck packing my dropbag but somehow managed to get some shuteye by midnight.
Race day: Woke at 5 am to clear skies and took a dump in the estate. Just a banana and bread and I headed to the start line. Had jitters - of the good kind. While stretching, I saw Ashis Subba there and damn! I pointed out to someone - "Thats the guy who's gonna win the race". The course record holder of Buddha trail. I find him and some north-east athletes belonging to a different breed. Looking almost skeleton-like but very strong. They've got a coach and train wisely too. Shortly, the countdown began and I was still fidgeting around with my music. A while later, I rush to the start and leap forward. This is my race. Go, go!
On the course were volunteers Ashwini, Sindhu Rao, Brajesh, all familiar faces, doing a great job, I thanked them from my heart.
This is a fastish course, compared to many I have run. (Give me some 40000 m elevation gain a la Tor des Glacier, anyday, I told Kris after the race). I expected many speedsters to be ahead. I did not ask anyone my position in the race. Something I learnt from cricket. Never bother about your personal score especially approaching a fifty or a hundred. Stay not out, in the moment, because you got a long way to go, to win. Emotions can be your worst enemy. Concurred by the great Kilian Jornet in several of his mind-boggling mountaineering feats.
At km 49, we come across a stream where I slowed down and jumped over rocks without getting wet. My la sportiva karackel shoes (without isoles) was dry and did the job till then. It felt hard and tight inside, without much grip on the worn-out soles. Perhaps, a better shoe would have resulted in better times. Someone here yelled that I was in 2nd place and that really spurred me. Prathap got my bottles filled. Okay, a quick change of top and shoes (Hoka speedgoat 5, which I won in Rinjani earlier) plus a UD race vest at the drop bag. Then the difference was vivid. My feet felt so good inside and I was flying. Fatigue seemed to have disappeared.
Kris from Asia trail master had caught up with me and took a quick byte. He asked me about the heat and I shrugged saying it is what it is.
Somewhere around the 70k mark I met Ashwini and Brijesh, as we enter an estate, just before a climb and back forming a small loop. "Normally how long does this loop take? An hour?" I asked. "Maybe less than that" Brijesh replied. Ashwini asked me if I had seen Amar Subba. Oh no, I thought, that veteran is here too? Ahead of me, damn! Greater determination built-up inside me. Later on did I know she was referring to Ashis Subba. I completed the loop sooner than expected. "31 mins flat!" I yelled at Brijesh, brimming with confidence.
A flat and downhill section can be drudgery during the fag end of any race. I focussed on landing on my toes and keeping it light. Everything was painful regardless. I should have taped up my IT bands with K tape. A takeaway for future races.
Slowly the sun went behind clouds and was setting. I grabbed a wooden branch and used it as a trekking pole. Yes, the going got that slow in the uphills. Counting, chanting mantras, I tried it all. Had to stave off mental fatigue. It got dark before I knew it. I brought out the headlights. Yes, I use two. Plus a mobile phone torchlight. It didnt matter anymore. Nothing mattered at this stage of the race. I was just trudging. End it fast and strong, there's no one ahead, no one behind, I assured myself. Just a creaky body and shadows. Only waiting to hear the gush of the stream at km 99. Again, hopped over most of the rocks. I slipped on the last boulder and splash! Everything wet. Why me! I despaired. I stalled and thoughts drifted elsewhere. My father was immobile and in a vegetative state in his twilight. I remembered cleaning him, feeding him. Well, If he could endure Parkinsons for so long and never complain, ever, till his passing, who am I? What's all this? Thoughts such as these lingered on. I moved on. Soon the finish area lights were visible. On crossing the mat, I pause briefly and glance heavenwards. Done. 🤫. Thank you God. Only then did I realize that I won the race. Now, there's a feeling I cant explain. You train hard (99% time), put in a good race (1% time), and results are evident. That satisfaction is unparalled in the world.
