Solang Sky Ultra 2019

A feather in the cap

How much does a cap mean to you? After all it just provides respite from the elements doesn't it? Rain, wind, snow or sun.. just put a cap on!
I think caps have different connotations to different sportsmen. For them, the significance of the cap is far more than that of mere headwear, of course.
- An Indian cap has to be earned, resonates Sunil Gavaskar in his book sunny days when his uncle Madhav Mantri denied him one for free.
- The baggy green garners special respect from Australian cricketers, often spanning an entire career à la Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting amongst others.

When a senior hands it to a junior, it’s special. To receive is to feel blessed. And it becomes the most prized possession.
This is how it panned out. Meet the local legend - my hero in Himachal, Olympian, ski coach and champion paraglider, 40 plus year old, father of two - Hira Lal. Now, he challenged me at the 100k distance. How can I back out? He promised me a Swiss cap if I won the race "Vishwas bhai, keep a bib ready for me tomorrow", I proclaimed. I had some racing to do. Against serious competitors.

Prelude: I had just returned to Himachal after my "so-so" performance at the Tor des Geants, Italy. I'm wary of putting it online. I don't like to sound like a whiner but the fact of the matter is that I was stopped by the medics (against my wishes) for close to 15 hours to stabilize my chest congestion. I had coughed and spat out some blood, no big deal. I was shy of my A-goal: a sub-100hr finish. Big deal.
I was not 100%. Recovery takes months, I was told. My intention here was to volunteer and work with the Hell race team to make Solang sky ultra a success. Long slow hikes every day for a week became the norm as we diligently marked the course. Dirty, wet clothes and shoes. Beat-up body. No taper. No carb-loading. Zero race nutrition planned. Should I still race? I asked myself. Hell yes! I want that Swiss cap, I wrapped my head around it, hoping it would be the other way round, post-race.

Race day: I wake up early after restless sleep. Cooked a Maggie and ate a few biscuits. Dumped all apparel and shoes (read smelly) I had into my TOR duffel bag and set off from my village. Sat at the start venue and took over the bib distribution duties. It's nice when you meet every runner (your competitors) pre-race as I got sense of their mindset. Some race hard to podium, some are in for the experience, some enjoy camaraderie and companionship. Others just want to finish within cut-offs. Sadly, there will also be characters who seem untrained, pessimistic and complainers in general. Often, post-race, they seek the comforts of being a keyboard warrior and rant away online. Such is today's age, anonymous people take sides and a debate catches fire - without knowing on-ground facts. As I dip my toes into this strange internet era, driven by likes, click-bait and "Oh, look-at-me" lives, I wonder what do they get out of it. For now, I'll be an innocuous bystander and chuckle away.
Coming back to race day, I was starving. My stomach felt queasy. Minutes left for the start at noon, I left the desk and changed. Reached the start line. A quick word to Hira Lal - "let's run our own race". He nodded. Some faces looked at me surprised "Are you running too?" To which I replied "Just fancied a long hike in the mountains"
At noon, race director - Vishwas Bhai flagged us off. Without much fanfare it was 3,2,1 go!
No matter how much I coax myself, I can't easy-pace myself at the back-of-the-pack. A short burst, and I take the lead. A local runner who registered at the nth moment, tried to catch up. I keep the pace up and could hear him breathing hard. Off we climb, towards the Shiv Ling at Anjani Mahadev. Nupur and Devaiah were there cheering us on. So nice. After a U-turn at the top, I could gauge the field behind me - still climbing. Jai Govind, the professional athlete, was my only immediate concern. He had acclimatized in Solang and was putting in good speed work in the valley. So, I kept a fastish pace till my throat was parched before the Kothi climb. Filled my bottles with flowing water and took out my poles. Time for a hike. On reaching Kothi, the ever-smiling Bharat was there at the hydration point. Not now, I chuckled, posed for a pic and started to climb. Earphones on, peppy music blaring, I feel good as I sing (read yell) along. I look down and Jai Govind smiles at me.

 A good hour later, I reach the meadow, Sagadugh (dugh in local parlance is a flattish land). Some volunteers had hiked up there with water, chocolates, bananas etc. The Nepali guy notes my bib number and time. My stomach gurgled, so I grabbed bananas and set down. Through my village (simply called Gaon) I speed by as I had done umpteen times before. Uneasiness continued. Before the wooden Beas bridge, I told Jai Govind to go ahead. I needed to 'download' and deviated to Hotel Iceland for some calories too. The extra km or so shouldn't matter, I thought. Few minutes later I was back on the trail, in 3rd position, I was told. As we hit the road, it was all uphill, albeit gradual. I monitored my pace, so it was decent going. At the Dhundhi bridge, I spotted Roshan Bhai and volunteers providing refreshments off the jeep. I kept moving, knowing there’s a climb ahead. A light drizzle turned into rainfall so, jacket and gloves on. A beautiful section. Huge buffaloes lazed around grasslands. Snow clad mountains all around. Splendid flora along streams flowing white as milk. Towards Beas kund (source of river Beas). Am I in Switzerland? I wondered in disbelief. Peering into the distance, I could spot two runners. Aha! I've covered the gap, I realized. My mood was good despite grey skies. So much thought has gone into this race, I wondered. '200 m to go' was painted on a boulder. With a devil grinning like 😈. I knew it. It's not 200m further, it's 200m of climb left! Reached Bakkartach camp and hurried. Just had warm water. The volunteers wanted to note my bib number so I took out my Naked® running belt from beneath my jacket and showed it to them. In my hurry, I don't know if I took it back or dropped it along the way. A few miles later I realized I was running without a bib. No worries, I thought and headed down towards the road. Took in some calories for a fast downhill section. During the descent, I caught up to Jai Govind and the local dude. They had stopped to pee. Just a hi, and I took the lead. Jai Govind was close, but not really keeping my pace. Then his buddy (or self-proclaimed mentor) Adi, tags along asking how he is, what he needs etc. What the duck! "Pacer huh? Shabaash" Clap clap, I sneered sarcastically. As I reached the drop bag at km 37 (Hotel Iceland), I stopped and let him go ahead. Let him have his few seconds of glory, I thought. All cheered as we entered. Vishwas Bhai offered me a spare bib. Methodically, I changed shoes, socks and gobbled some dry fruits. I must convey many thanks to Devaiah and Sumit besides others, who I forget. "It's time to take the lead now", I announced as I left. I don't know why I make such brash statements but it happens in the spur of the moment. And it certainly spurred me on.

Another climb up Anjani Mahadev and it's dark. I turn on my headlights and descend. Saw Jai Govind as he had started too. Now the descent was towards Buruwa village. Across streams, I gingerly tiptoed over rocks. Shucks, I wore the wrong shoes, I realized. The sole was flapping below. They had seen better days and were in its final stages. Jai Govind was nowhere behind. Kept a steady pace across road sections and went past Nehru Kund and Bahang. Pratyush and team were there in the Isuzu with refreshments. It had rained and the roads were wet. I told them not to worry about me, just inform the others behind to stay on the right route. The climb to Jogini waterfall was steady. Jai Govind started calling me frequently, asking me where I was. This happened till the finish. Got a little frustrating, but I remained calm. I clearly mentioned the route, the deviation to Vashisht and I took off. The so-called "death climb" beckoned. I wanted some calories at Vashisht. "Peanut butter?" I asked. They had no clue where it was. I'll manage with what I was carrying, I thought. Warm water and some Tailwind®, I was sorted. I let the warm water flowing outside Vashisht hot spring run over my knees. I can definitely vouch for its therapeutic powers. Mentally, I was a little sad that my shoes were ripped. Since the sole had come off, the climbing got laborious. Putting all my body weight on poles, I hauled myself up. Traction was poor at my feet. I needed a distraction. I took out my music player and listened to the audiobook "Eat and Run" by Scott Jurek. For the hundredth time. I'm reminded of my run up Volcanoes in Indonesia- two steps up, one slide down. Finally reached a little clearing after the forest - Moridugh ( remember dugh?). A fire was lit and men huddled around taking in the warmth. "Where's food?", I enquired. "In the kitchen tent some 5 minutes above". I got in and met some more locals including Balram from Solang. Gobbled dal, rice and vegetables. Not hot, (they didn't expect runners this early) but solid food nevertheless. Out soon. Flat trail (but slushy) till the infamous British bridge. Plates had been laid out this time over the scaffolding-like skeleton structure. Suresh, the volunteer from Solang was kind enough to accompany me across and show me the way using his torchlight. After that, it was a grassy, wide trail. The British used this path earlier, it was a Jeep track, I was told. This section was only applicable to 100k runners. Then, the trail abruptly ended. A huge landslide had occurred, so we had to climb up and across scree and loose earth. This section, albeit short was probably the steepest section of the race. Reaching 14 mode (the 14th hairpin bend after Gulaba towards Rohtang) was a relief. Drop bag at km 67. Again, a change of shoe and additional layers to combat the cold ahead. I took it easy here, chatting with Baba and Gagan ( he DNFed a while earlier and was volunteering. Wow!) Glugged down Unived supergreens to keep my gut from rebelling. Used a secondary headlamp on my waist because I expected it to be tricky going up.

Off towards Brighu lake - the highest point on this course ~4100m. Past the tree line, it got confusing at night. That's because there are many trails running parallel to each other up the grassy mountain. No stones, no trees it's very difficult to mark this part too. Mountaineering common sense has to prevail- keep climbing in one direction, looking for signs - horse/ cow dung, flattened grass - basically anything which indicates some being was here earlier. Past some Gaddi tents, the gradient eased out. Little streams were crossed with ease and it got noticeably colder. About 2km before the camp at Roli kohli, (pronounced similar, not sure how it's spelt) it started to snow. As I climbed further, the landscape turned white. "Pack ho gaya" is how the locals would describe this. There were about 10 tents scattered at Roli kohli but not a flicker of light. I tapped on each tent yelling "Hell race? Hell race?". Easily spent some 40 minutes before I could find our folks. Naveen and team had snuggled into their sleeping bags for the night. “Get up guys, I gotta Go”, I exclaimed. "Risk hai ji" I was told calmly. I tried to venture out in the snowstorm but visibility was near zero. A blizzard-like scene. My fingers were numb. One has no sense of direction, and markings were out of the equation. I was a cat on a hot tin roof. They heated some water and made black coffee. Aah, delightful ! I calmed down and we had to take a decision for the safety of all. Tried the walky talky - no signal. Then Naveen and his friend grabbed a phone and we all hiked up the hill to a point where mobile network was a possibility. Informed Johnny bhai of our situation. Then got through to Vishwas Bhai. Again they claimed to him "risk hai, Bhai". He thought for a while and said "Ok, get down". This after all was a race. Going further was not an option. I couldn't hunker down in the camp waiting for weather to clear, could I? I set off downwards immediately and it was such a relief to get past the ice. I met Jai Govind half way down and updated him on the situation. Ditto with navy guys - Sanjay and Yogesh Tiwari sir. Also Hira lal and Andrei (Romanian). I observed that runners had gelled in pairs or small groups. Oh, I wish!

Back, the same route down. I was sleep deprived and thus memories seem a little blur. The skies turned gray as I approached Kothi. I've to do some more climbs, I knew. Vishwas Bhai told that we had to do the Sagadugh climb once more to compensate the distance. That's almost a VK! (vertical kilometer i.e 1000m climb in less than 5km) That too at the fag end of a race. Jai Govind called me constantly, asking where I am. Let me get this done, I decided and popped a gel I had preserved. Up and down. Nepali guy notes my number and time. Down to the Beas wooden bridge. Adi clicked a pic.  And up again. One last time. It was exhausting in sunshine’s full glory. 3rd time he notes my bib number. I'm first on all three occasions. As I descend, I spot Jai Govind near the village. Spent, he had stopped and was staring into the distance. I encouraged him to hurry up. Yep, I had built a fair lead. Shouldn't do anything silly the last few Kms. But hey, the only way to go downhill is fast. These thoughts were messing my brain. Passing the village, it was such a lovely feeling. There was a Dham (feast) that day. It seemed like every one had stepped out to cheer me on. Word got out that I was in first place. This mad fellow who they had seen all winter - running up and down. He is actually number one. My landlord, Thakur ji, a fine mountaineer in his prime, offered me a Frooti. "Kaamyab raho" (be successful) were his parting words, like always. Got me a bit emotional. The only finish I know is a strong one. So I charge, across the river, towards Hotel Iceland. Onlookers hooted as they saw me approach. The red, Hell Race finish line was visible. A hop, skip and it was done. Just like that. My long hike in the mountains was over.

Post race:  I did let out some steam at the finish line. I was coughing profusely. Lingered around for a while. Jai Govind finished about 9 minutes after me. That implies, he did nearly a 1000m climb and came down in that time (go figure). Regardless, 3rd place was nowhere near for hours. Met Kieren (30k winner) and Monica (10k female winner). Vijay Pandey and Sweta were also there, ever so supportive. Had a quick shower. Roamed around with Bharat and guys, helping around at the aid stations. Returned to Hotel Iceland in the evening by the cutoff time. Yogesh Tiwari sir and Sanjay had just finished. The local legend Hira lal, trickled in to a standing ovation. I could see joy and satisfaction in his eyes. Now, his wife would allow him to run the next Hell race 😁. Congratulated Nupur Singh on her fabulous performance. I was not surprised because I had seen her training first hand. She was best prepared. We didn't speak much but both were satisfied on sticking to and executing a plan.

It was a relaxed atmosphere. Hugs were warm and genuine. Slowly runners settled in for the prize giving ceremony. Col. Rana awarded the medals.
Looking back, I would like to express my deepest thanks to Vishwas Bhai. This time you were here early and the planning was commendable. Your calmness in all situations never cease to amaze me. Bhai, Brighu se aage marking abhi baaki hai 😜. Baba - what an amazing course this is! Next time - 100 miler. I can confidently say that Baba did the most climbing amongst all leading up to the race. Ever smiling, you never know. Good job 'drone'acharya - Pratyush! Great dedication, amazing shots too. Roshan Bhai, Ludar Bhai, Johnny bhai. This event couldn’t have been possible without you. I'm sure I have forgotten some names, but my sincere thanks to one and all.

The cap: True to his word, Hira lal was back. There it was in his hands - a winter beanie, so soft and white as fresh snow. All the way from Switzerland! I had actually dreamt about this.
Bestowed upon me by my guru with his blessings. So satisfying. It was a feather in the cap indeed.

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