Mussoorie Jungle Trail Run – Complimenting my birthday month!

With only one trail event under my belt, excitement was the only factor that had me look forward to this run and but offcourse, the cold weather had to be cared after and was a bit of a concern as this was first of its kind that had never been dealt before.  

The knowledge of elevation profiles on the route map did not have much impact on the running strategy as all these specifications just sounded greek and latin to me.

With a foreign territory to explore and a 6am start time, I had to familiarise with the place so that I can be at the event location in time. The days were pleasant and the nights were cold. The food intake was kept basic on the days prior to the run. I was able to figure out the location on a rented two wheeler and had decided to ride down the bylanes to the start line on that very day. A 4am wake up call and keeping a ride time of 40-50mins in hand, I was able to make it through the bone chilling weather to the event venue. 

The BIB distribution took place on the same day before the start time. I was all geared up with couple of layers of clothing to save me from the cold. The start included a steep down hill till the 6th km amd then was followed by gradual ascent that quickly got on to my nerves as it was getting difficult with every step. The route got even tougher as it progressed and then came a downhill again for a rescue till the 12th km. 

The journey wasnt over yet and I found my way lost into the village and mistook a turn and ventured atleast for 2kms. Eventually, met a group of runners who too had fallen for it and started heading back to figure out the right route. We met the volunteer crew who were on their way to one of the checkpoint and they guided us in the right direction ahead. 

I met yet another climb but was enjoying the views as I passed by. The feeling was one of its kind despite being physically tired and wanted to continue in solace.

I used the checkpoint to appropriately hydrated myself and continued moving forward to make it to the 18km mark. The downhills were tricky too and a controlled pace was the only option to avoid accidents and reduce the knocking of the knees and the toes in my brand new Kaleny Trail shoe that I had first used at Nandi Bull Run.

It was now time to head back to the start line which was also the finish line of the race. The climb just felt never ending and legs were feeling fatigued. These were narrow trails and I had begun to get pains in my calf muscle. I slowed down my pace and took frequent breaks to stretch and proceed. This helped!

I could hear the traffic from the road where we began but the reach was far from near. I continued the climb and made it to the top and had a few hundred meters of windings trails to cross.

I could not see the exit that lead to the road and headed towards it and crossed the finish line. The immediate action was to just lie down and let all the hardwork sink it till I could grasp some breath and be ready for some light stretches. But first, something had to be eaten to kill the hunger pranks. 

By the way, the medal just looked awesome.

 

Having done and dusted the trail, the next big thing was already on my mind as I decided to head to LAULTRA 55kms in Ladakh in the month of August.

This was a great experience and was now looking forward to more such runs. With immediate change of clothes and something warm to put on, I headed to the restaurant that served good Tehri cuisine and then headed back home. A hot water shower, dinner followed by a good night sleep is all that was needed to begin the recovery. Next day wasnt easy as all the physical stress that I had been through had caught up with my legs and mobility with pain could be felt on every step. It almost took a weeks time to completely recover and be ready to head back to bangalore and begin training for the next big what.

Received the much needed knowledge from fellow runners who had some considerable amount of trail running experience and here it goes…