One almost has to be a super human to be a Super Randonneur.
Randonneuring is a long-distance cycling sport, where riders compete in courses of 200 km or more in a limited time. Such events are called a randonée brevet and the series can be completed in any order. To get a Super Randonneur title, one has to complete a series of brevets (200km – 13.5 hours, 300km – 20 hours, 400km – 27 hours and then 600km – 40hours) in the same year.
Krithika Chidambaram (officially named ‘Porkodiyal’), a resident of Porur, is the second woman from Tamil Nadu to have accomplished this feat.
She is a fitness enthusiast, who has participated in events such as Chennai Trail Marathon – 2013, Chennai pink run, Auroville Marathon, Dream Runners Half Marathon and a couple of triathlons.
“I have been a regular at marathons. I saw my friends enrolling for this randonée brevets. At first I wondered how these people manage to accomplish the strenuous ride. When I successfully finished Half Iron Triathlon conducted by CTC in July 2014, I was confident of taking on bigger challenges,” she says.
On checking the website - https://sites.google.com/site/audaxindiarandonneurs/super-randonneurs, she realised that only four women have bagged the Super Randonneur title so far in India. “I wanted to achieve it and be one among such women. I started off it with 200 km, then did 400km followed by 300km and 600 km rides. It is a routine that tests not only physical fitness but also mental strength. It’s difficult and I’m glad I completed it,” she says.
An iPhone application developer by profession, she manages to go on regular runs. She dedicated her weekends to complete this feat. To complete the challenges she rode on the Highways. “I have cyclo-computer attached to my bike. I also use RunKeeper, an app to keep track of the distance I cover. I did the long distance rides on the ECR and the OMR route, and sometimes on NH 45.”
Krithika hopes she gets to do more challenging races or routines, where she can push her limits.
