The furious ringing of cowbells... It’s the sound the French town of Chamonix is awash with as runners of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) race towards the finish line. A sound that fills Ashok Daniel’s ears, two weeks after he became the youngest Indian to finish Europe’s most gruelling race that covers three countries and 10 alpine summits.
When I meet Ashok, 25, at his house in Adyar, the intellectual property rights lawyer flips open his laptop to show me pictures from UTMB and other ultra-marathons he’s completed across the world — pictures that portray exhaustion, trepidation and elation. Pictures that are becoming increasingly common in Chennai, a city that has over the past decade discovered a new-found love for running, with reasons for hitting the road going beyond weight loss and fitness.
There are runners in Chennai who complete 5k, 10k, half-marathons, marathons and ultra runs with ease, and there’s hardly a neighbourhood that doesn’t see these men and women in fluorescent tops pound the road at unearthly hours. So, why do they run? Is it to heed a primal essence within them or is it what Holden Caulfield says in The Catcher In The Rye — ‘I guess I just felt like it’.
Whatever the calling, many city runners are giving in to a wilder existence and trading the safe roads of marathon running for the unexpected thrills of living out of a backpack as they criss-cross mountains and deserts. Ashok, who was born and raised in Chennai, says, “I was an overweight school kid who pursued no sport. I gymmed for a while, but soon got bored of pumping weights while staring at a mirror. I tried road running but was conscious of people watching me, so it was very intermittent. I ran a couple of smaller races, and my first marathon in Chennai in 2012. When I did the Bangalore Ultra, I realised that it was a mind game. Being consistent gave me discipline. And all I needed was a pair of shoes and encouragement that came in plenty from the Cool Runners.”
When in England to further his legal education, Ashok raced everywhere. And when he returned, he made ultra running a passion. “When you train in Chennai, you can deal with running in humid conditions anywhere,” says Ashok. For the UTMB, Ashok travelled to Ooty every weekend for three months. “For races such as these, you need to qualify, garnering points from three specific races, and even then there are so many people applying that you get chosen on a lottery.”
To race at UTMB that runs for 170 km across France, Switzerland and Italy, and follows the oldest hiking route in the world, Ashok completed the Hong Kong Ultra and The North Face Lavaredo Ultra Trail that runs through the picturesque Italian Dolomites.
“When you have a goal, you train harder, and travelling to races across the world has its charms, when compared to running marathons that tend to be crowded and held in cities that are so polluted. The UTMB was beautiful because you get to see Mont Blanc from every angle as you run the loop, the Dolomites were incredible for the waterfalls that vaporise as you run past them. Later this year, I’ll be doing the Malnad Ultra that runs through coffee plantations. And, I hope to do the Tor des Geants soon.”
Sridhar Venkatesh, co-founder of product start-up company Indix, who has pursued sport most of his life and completed the gruelling 250-km Marathon Des Sables in the Moroccan Sahara this year, also travels outside the city to run. “Last week, I did the Chennai Trail Marathon. I love the Auroville Marathon because it winds past a lovely wooded trail. Every year, a couple of friends and I choose a race, run it and follow it up with a family vacation,” says Sridhar, who has run in Colombo, Angkor Wat, Penang, the mountains outside Seoul and Venice. “I enjoy the terrain I run on, and when you travel out, you make friends while pursuing an opportunity to do a run that is not possible at home.”
Ashok concurs. “India abounds in road races, but the concept of trail races is just picking up. The atmosphere can be inspiring. Runners form bonds even when they don’t speak your language. Your group back home texts support as you cross checkpoints.”
Shrikant Wakharkar, General Manager, The Westin Chennai, who has pursued running as a sport for over a decade now, says, “I used to run for leisure. But, the joy of preparing for a race is unmatched. I run three-four races a year, and have finished marathons in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kochi. This October, I’ll participate in the Amsterdam Marathon. It makes the vacation sweeter because it’s a hard-earned one.”
Shrikant, who trains with the Marina Minnals, says, “Running is a lonely sport, but when you are backed by a group that constantly urges you to stick to schedules and push your limits, it hardly matters that you’ve travelled far to run. Mumbai’s crowds are so encouraging, and the feeling of running on Delhi’s Rajpath is unmatched. The most beautiful places I’ve run in include Auroville and Bhutan. It was a meditation of sorts.”
Whether it is man against mountains or a race against time, runners say their high comes from knowing that they’ve lasted the course. Says Ashok, “When you’re given the finisher’s gilet and the tricolour is wrapped around you, and you hear the crowds and the bells echo through the hills, you know that everything leading up to this moment has been worth it.”
