After five podium finishes in the 72 km-Khardung La Challenge (including a hat-trick) and two podium finishes in the 122 km-Silk Route Ultra, Shabbir Hussain wishes he had more opportunities in the ultramarathon

An ultramarathon at altitude, is a bit like a mountaineering expedition.

As the race approaches, each participant withdraws into a cocoon, unique to one’s wiring. By September 6, 2023, the day of departure from Leh to Kyagar in Nubra Valley, it was clear that an element of imminent rendezvous with reality was beginning to wash over those set to attempt the 122-kilometer-long Silk Route Ultra (SRU). In Kyagar, some rested in their hotel rooms and stayed unseen. Some walked around, conversed and chatted, ostensibly to ease the gravity of the countdown. Among the less visible was Shabbir Hussain. He must be resting. Tomorrow is his, isn’t it? – although not verbatim, that was the tenor in response from his colleagues in the military and paramilitary; at least three of them – Stanzen Phuntsog, Tsewang Kundan (from Ladakh Scouts) and Phunchok Tashi (from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police [ITBP]) – stayed in circulation, playing the occasional game of table tennis to keep themselves occupied and distracted. The day before an important race and the hours leading to it, can be testing. Staying relaxed is easier said than done. Shabbir appeared only on and off. Would the ones to watch out for tomorrow be the ones seen the least today? – I wondered.

Several hours earlier, at the NDS Stadium in Leh, a small fleet of buses had manifested to transport the runners. I had chosen my bus for Kyagar at random and discovered a self-effacing runner conscious of his importance and yet wishing to be away from the glare it fetched, take his place in the seat in front. His credentials in running were clear from his physical appearance. Here comes the winner. Take us also up the pass along with you, Shabbir – that, yet again not verbatim, was however the substance of the greeting he received from the other runners in the bus. From different parts of India, some of them attempting the race again after being unable to complete in 2022, they all knew Shabbir as the man to watch out for. With Kundan, Stanzen and Tashi too in the same bus, our vehicle felt special. Turbo-charged?

Shabbir Hussain’s significance to the two ultramarathons – Khardung La Challenge (KC / 72 km) and SRU – that are part of the family of races constituting the Ladakh Marathon, may be understood from the event’s archived results. Both these races come up and over the 17,618 feet-high Khardung La, among the world’s highest motorable passes. It is an altitude with less oxygen; running becomes quite difficult. Additionally, the SRU has a start that is 50 kilometers farther away from the start line of KC. In other words, a SRU participant is more than a marathon old in terrain gaining elevation towards Khardung La by the time he reaches the village of Khardung, start point of KC. The 72 kilometer-KC made its debut in 2012. Shabbir started running KC in 2014. As per results available on Wikipedia (at the time of writing, the KC results of 2012, 2013 and 2014 didn’t feature on the Ladakh Marathon website), he finished first in six hours and 35 minutes. In 2015, Shabbir finished fourth with timing of seven hours, 16 minutes and 13 seconds. The winner in 2015 was Tsewang Tokdan (6:33:41). By 2016, Shabbir was back on the podium at KC, he placed second (6:53:35.04); the results indicate a photo-finish with Tokdan (6:53:35.04). The next year was clearly Shabbir’s; he finished first (6:23:50.26) in KC. He stayed first (6:50:38) at KC, in 2018. In 2019, he made it a hat-trick of triumphs, securing the top position with timing of 6:53:34. In 2022, he shifted to competing in SRU. He finished second (14:57:57) in the race. 

Shabbir was born and raised in Darket, a village roughly 20 kilometers away from Kargil towards the Leh side. Kargil is about 2700 feet lower in elevation compared to Leh (11,500 feet); it has an altitude of around 8780 feet (source: Wikipedia). He has three brothers and two sisters. Shabbir’s father worked as a laborer. The boy studied till tenth standard. As is widespread practice in Ladakh, he later joined the Ladakh Scouts regiment of the Indian Army. According to Shabbir, during his days in school, there wasn’t any indulgence in sports worth mentioning. However, soon after his acceptance into the Scouts, his ability to run was recognized. That was how he started landing up at the races of the Ladakh Marathon.

The event commenced in Leh, in 2012. That year, the men’s marathon (42 km) was won by Tsering Gyatso (3:36:18). In 2013, archived results show the men’s marathon sporting a new winner – Shabbir Hussain (3:25:33). “ I just ran the marathon and ended up first,’’ he said. In 2014, he shifted from the marathon to KC. Outside of Ladakh, Shabbir’s participation at races has been very limited and he has enjoyed no podium position. He travelled a couple of times with the team of Ladakhi runners Rimo Expeditions sent to the marathons of the plains. Away from the Ladakh Marathon, he also participated once in the 111 kilometer-race of La Ultra The High (also held in Ladakh) and secured a third place. “ When we train, we don’t think of podium position. We think of improving our timing. If you lost a position but gained in timing – it is fine. Similarly, a good position without good timing does not enthrall,’’ he said.

At Kyagar, Shabbir explained why he progressively drifted away from the marathon and stuck to KC and SRU. “ My forte is stamina. I find speed tough to generate,’’ he said. That was a day before the 2023 SRU set off late evening September 7 and Shabbir, running in the second batch of runners (the Ladakhi elites started one and a half hours after the rest of the field), showed that even in the ultramarathon, his pace – and that of the other runners from Ladakh Scouts – can be hard to match. They headed off into the night at a steady pace. Villagers who had lined up at road junctions to cheer the first batch, stayed back to encourage the local heroes. Shabbir felt that Ladakhi athletes like Jigmet Dolma and Nawang Tsering, who have embraced the marathon, have actually taken the tougher challenge of chasing speed. In comparison, he chose the path of less resistance – pursuing stamina. And yet that doesn’t totally sum up Shabbir for he digs a good challenge. In both the shift from the marathon to KC and the subsequent shift from KC to SRU, the main motivation he conceded, was “ challenge.’’  It’s probably why after winning the 2023 SRU, it isn’t a return to the same race that is playing on his mind. He wonders whether he should try the shorter KC next time, for in 2023, the KC winner, Rigzin Gyurmeth (6:31:41) of the army’s special forces, had come close to Shabbir’s timing from 2017 – 6:23:50.26. “ I would like to keep the course record,’’ Shabbir, 29, said smiling. He will take a decision on KC or SRU for 2024, closer to the event.

Morning of September 8. Fifteen hours, 27 minutes and 53 seconds after he set off from Kyagar, Shabbir crossed the finish line of SRU in Leh to win the 2023 edition of the race. Easily among the most iconic runners emerging from Ladakh Marathon, Shabbir would like to compete in ultramarathons outside Ladakh. Although news of races elsewhere now reaches Ladakh’s runners, Shabbir has to date not participated in an ultramarathon outside the union territory. “ I would like to attempt 100 km-races and 24-hour stadium runs,’’ he said. Top notch competitions in these disciplines, held under the auspices of the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU), now happen in India. There are Indian teams participating. Many civilian runners also regularly take part in high profile road and trail-based ultramarathons overseas. A serving soldier, Shabbir’s future in the sport depends much on seniors empowered to take decisions. Hope they are listening.

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai.)