Month: July 2024

by

PHOENIX

Meenal Kotak (photo: courtesy Meenal)

On June 23, when Indian ultrarunner Meenal Kotak set a new national mark of 680.2249 kilometres covered in the six day-race category of the Six Days in the Dome event in Milwaukee, USA, it was her best performance yet since an injury saw her stay off running for over eight months in 2019.

That year, Meenal was diagnosed with a painful case of slip disc in the L4 and L5 vertebrae and advised bed rest. There was no running. She remained indoors, life largely limited to her room and bed. It was a testing period. Besides the lack of physical activity, her mind went for a toss. Runners, especially ultrarunners, are known to pile on miles in training. The regular training helps them stay positive; in a high-endorphin, motivated zone. When such levels of physical activity get suddenly pulled off, the mind may progressively slip into depression. Meenal had cause for worry. Based on her prior performance in the ultramarathon, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had drafted her into the Indian team due to attend the 2019 24-hour world championship. That wouldn’t be possible now. Unable to run thanks to her slip disc problem, she grew acutely aware of the competition in the sport and the blunt truth that there is no shortage of new talent. No one is missed for long if they drop off the radar. Somebody else comes along and fills the vacancy. That is how it should be in the best interests of a team but when viewed from the individual runner’s perspective, it is precious chance missed. Meenal’s mind kept generating questions. Why am I injured? Why are things going well for others but not for me? When will AFI give me another chance? – she sank into a mental morass thinking so.

To compound matters, that known side effect of physical inactivity and mental depression manifested – she started to gain weight. “ My pacifier in this period was food. I ate. It was getting up, eating and taking medicines – that was my life,’’ she said. A major relief was the support she got from her husband, Sachin. True, the sight of others leaving for work and getting on with life was a downer. But the fact that she had somebody to talk to, meant she didn’t need to access any external assistance to tackle her depression. Then a leveller of sorts happened. By the first quarter of 2020, COVID-19 started to grow in India. Along with the pandemic, came lockdown. It dispatched everyone indoors, sporting activity came to a grinding halt worldwide and events were cancelled. Talking to this blog in early July, 2024, Meenal provided an honest overview of her bed-ridden predicament in times of pandemic. As lockdown took hold, suddenly, after months of finding herself inactive at home and left out from the active lifestyle-community, she felt a distinction crushed as people everywhere hunkered indoors. Everybody was in the same boat. Strangely, it was around this period when a whole world was hurting that Meenal began to heal.

Meenal Kotak; at the 2024 IAU 24H Asia-Oceania Championship in Australia (photo: courtesy Meenal)

Her residential complex in Gurgaon – where she had moved to from Vasant Kunj in neighbouring Delhi – hosted a long loop of close to two kilometres within its premises. Once she resumed walking indoors, she took the stairs down from her flat and walked longer distances on that loop. Sachin pitched in to help. With a view to encourage her on the comeback trail, he had taken to running during the time she was bed ridden and now with him for company, Meenal slowly worked her way up from running one kilometre to covering five kilometres. “ It took me a month to accomplish this,’’ she said. The loop within her residential complex was a genuine blessing to facilitate this progression. It meant she could run at night as well, something difficult for a woman to do in Delhi. For many people, five kilometres run in a day would seem enough. Not when you are a national level ultrarunner trying to return to where one was before slip disc felled the athlete. Meenal persevered. In all, she estimates, she would have taken 14-15 months to reach close to her old levels of mileage in training. And it wasn’t a simple reset; it was a reset with significant changes.

Prior to her injury, Meenal’s idea of training for the ultramarathon had focused mainly on accumulating high mileage. She used to run 600 to 650 kilometres every month and her weekend training included long runs of eight hours and 12 hours. It was just running and running. Post injury, on the comeback trail, that homogeneity transformed to a blend of strength training, stretching and training runs. Of these, strength training became the most important new ingredient as regards the body. She now works out with weights; her strength training session lasts one hour and is repeated thrice a week. Alongside, she settled for a slightly reduced mileage in her training runs. Her current monthly mileage is around 580 kilometres and her long runs range from six hours to eight hours. But the most significant tweak lay elsewhere; it was a tweak in her approach to races.

In April 2022 she registered for her first event in many months – a 12 hour-race in Bengaluru. She completed the race covering 90 plus kilometres in the stipulated time. What stayed in mind was the lightness of being she felt. “ When you enter an event after three years, the pressure is off. Unlike before when I was a known competitor tracked for my performance, thanks to the three year-gap, people seemed to have forgotten about me. It was good to have no pressure. That was a real upside. The downside was that my old friends in running had graduated to a different league and I didn’t know anyone around to say hello to,’’ Meenal said, adding, “ it was a good learning – change is the only constant in life. Records and achievements are meant to be broken.’’ Somewhere in that mix of altered scenario and the maturity of an older self, she realized that one better run for oneself rather than any glory. Even if there is some greater glory to chase, for the athlete, focus has to be on giving one’s best and forgiving oneself if things go wrong. It makes no sense to groom setbacks into dark moods that are difficult to climb out of. Roughly two years later, that realization would prove very useful in connection with her participation in events in Taiwan and Australia.

Meenal Kotak; from the event in Milwaukee, USA (photo: courtesy Meenal)

Meanwhile in 2022, in order to set a steady and systematic journey to her old endurance levels, she didn’t immediately vault from the 12 hour-race at Bengaluru to a 24-hour one. Instead, she did in all, three 12 hour-races that year to establish a solid foundation. In 2023 she participated in the Tuffman 24-hour race in Chandigarh and set a new personal best (PB) of 187 kilometres covered, an improvement over her earlier PB of 175 kilometres. Meenal is not a fast runner. Her forte is endurance; sustaining an effort for a longer period of time. And in this category, she had known for a while that her heart was in attempting multi-day events. It meant attempting runs of duration exceeding 48 hours, which was the maximum she had done till then. With this in mind, Meenal looked overseas for good opportunities and came across the event titled Six Days in the Dome in Milwaukee, USA. It had a 72-hour race, which although not well recognized as race-duration in the multi-day running fraternity was still a sensible bridge for her between the 48 hours she was familiar with and Milwaukee’s flagship six-day event, which she hoped to try at some point. She registered for the race. Sachin joined her as support crew (he does so for most of her races and Meenal finds the arrangement a big morale booster). The race turned out to be good for Meenal; in the stipulated 72 hours, she covered 379 kilometres. “ I really enjoyed those three days. It motivated me to explore deeper, the multi-day format,’’ Meenal said.

Likely taking note of her performance at Chandigarh and Milwaukee, the AFI included her in the Indian team for the 2023 IAU 24H World Championships and the 2024 IAU 24H Asia-Oceania Championships. Man proposes, God disposes. While training for the world championship (it was to take place in Taipei in December 2023), she sensed a niggle in her back. The old slip disc problem, although improved, hadn’t totally disappeared. She pulled out of the event in October. Under normal circumstances such withdrawal would demoralise any athlete. It may spark brooding and visitations to the dark zone in the head. But the post injury, new Meenal took it philosophically. She took the next 2-3 months, easy. From January 2024, she started her training for the six day-race in Milwaukee, scheduled for June. It was around this time that she got the call from AFI seeking her participation in the IAU 24H Asia-Oceania Championships. She had to accept the offer but there was a challenge. In her new cycle of training with Milwaukee in mind, until March 2024, Meenal hadn’t done a 12 hour-run, often considered vital to get ready for a 24 hour-race. She located two 12 hour-events – in Ahmedabad and Delhi – and participated in them to reacquaint herself with the experience and understand where she stood. “ I knew thereafter that I was good for 12 hours. But I couldn’t guarantee how things would be beyond that,’’ Meenal said. The Asia-Oceania championships in Australia didn’t play out well for Meenal. “ I was hoping to cover 185-190 kilometres. But I ended up with 168 kilometres. It wasn’t my day,’’ she said. Importantly, she didn’t let the reversal in fortunes, lead her into a pit of despair. She reverted her focus to the upcoming six day-race in Milwaukee.

Meenal Kotak; from the event in Milwaukee, USA (photo: courtesy Meenal)

June 2024; the race in Milwaukee featured several strong runners. “ I didn’t look at the entry list, which was displayed there. I didn’t want any pressure on myself,’’ Meenal said. The event in the US was set within an indoor stadium that held an ice-skating rink. It was therefore cold; a constant low temperature. Indoor stadium meant, there was no sunlight. On the other hand, precisely because of the synthetic setting, it was a controlled ambiance. The first day of the race went off well for Meenal. In line with her expectations, the second and third days proved to be tough. She neither ran nor slept properly. On the fourth day, things began to look up. On that day, the fifth and the sixth, she had her first taste of hallucination. There was a display board in the stadium featuring a woman’s image on it. Meenal felt the woman touch her on her shoulder, running with her and conversing with her. Some others around had more serious hallucinatory issues. “ One runner started hallucinating about a murder,’’ she said. Eventually, Meenal completed the race with a new national best for women. She thinks Indians have a talent for resilience. They can take a lot. It’s part of the South Asian package. Now 44 years old, Meenal’s wish is that somewhere on the way to her fifties or in her fifties, she should try the 52 day-Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race.               

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai. For more on Meenal, please click on this link: https://shyamgopan.com/2017/12/21/after-the-race-the-journey/)         

by

AT A GLANCE / JULY 2024

File photo: Avinash Sable (this picture taken at the Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China in 2023, was downloaded from the event’s Facebook page. It is being used here for representation purpose. No copyright infringement intended)

Sable breaks national record for the tenth time

Avinash Sable set a new national record in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, clocking eight minutes and 9.91 seconds at the recently held Paris Diamond League. It was an improvement by over one second from his previous national record of 8:11.20 set at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where he took silver. This was the tenth time Sable was breaking the national record. The race in Paris was won by Abrham Sime of Ethiopia in 8:02.36. He narrowly edged out Kenya’s Amos Serem, who had the same timing. The third position was secured by Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot (8:06.70). The Diamond League is a set of track and field events organized by World Athletics, the apex governing body for athletics worldwide. Sable is the reigning Asian Games gold medallist in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. According to the Times of India, prior to the latest result, Sable had competed only twice this season. He clocked 8:21.85 in Portland (Portland Track Festival 2024) and 8:31.75 at the National Inter-State Championships in Panchkula, both in June. India’s best steeplechaser to date now heads to the 2024 Paris Olympics scheduled to be held over July 26 to August 11.

Ten runners to represent India at Asia Pacific Trail Running Championship 2024

Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has chosen the team to represent India at the Asia Pacific Trail Running Championship to be held in Ulsan City, South Korea, from October 23-27, 2024.

Ten runners will represent India in two categories of races – long trail of 80 kilometres and short trail of 40 km, a statement from AFI said.

Four runners including one woman will participate in the long trail race. The male runners are Hemant Limbu, Prabal Chettri and Kieren Dsouza. Ashwini Ganapathi will be in the women’s team of the long trail race.

In the short trail race, the five male runners chosen are Nimsang Limboo, Som Bahadur Thami, Aman, Nilesh Nandkishor Kulaye and Sandeep Kumar. Nupur Singh will be in the women’s team of the short trail race.

(The authors, Latha Venkatraman and Shyam G Menon, are independent journalists based in Mumbai)

by

THIRD TIME LUCKY

Lt Col Bharat Pannu; at the finish line of 2024 RAAM (photo: courtesy Bharat)

Determined army officer finally achieves his goal

For Lieutenant Colonel Bharat Pannu, it was third time lucky.

Long fascinated by Race Across America (RAAM), his engagement with the event is a study in perseverance.

Bharat is among the top endurance cyclists from India. Many people from the world of ultracycling in India, gravitate towards RAAM, which is a gruelling ride across the continental United States. RAAM tests both rider and his / her support crew. To get a ring side view of the race, Bharat served as a member of the support crew for one of the teams (Team Sea to See) in the 2018 edition of the event. He also acquired a US-based coach – Tracy McKay, who had completed RAAM as part of a two-person team in 2002 and been team strategist / crew chief for Chris MacDonald, who cycled solo and finished second at RAAM in 2005. After qualifying for RAAM at races in India, Bharat – he was posted in Nashik at that time – made his first attempt in 2019. That year, while in the US for RAAM, he suffered an accident just ahead of the race and broke his collar bone. He had to pull out of the race.

Less than a year later, the world was in the grip of COVID-19. As the pandemic spread, lockdown enveloped the world, sporting activity came to grinding halt worldwide and events were cancelled. There was no RAAM in 2020. Fed up of being indoors and inactive, humankind kicked off the virtual version of sports like running and cycling. RAAM hosted a virtual version of the race (VRAAM) in June 2020. Bharat participated in the event. He cycled at an apartment in Pune; his bike fitted to a smart-trainer. After 12 days of cycling, on June 28, Bharat emerged winner in his age category and third overall in the race. It was a major milestone in his career in cycling.

The 2020 virtual RAAM was followed by two rides – one along India’s Golden Quadrilateral highway system and the other from Manali to Leh – both ending up in Bharat finding a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the timing he obtained. Meanwhile, the pandemic’s grip on the world continued into 2021. It made traveling overseas for RAAM and participating in the race, difficult. In July 2021, the aeronautical engineer working with the Indian Army’s aviation wing, was transferred from Bengaluru (where he had moved to, from Nashik) to Ahmednagar and put in charge of the Indian Army’s cycling and rugby teams. Although what he loved to do became the stuff of office work, this phase may have deprived Bharat the ultracyclist, of the personal attention he deserved. He had many things to take care of. He made the best of what was available, trained and reached the US in time for the 2022 physical edition of RAAM for a second shot at the race.  Unfortunately, yet again, it wasn’t to be a successful outing.

Team Bharat Pannu at the finish line of 2024 RAAM (photo: courtesy Bharat)

RAAM has a cut-off of 12 days. That’s the time allotted to cover the nearly 4900 kilometres long, west to east span of the US from Oceanside in California to Annapolis in Maryland. Bharat is known to be a strong cyclist in the second half of the races he participates in. So, when the 2022 RAAM commenced with Bharat not doing too well, he and his crew took it in their stride. Alarm bells however started ringing on the fifth day, for by then the lag Bharat had grown had become tad serious. He and his team hunkered down and covered some of the lost ground. But on the tenth day of the race in June 2022, Bharat experienced fever and along with it, chills and shivering. The crew felt he risked damaging his health if he continued. The decision was taken to pull out. Once back in India, Bharat decided to take a break from ultracycling. He had been training and racing at events for several years. Body and mind sought rest. Further, races like RAAM, which are set overseas, require a support crew with transport infrastructure. These events also have a dedicated, long training period. Simply put, RAAM consumes resources. Bharat knew that his purse needed replenishment. Rest made sense. He stayed off competitive cycling for much of 2023.

In June 2023, Bharat’s posting to the army’s cycling node in Ahmednagar concluded and shortly thereafter, he was transferred to Suratgarh in northern Rajasthan. Freed of his responsibilities at the cycling node and returned to his regular schedule (the sort in which, he used to train for ultracycling), the idea of attempting RAAM again, returned. Suratgarh is part of the northern reaches of the Thar desert. According to Bharat, Suratgarh is predominantly flat. Perfect for cycling. More important, summer temperatures run quite high and winter is cold. “ These extremes made it a good ambiance to train for an endurance race like RAAM,’’ Bharat said. One approaches RAAM through stages of preparation and with smaller races in ultracycling done. In October 2023, Bharat decided to participate in the annual Indian ultracycling race, Ultra Spice. “ I met the targets I set for myself at this race,’’ he said. Following this, the decision to participate in RAAM 2024 was taken.

Bharat trained under the guidance of Tracy. As mentioned earlier, participating in RAAM is a resource-intense exercise. Bharat’s tickets to the US were sponsored by a Pune-based travel company. He had no other sponsors. He used to have an association with bicycle manufacturer, Scott. But it had ended. So, the rest of the expenses for 2024 RAAM, he bore it himself. He had a support crew of nine people; seven from India and two from the US. He reached the US, four days before the race. In the time available, he did the necessary final preparations, including two trial rides that totaled about 100 miles. For RAAM, he banked on three bicycles – a Scott Foil (lightweight road bike), a Scott Plasma (time trial bike) and a Trek Emonda (endurance bike).

For Bharat, RAAM 2024, started off better than in 2022. “ The initial phase went off quite smoothly. We reached the half way point of the race in five days and nine hours,’’ he said. Then things began to get challenging. For two days continuously in Kansas, he faced cross winds and pedalling in such conditions drained his energy. Within RAAM’s ecosystem, Kansas is notorious for its weather-related challenges. Thanks to this predicament, Bharat’s average speed reduced. Compounding the challenges was a second problem. Noticing his strong cycling in the early part of the race, his crew had allowed him to cycle for longer hours with resultant less downtime for sleep. In that phase, his sleep pattern used to be 15-20 minutes once or twice during the day and 45 minutes to 90 minutes at night. Compared to this aggregate, the original plan had been to get at least three hours of sleep. But then, Bharat had been cycling well and allowing him to eat the miles had appeared the sensible thing to do in that early part of the race (particularly given the experience of 2022). Consequently, the planned three hours of sleep in the original race strategy, got overlooked. For body and mind, sleep denied doesn’t disappear. It accumulates.

The Armed Forces Cup, finisher’s plaque and medal from 2024 RAAM (photo: courtesy Bharat)

Sleep deprivation is one of the known challenges in ultracycling. Especially so in races like RAAM, which run like a single stage from start to finish, leaving sleep management entirely the onus of rider and crew to manage. For Bharat, past the half-way point, sleep deprivation began to make its presence strongly felt. “ The tenth and eleventh days were pretty bad,’’ he said. However, to his luck, although cycling at night continued to stay challenging, things improved as regards his daytime cycling. He was fine when the sun shone. “ The period between midnight to 6 AM remained very difficult,’’ he said. Eventually, Bharat made it to the finish line in Annapolis within the stipulated cut-off period of 12 days; he covered RAAM’s 4928 kilometres in 11 days, 23 hours and 36 minutes. The final figure included an hour added as penalty for a impeding traffic. Besides completing RAAM successfully on his third attempt, Bharat also won the race’s Armed Forces Cup. “ It took me three attempts and more than five years to achieve this. I feel content, satisfied,’’ Bharat said. In retrospect, he believes that had things gone well, he could have completed the race in 2019 or 2022. But then, such is endurance cycling, such is RAAM.

Many people who finish RAAM nurse the hope of returning to improve their timing. Bharat shares the aspiration. It is on the cards although he hasn’t decided when it should be. Closer to the present, he intends to participate in Dunes, an ultracycling event set to debut in Rajasthan this December.

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