Ashok Nath (Photo: Shyam G Menon)

Ashok Nath has positioned himself as a mentor for runners. He brings to his mentoring, years of corporate experience, an attribute often associated with goal and focus. Yet he also says, “ there is no finite precise goal.” What he seeks is mindful running. 

In 2015, Colonel Muthukrishnan Jayaraman enrolled for a workshop on running.

He had been struggling to improve his running. For the next several months he kept the learnings from the workshop in mind and trained accordingly. At the 2016 Mumbai Marathon he lopped off 14 minutes from his previous year’s timing. That was significant. A month later, in February 2016, he decided to formally join the training program offered by Ashok Nath, who had conducted the 2015 workshop.

Ashok Nath, or Ash as he is popularly known, has been a recreational runner for most of his adult life. Long ago in Delhi, he would wake up at 5AM, read and then go for a run lasting about an hour. To him, it was an exercise to stay fit, nothing more, nothing less. “I never thought of myself as a runner,’’ he said. Years later, the marketing professional is into “mentoring’’ runners but there is a difference. He hasn’t scaled up his mentoring service; instead he has kept it small, premium and cast as “community’’. That brew is tad unusual in the Indian coaching scene, where the general trend is to scale up.  “ I call it the Run with Ash community,’’ Ashok, 56, said.

The youngest of three siblings, Ashok grew up in India, Bangladesh and Canada. His father was in the Indian Foreign Service. Although initially a student of science, Ashok commenced his career in market research. He then took his MBA in international marketing following which, he proceeded to work at a handful of well-known advertising agencies, among them – JWT, MAA Bozell, Rediffusion, Enterprise and O&M. “ My work has been mostly in advertising, public relations and consulting,’’ he said.

From one of the editions of the Mumbai Marathon (Photo: courtesy Ashok Nath)

In the early years of his career, Ashok was based in Delhi. He used to run regularly, typically loops at the Hauz Khas Rose Garden near the city’s Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Occasionally, elite athletes who trained at the National Stadium close to city center would come to the park as part of their long run.  They saw him running in the park. They also got around to talking. It was window to a world of running beyond deer park and early morning runs. Those days major marathons in India were mainly two – there was the Rath Marathon in Delhi and the Pune International Marathon. The Rath Marathon used to pass by Ashok’s house. For two years he watched the race go by. Then notwithstanding the fact that he hadn’t formally participated in any such event before or trained for it, he registered for an edition of Rath. It was straight dive into the full marathon. “ It happened in 1984-85 and I finished the race in approximately three and a half hours. Then I went back home and slept the whole day,’’ Ashok said. By the standards of amateur runners in India, that is a decent timing, particularly for debut. Still, nothing changed in Ashok’s life. He continued to maintain the same schedules.  The following year, he again completed Rath in near similar time. For the next two years, he kept his connection with events alive, running half marathons.

By now the perspective in urban India was changing firmly. The economy had been opened up and thanks to industries like IT, the workforce was more mobile. People were spending years overseas on assignments, picking up active lifestyles there, returning to India and wanting to continue the same. In 2004, the Mumbai Marathon made its debut. Slowly but steadily it kick-started a running movement in India’s financial capital. More marathons started to come up in India. It triggered alongside an interest in running across the country.  Meanwhile, Ashok’s work took him from Delhi to the Middle East and eventually to Bengaluru. The southern city would bring him closer to running. In 2005, on a dare by an office colleague he enlisted for what was then called the Lipton Marathon. He ran the half marathon at the event in Bengaluru. Six months later, another half marathon happened. He went for that too, and clocked 1:18. In 2008, he registered for the Times Bangalore Marathon and commenced for the first time in his life, structured training with a race in view. He was originally enlisted to do the half marathon; on a week’s notice, he changed that to the full. On race day, he ran strong, staying within the top ten runners till the half way mark. At 25 kilometers, his legs felt as though laden with lead. He decided to walk the next five kilometers. Then he recommenced his running and finished like everyone else. It was a sobering experience.

Photo: courtesy Ashok Nath

Around this time, Ashok was among a small group of runners who regularly interacted with Runners for Life (RFL).  He was slowly but surely getting increasingly attracted to the world around running. “ By 2010 I was thinking: enough is enough. I wanted to leave the corporate world,’’ he said. The advertising profession is famous for extended hours put in at office and much socializing within that ecosystem and immediately related ones. According to Ashok, even as an employee, he wasn’t the sort sticking past office hours at the companies he worked for. “ I give you eight hours of quality work. After that, I need my time,’’ he said. Happening regularly in those hours reserved for self, was his running. Notwithstanding the 2008 experience at the marathon in Bengaluru, Ashok continued to run and emerge a podium finisher in his age category at major Indian marathons like the Mumbai Marathon and ADHM.

For life ahead, he contemplated a mix of writing and running, doing something for the welfare of stray dogs and becoming guest faculty somewhere or being on the lecture circuit. It didn’t work out the way he wanted. The writing proved to be financially unrewarding. It entailed effort – sometimes you sat and wrote for a couple of days – but the payment was downright little. The guest faculty idea failed to gather traction because as Ashok found out, the general expectation in such opportunities was inputs leading to a job for listener. That is boring; it lacked dream. What remained was running. With a couple of friends he set up a company called Running Buddy Sports. Ashok was full time director. There was strong response from some senior fellow runners who were ready to invest in the venture. Running Buddy was meant to offer coaching for running, have a physiology lab and represent Runners World in India. They signed a MoU with Furman Institute of Running and Training (FIRST) to bring their program – Run Less, Run Fast – to India. They also explored tours around the marathon. A proper business study was done for and Running Buddy embarked on a pilot project. Then he pulled out. “ I realized this was going to be a 12 hour plus job. For most clients the convenient time would be early morning or evening. It meant my day would end up crazy. I didn’t leave my corporate job to do this,’’ Ashok said.  The venture shut shop before formal launch. It was back to square one.

Photo: courtesy Ashok Nath

Then Boston Marathon happened. “ Fellow runners would mention of this iconic race and how they aspired someday to participate. So I thought: why not?” Ashok said. He enrolled for the 2010 Boston Marathon but could not proceed beyond Frankfurt due to cancellation of flights, courtesy volcanic eruptions in Iceland. That year the eruptions at Eyjafjallajokull caused massive disruption of air traffic and several thousand runners were stranded. The Boston organizers took note and he was invited to run the marathon’s 2011 edition. In 2011, he ran and finished the marathon in three hours, eight minutes and 27 seconds. He qualified and registered for Boston Marathon ten times and ran it eight times. This includes his run at the event in 2013 – the year of the infamous bombing incident – when Ashok, at that time past 50 years of age, covered the distance in under three hours. According to him, at one point in time he even contemplated training to win the Boston marathon in his age group but realized that there was a serious downside. “ You can’t train and put in the serious hours of mentoring others. I would have had to take a break from work with no safety net. It didn’t make sense,” he said.

Ashok went on to participate in the other five World Major Marathons – Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon, London Marathon, New York City Marathon and Tokyo Marathon. He has also completed Comrades Marathon, an ultramarathon of 87-89 kilometers in South Africa, run between the cities of Durban on the coast and Pietermaritzburg at an elevation of 1955 feet. On his first attempt, Ashok slashed the then existing Indian record for the Comrades by an hour. He has finished within nine hours, earning the Bill Rowan Medal at the Comrades Marathon, four times. He is thinking of running Comrades at age 60. It is a thought. “ Will decide later,’’ he said.

Somewhere in the time between shutting down Running Buddy and the marathons he accumulated, Ashok decided to try starting an enterprise in running that entailed just him. “ Why should I throw away my three decades of corporate experience?’’ he asked. In 2012 he studied the market for running again and decided to focus on running technique. “ It’s a small pie. I didn’t want to eat into others’ business. And no one was thinking technique, it was just training and training,” he said. He decided to do workshops. “ I see myself in the knowledge space. I am not an operational person, I am not a coach but a mentor,’’ he said.

Ashok with some of his mentees at Mumbai’s Marine Drive (Photo: courtesy Ashok Nath)

This was the space Ashok worked in at the time this blog spoke to him. What appears remarkable is his positioning within that domain. The runners he assists are spread around India – Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, NCR, Pune, Surat and Vadodara, and abroad. Many of them are doctors. The numbers are intentionally modest, which is a departure from the usual coaching model found in India. Ashok has positioned himself as a premium service provider. “ There is a certain level of affluence and discipline required to afford me,’’ he said.

The workshops he held helped to find people interested in improving their running. That is the intake point, along with word-of-mouth referrals. Preliminary assessment of an individual includes submission of comprehensive paperwork that asks for body composition tests, blood tests, time trials, lifestyle, goals etc.  Ashok does not market a training program or model of mentoring that fits all. He uses his knowledge of running and experience in the sport as palate to dip into for a more customized approach. Roughly 70 per cent of the knowledge he shares is common for all mentees. The rest is customized to each one’s need and ability. The periodic assessments sent to mentees are also specific to individual. He admitted that while running may seem a freewheeling form of physical recreation, he is partial to the corporate approach which sees things as a sequence of input, processing and measurable output. Goals are defined to keep things measurable. He keeps the flock together with a community-touch including get-togethers and group runs. “ I am not looking at big numbers. My approach is low volume, high value.  If your training is made for you, you will enjoy it and if you enjoy, you will persist. Most of my mentees stick around for three years. Some have been around for six years,’’ Ashok said.

From one of the editions of the Kaveri Trail Marathon (Photo: courtesy Ashok Nath)

Anuradha Chari is a Bengaluru-based amateur triathlete, runner and banker. She is also one of Ashok’s new mentees. “ His style of mentoring is different. Instead of offering a tailor-made plan, he takes the effort to understand your goals and customizes the training plan,’’ she said. Anuradha has been into triathlons since 2016. Running is her weak discipline. She attended Ashok’s workshop in May 2019 and decided to enroll.  “Ashok emphasizes learning, a lot. He inculcates not just nutrition and exercise but also compassion and such other aspects. They slowly become a practice,’’ she said.

Colonel Muthukrishnan Jayaraman started running in 2010. He heard of Ashok Nath and met him a couple of times at running events. In 2015, he enrolled for his workshop. “ I was not finding any improvement in my performance. That’s when I decided to enroll for his workshop,’’ the army doctor said. “Ashok himself is a very good runner. He has a knack of identifying areas that need improvement. A major improvement in my performance was visible after I did his workshop,’’ the officer, an endocrinologist working at Army Hospital in Delhi, said. His marathon timing improved by 14 minutes to 3:43 hours at the 2016 edition of the Mumbai Marathon compared to how he fared at the previous edition. In February 2016, he enrolled with Ashok for long-term training. His timing kept improving and by the 2019 edition of the same event, he had bettered his timing to 3:17, his best for a marathon so far and a Boston Qualifier for 2020“ Ashok’s approach is technical. He keeps upgrading and updating the training plan introducing the concept of sports psychology and nutrition among other things, to us,’’ the colonel said.

Pune-based Tanmaya Karmarkar said she is more confident and stronger after signing up with Ashok. “ It is a seven-day program incorporating core, gym and running workout apart from mentoring sessions on nutrition and psychology. He also gives us books to help with overall development,’’ she said. She qualified for Boston in six months and will be running her second Boston Marathon in 2020.

From Comrades (Photo: courtesy Ashok Nath)

At the Mumbai airport café where this blog met him a couple of times over August-September 2019, Ashok’s confidence as mentor, took time buying into. The typical coach is a mix of former elite athlete (at least some formal background in sports) and matching certification. Ashok hasn’t been an elite athlete before. He has neither been coached nor is he a certified coach; he is not a doctor who is an expert on human physiology. What he has is structured corporate thinking; years of experience as a regular recreational runner, years of listening to his body, an attentive mind and the appetite to keep abreast of developments in the field. According to him, he reads a lot. He has been steady performer as recreational runner, has the experience of marathons here and overseas, assimilates ideas and has kept his own injuries to the minimum. “ I can count on the fingers of my one hand the number of times I have been to a physiotherapist in all these years,’’ he said. Injuries stem from multiple causes, not all of them physical. Mental well-being also matters. Needless to say, there are moments in his engagement with clients when Ashok’s mentoring would appear closer to life-coaching than coaching for a physical activity called running. And, he seems to have packaged it all successfully into a well-positioned product.

Despite leaning towards the corporate attitude of being focused, Ashok also says there is “ no finite precise goal.’’ He acknowledges that everything evolves with experience; what he may have said five years ago, needn’t be what he says now. “What I want to see at the end of the day is a mindful runner,’’ he said.

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

Kenenisa Bekele (This photo was downloaded from the Facebook page of Berlin Marathon and is being used here for representation purpose. No copyright infringement intended)

Ethiopian marathon great Kenenisa Bekele has won the 2019 Berlin Marathon in near world record time.

On Sunday (September 29, 2019) Bekele, 37, covered the course at Berlin – rated the fastest among the World Marathon Majors – in two hours, one minute and 41 seconds, just two seconds shy of the world record. Kenyan legend Eluid Kipchoge had set the current world record at the same event last year with a timing of 2:01:39.

Ashete Bekere of Ethiopia took top honors in the women’s race. She finished in 2:20:14. Of the six podium positions in the men’s and women’s race at Berlin, Ethiopians won five. They swept the men’s event and took the top two positions in the women’s.

Birhanu Legese finished behind Bekele in 2:02:48 while fellow countryman Sisay Lemma finished in 2:03:36 hours. In the women’s race, Ashete Bekere was followed by Mare Dibaba who finished in 2:20:21. Sally Chepyego of Kenya finished in third place with a timing of 2:21:06.

Bekele’s run was the second fastest to date in the history of the marathon.

“ I am very sorry. I am not lucky. But I still can do this. I don’t give up,’’ BBC quoted Bekele as saying in its report on the event.

His previous best in the marathon was 2:03:03, clocked while winning the 2016 edition of the Berlin Marathon. The winning performance at the same event on Sunday comes on the back of mixed fortunes since 2017. He dropped out of the 2017 Dubai Marathon past the halfway mark; he finished second at the 2017 London Marathon, sixth at the 2018 London Marathon and dropped out about a mile from the finish at the 2018 Amsterdam Marathon. In February 2019, he had withdrawn from the year’s Tokyo Marathon due to a stress fracture that was taking time to heal.

One of the all-time greats of distance running and much respected for his running form, Bekele holds the current world and Olympic records in the 5000m and 10,000m. According to Wikipedia, he is the most successful runner in the history of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships with six long course (12km) and five short course (4km) titles. At the 2009 IAAF World Championships held in Berlin, he became the first man to win both 5000m and 10,000m at the same championships.

 (The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai.)

This photo was downloaded from the Facebook page of the IAAF World Championships and is being used here for representation purpose. No copyright infringement intended.

Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich struck gold in the women’s marathon at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships which got underway in Doha on September 27.

Running in hot and humid weather conditions, she covered the distance in 2:32:43. Bahrain’s Rose Chelimo took silver with timing of 2:33:46 while bronze went to Namibia’s Helalia Johannes, who finished in 2:34:15.

It was the first time a marathon was being run at midnight at a world championship. The choice of that hour was to beat the region’s warm weather. “ On this occasion the challenge was about endurance rather than speed as the race began in temperatures officially estimated at between 30 and 32.7 Centigrade, and humidity of 73 per cent,’’ a report about the race and the 25 year old-Kenyan athlete’s winning run, available on the website of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), said. A related BBC report pointed out that of 68 runners who started the race, 28 pulled out owing to the weather conditions. Among those pulling out was Britain’s Charlotte Purdue and Ethiopia’s Ruti Aga, winner at the 2019 Tokyo Marathon. The BBC report quoted Ethiopia’s marathon coach Haji Adillo Roba saying that they wouldn’t have run the race in such conditions in their country.

Ahead of the Doha championships kicking off, there were concerns that the women’s marathon may not be held as scheduled because of the prevailing warm weather. Eventually, the organizers decided to proceed with it. On September 27, the IAAF issued a press statement confirming the decision. “ The IAAF has today sent a letter to the entrants in the women’s marathon at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 confirming that the race will go ahead as planned this evening. The latest weather information confirms that the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature for tonight’s race will be at or below 30 degrees. This is within the range (28 to 30.9 degrees WBGT) that has been predicted and planned for in the past six months. Team leaders and team doctors were briefed about the conditions for the endurance events at the Technical Meeting yesterday. As of noon today, all 69 women who were on the start list two days ago remained scheduled to start the race (the final entry list of 71 athletes included two reserves),” the statement said.  Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) is the recognized international standard for measuring heat, humidity and thermal stress conditions.  The IAAF Competition Medical Guidelines recommend that mitigation measures should be implemented in endurance events where the WBGT measure is over 28°C.

According to the statement, the IAAF and the Local Organizing Committee did everything possible to minimize the heat-related risks. Steps taken included running the endurance events at midnight, disseminating information to all member federations over the past six months, increasing the number of refreshment points along the course, over-scaling the medical plan for the endurance events, recruiting leading medical experts to be part of the medical team and maintaining communication between IAAF medical doctors and team doctors. It also informed that the IAAF Medical Delegate had reassured all competing athletes that the weather would be carefully monitored throughout the day and shared with the teams before the start of the race, to ensure the event is run at an acceptable level of health risk.

At the previous world championships held in London (2017), the women’s marathon had been a slow but keenly fought affair with Chelimo breasting the tape in 2:27:11, Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat placing second in 2:27:18 and Amy Cragg of the US finishing third with the same timing, 2:27:18. Earlier this year – in January – Ruth Chepngetich had topped the women’s segment of the 2019 Dubai Marathon, with finish time of 2:17:08, which is her personal best in the full marathon. She has a personal best of 1:05:30 in the half marathon and 31:12 over the 10 kilometers. Rose Chelimo has a personal best of 2:24:14 in the marathon; that of Helalia Johannes is 2:22:25.

The current Indian national record in the women’s marathon is 2:34:43 set by O. P. Jaisha at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.

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

Jason Reardon (This photo was downloaded from the athlete’s Facebook page)

Ever since it started in 2010, La Ultra The High, held annually in Ladakh, has remained a tough ultramarathon. Depending on the distance tackled, it is one long haul at altitude, up and over high mountain passes and a variety of weather conditions. The 2019 edition saw the following distance categories: 55km, 111km, 222km, 333km and 555km. The longest distance category therein – 555km – was won by Jason Reardon of Australia. He completed the footrace in 120 hours, 19 minutes. Besides enduring Ladakh’s average elevation (much of it is over 9800 feet), the 555km-route takes you over Khardung La (17,582ft), Wari La (approx 17,400ft) and Tanglang La (17,480ft) with the last two passes repeated on the return. Jason had won the event’s 222km race the previous year. A keen sportsman, former member of the Australian Special Forces and someone who saw his share of life’s highs and lows, Jason responded to queries from this blog. Here, he speaks of his background in sports, what brought him to ultra-running and the two occasions he raced at La Ultra The High:

In your resume you have mentioned that you grew up playing state level sports from the age of eight. Can you give us an idea of the place and environment you grew up in and what sports you played in this early yet formative years?

I grew up in Canberra, one of the smaller cities of Australia. I have two sisters. Our dad worked while mum looked after us and drove us to all our sports. I played baseball from the age of eight, right through to life as an adult. I coached junior teams when I was 18. I also played a lot of football and a little bit of rugby league, rugby union, volleyball, netball and cricket. I first represented my local area in T-Ball at age eight, nine and 10. I then travelled around Australia as part of the ACT State team from the age of 10 to 18. I was a very active kid and my family was very supportive of all my sporting endeavours.

Australia is known as a power house in sports. As someone who grew up in that country can you tell us how sports / interest in sports is treated at school level? Can you give us a feel of the ambiance at school level as regards sports?

As mentioned, I was in one of the smaller cities, so we didn’t get the same advantages of the bigger cities. But we were always encouraged to join school teams. My school was small, so we only had cricket and netball teams primarily, although one year we did have a rugby union team and I joined that team. Little Athletics was huge though, this is very big in all Australian schools. So I have always been into running. I was a good sprinter because I played baseball. I did well in the 100m and 200m events. I also did a bit of cross country but surprisingly as a kid, it was not my best running event, not like today where I can run forever. So basically our school was very supportive of kids playing sports and doing athletics.

Jason Reardon (This photo was downloaded from the athlete’s Facebook page)

You coached junior sports from a young age. Which sports / disciplines did you coach at this stage?

I coached my club level under-12 baseball team. This gave me the chance to teach kids everything I had learned. My team was undefeated for the first season and in both the seasons I coached; we won the competition, losing only two games in two years

At the age of 24 you enlisted in the Australian Special Forces. By 25, you were a commando. How long were you in the military? Did this phase contribute in any way to the abilities / endurance you have since shown at ultra races?

Yes, I joined when I was about 24 and spent 18 months completing all the necessary training from basic recruit school all the way up to and beyond Commando Selection. After I passed selection, I needed to qualify in all the various specialties. I believe my upbringing and my passion and drive in all my sports prepared me for commandos, which then also prepared me for the ultra events. The commandos reinforced everything I had already learnt, growing up. Each step in my life made me more resilient and mentally capable of doing the next challenge and that journey is still continuing today.

You went through depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after the demise of your child while away on exercise. You have said that it caught up with you years later and you resorted to fitness and running to cope with the predicament. How exactly did fitness and running help you change? Was fitness and running your first choice for a way out from the situation you found yourself in or was it a mix you found, having tried other alternatives? 

I went to some very dark places; turning to drugs and alcohol and a very destructive life. This continued for about two to three years, about three years after my son died. I went through some situations where I almost died from risky behaviour and these experiences helped me see that I needed to change and to make that decision. I met with a doctor who treated me after a suicide attempt. We spoke and worked out my passion in life; it always revolved around fitness and sport. We made a plan together to start using antidepressants to balance my moods and behaviour but I was clear I did not agree with medication and I wanted to be off these as soon as I could. We decided that I would start back at the gym and start running to have something to focus on. I used these goals to focus all my negative and positive energy. I also agreed to see a specialist and just talk about my situation which I did a number of times. After a while this new focus on my health and fitness started making quite a positive impact and I was feeling a lot better. Within about nine months after slowly coming off medication, I was free from any type of antidepressants and managing my behaviour and mood just like any other person. I still have days where I feel upset and negative, but now I am aware of seeing this happening and able to take steps to make myself feel better and stay on track

From Enduro (This photo was downloaded from Jason Reardon’s Facebook page)

How did you discover your capacity for tackling ultra-distances? Was it evident to you from start or was it something you discovered progressively, working your way up through the shorter distances? 

In 2010 I moved to Sydney and started working at a gym. In 2013, I was involved in a motor vehicle accident in South East Asia. This resulted in a fractured pelvis, punctured lung, head trauma, broken foot and other smaller injures. On my return I was warned by medical professionals that I may never have my full capabilities back and be able to run and be as fit as I previously was. I took this as just another obstacle and challenge to make myself into an even stronger person. Less than a year later I tried out for the Australian 24 hour-obstacle racing team. I performed well in the gruelling test and was quite successful though I didn’t make the cut for the team. I decided to race the 2014 Australian championships where I beat the other guys in the Australian team and came first in the first ever 24 hour-Australian obstacle event. I seem to do this often, do well in the inaugural events. That’s where it all grew from. So by not making the cut for the team – it just gave me the drive and lit the fire I needed to start this ultra journey. I continued with obstacle course racing until 2017 when I made the switch to ultra trail running. Each year I have pushed myself further into bigger and harder events. Each event is a stepping stone to a new challenge that is tougher than the last. My first ultra trail event was 100km. Since then I have done distances including 50km, 100km, 130km, 222km, and my longest – 555km.

You have mentioned that it was after winning the Australian titles for 24 hour obstacle course racing that your love for endurance races really took root. Can you elaborate on these races; how does a 24 hour obstacle course race work and what is it like to endure one? What did winning the Australian titles in 2014 tell you about yourself?

My first endurance event – the 24hr Enduro – was a 24 hour-obstacle race. The course is set up like a race track; it’s a 10km circuit with a central pit area where all our food, spare clothes, warm and wet weather gear and support crew are. There are a number of obstacles around the circuit, including water crossings, rope climbs, crawling, tunnels, sandbag carries, and more. You have 24 hours to do as many laps as you can. The event gets extremely cold during the night and then during the day it can be quite warm, so you are exposed to high and low temperatures. At night it is also necessary to wear a wetsuit to keep from getting hypothermia, so for a few hours participants are wearing wetsuits which slows the pace down and restricts full movement which adds even more fatigue to the body. As with all endurance events you mentally go through highs and lows. Further, not having the correct nutrition plan can quickly deplete your mental strength and capability. So it’s important to have the nutrition right as well.

Support teams play a vital role in keeping you positive and keeping you on track when you feel like quitting. I have witnessed many times runners wanting to quit but their crews push them back on to the course. When the race is over the support crew is always thanked for doing so as at times some runners wouldn’t finish if they had not been pushed back in.

I entered this race with no option other than to win in my mind; to complete the event and complete it in first place to show the Australian team they had not given me the credit I deserved. So by achieving my goal and being very new to not only obstacle course racing but endurance events as well, it cemented my belief that I am capable of anything I put my focus on. Finishing the race gave me more self-confidence and the belief that each person’s mind is so powerful and plays a role in our achievements every day. It gave me the fire I needed to pursue my endurance journey and get to where I am now.

From La Ultra The High (Photo: courtesy Jason Reardon)

In 2018, you won the 222km race at La Ultra The High in Ladakh. What made you choose this race as event to compete in? Did you have any prior experience running at altitude; how did you prepare yourself for it? How was the race experience?

I was looking for a new challenge and with some other things coming up in my life at the time I was starting to lose my spark and feeling a bit depressed. I knew what to look out for and knew I was not in a good space mentally. I chose to do this race after watching YouTube videos and seeing the extreme conditions and thinking, wow this is an epic challenge. I had never run at altitude before. We don’t have many mountains in Australia, and our highest is just more than half the height of Khardung La, the first mountain pass in La Ultra. I was in Thailand training as a sponsored athlete at Unit 27 for most of 2018. This was mainly strength based training, so I was a lot stronger and weighed a few kilograms more (81kg) than the average runner, who is probably about 65-70kg. So my training was mostly aimed towards being strong not light and fast. I had bought an altitude tent for this event, but it was in Australia, so I used it for about two months but not before the event. They say that training in extreme heat and humidity is the next best thing to prepare for altitude. That’s what I did. I made the most of the environment I was in.

On the second day after reaching Leh I thought I’d go do some stair running at Shanti Stupa, thinking I would go up and down about five or six times. I remember starting to run and getting about 40m into the 400m long stair run and having to stop and walk, thinking my heart was going to explode. I only did one repeat that day and thought to myself this is incredibly tough. There is no way I will be able to run this race. I spent the next two weeks doing small runs on the flat and on the stairs; I went for a two day-hike and up to the high pass about two times. At the time the race was starting I was feeling a lot better and confident that I had acclimatized better. I was able to run fairly well at altitude though I decided not to run too much anywhere above 4900m. I developed some gastro issues after blitzing the first 110km in about 15 hours. The second half of the race took me 31 hours to complete due to being sick. I finished the 222km event with a smile on my face and thinking how amazing that part of the world is and how lucky I was to experience the night skies of the Himalaya.

From La Ultra The High (Photo: courtesy Jason Reardon)

In 2019, you enrolled for the 555km race at La Ultra The High. Doing so, you vaulted over the 333km race in between. What was your thought process behind such a shift? 

I believe that if you have the mental capability to finish an ultra, say 100 miles or more, it’s just using that same mind and thinking those same positive thoughts that will get you to the finish of a much longer event. So I trained hard, accepted the fact that this was going to be a tough race and prepared my mind for that. There were definitely times I wanted to quit. But with good support and the ability to turn those thoughts around by thinking about why I am doing this and what drives me, I was able to complete the distance even though it was more than double my previous longest run

You won the 555km race at La Ultra The High in 2019. Can you tell us in detail how this race unfolded for you? What are the aspects that were particularly challenging for you in La Ultra The High’s 555km race? Do you plan to come back and try improving your time?

For me the biggest challenge initially was being able to afford the cost. After that, it was the pain in my knee early on in the race. I had severe knee pain about 250km into the event. After resting for an hour and taking some pain killers this went away never to return, thankfully. The hallucinations were always there after day three, but not so hard to deal with, there were just negative thoughts in my head due to my past and PTSD. I would think and imagine things that weren’t real. But I kept reminding myself that it was exactly that, not real. And I managed to hold myself together for the entire five days. The cold, rain, snow and heat were no trouble as I was ready for that possibility but silently hoping there were not too many extremes, which was obviously not the case.

Next year I have other events I would like to do, but I am planning to bring some other runners to La Ultra to be able to experience the amazing mountains. So if I come back it will be as support and coach to others. I may do it again in a few years and I believe I can definitely improve my time if that’s my goal. Even by just slowly running the last 10km instead of walking I could knock an hour off my total time.

Jason Reardon; from La Ultra The High (Photo: courtesy Jason)

Ultra races often require support crew. How did you go about finding the right persons for your support crew? Do you have people who figure regularly on your support crew? What was your experience with the support crews of 2018 and 2019 at La Ultra The High? 

In 2018 Carly was my support crew and she had crewed me in various events prior to that including some 24 hour obstacle course races and 100km ultra events. She did a good job and helped me stay on track especially when I was sick and having to stop regularly to attend to that. For the 555 I had no support crew from back home. I put out a call on social media. Freni from West India answered and said she would love to be part of the event, so I took her on board. Rimple was my other crew but between them they had no prior experience. They did the best they could for the first 24 hours but cut offs were too close and I was getting frustrated as I got more and more tired. At the 222km-mark I got a whole new support crew, I actually got two teams. Both support leaders had crewed before and even raced. So they knew exactly what was needed and what was involved. From that point on, there was less pressure on me to assist them. So I was able to focus purely on just the running side. This freed up a lot of my energy and I was able to make the next few cut-offs in just enough time to set me up for the finish.

So basically I didn’t know any of my crew well. We had all met over there and had to work it out on the go. All my crew were amazing and every single one of them did the best they could with the knowledge they had. I’m glad for all the help from everyone and their generosity and support. Ultra communities around the world are amazing for this very reason. Everyone just wants to help and will go out of their way to do so.

How do you evaluate yourself as an ultra-runner in terms of your strengths and weaknesses? Have you got all the details from – training to nutrition and the tackling of various stages during a race – sorted out or are there still unknowns? What are the variables?

I think I’m doing okay. I’m fairly new to the sport. There is still so much to learn, I think you could do these events your entire life and every single race will teach you many new things about the environment, how your body responds physically and about your resilience and mental capabilities. If you were an ultra runner and thought you knew it all you wouldn’t get very far or stay at the top of your game for long. Nutrition is always a hard one as so many factors come into play. There are temperature changes and other things like altitude, your current eating habits, past eating habits, how you feel, the amount of exertion, and many more. This, for me, is the hardest part to get right in all my events so far. And I was lucky to get it right at La Ultra. The key is to train for your next event exactly how you plan to run it, including food, hydration, altitude, ascent and descent, just everything. Really sit down and work it all out and if that race is really important to you then work out every tiny detail.

Jason Reardon; from La Ultra The High (Photo: courtesy Jason)

What are you planning next?

I have a race in Turkey on 27th September: the Lycian Way 100km. Then following that in November, the Spartan Ultra – 50km obstacle course race and Alpine Ultra Victoria Australia 160km. In December, there is the Al Marmoom Desert Ultra 110km and in February 2020, the Tarawera 100km. I also have a few others I’m planning on doing including UTMB 2020 which is the ultra trail race of all races.

You are pushing your limits. At the same time, how do you handle your setbacks and DNFs; how do you handle your injuries?

If a race doesn’t go to plan I’ll just sit down and work out where it went wrong and how I can improve it next time. I had a DNF last year at the Lycian Way in Turkey which I am doing again on 27th September. I’ve learnt from it and am going back to improve on last time. With regard to injuries, if you look after your body, you won’t get them. I plan my training accordingly and have lots of rest. If I’m feeling exhausted or not right I’ll have a few days off from training and get back to it later when I’m feeling better. Lots of people over-train, thinking that the more they do, the better they will be, when in fact that’s terrible thinking to have. You really need to plan and not overdo any of it. Nutrition, sleep and rest play a big part in recovery. If you don’t get these right; then your running and weights won’t work for you, 100 per cent. Nutrition and rest should be number one priority; after that, exercise. If I feel an injury coming on I’ll just force myself to have a week or two of down time and focus on something else.

(This interview was done via email. The interviewers, Latha Venkatraman and Shyam G Menon, are independent journalists based in Mumbai. For a detailed account of the 2016 edition of La Ultra The High, please click on this link: https://shyamgopan.com/2016/09/16/the-captain-the-teacher-the-warrior-and-the-businessman/)

Nitendra Singh Rawat (Photo: Shyam G Menon)

For ace marathon runner Nitendra Singh Rawat, the countdown to the 2019 IAAF World Championships due in Doha, is occasion to reflect.  On September 9, thanks to injury, he had put out a Facebook post announcing withdrawal from preparations for the event.

“ I don’t know where I am getting it wrong in my training,’’ Nitendra, who is among India’s best long distance runners, told this blog in Bengaluru, some ten days after that post on social media. At the Sports Authority of India (SAI) facility, his daily schedule remained pretty much the same as when everything was fine and he was training systematically. There was an early morning dose of training, rest, strengthening exercises by early evening and another round of training after that. All this with one difference – given injury, the work load was light. The schedule was mixed with cross training and periodic visits to a trusted physiotherapist in the city. “ It is something like active rest. I am hoping to nudge the work load slightly higher next week, maybe try some jogging or light running,’’ he said.

Nitendra had qualified for the Doha World Championships at the 2019 Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM), which he had won with a timing of 2:15:52 (he and Sudha Singh were the only Indian athletes qualifying so at 2019 TMM; Gopi. T made the mark at the 2019 Seoul Marathon). He had then headed to the 2019 London Marathon before settling down to a training schedule focused on Doha. “ I was doing well. The training during off season is very important when planning for major events,’’ Nitendra said. Then, the setback occurred. The injury started with discomfort in the hamstring. When exertion continues despite a muscle injured, other muscle groups that step in to compensate become affected.  The Facebook post had mentioned complete rest advised, following “ back hamstring and glutes injury.’’

The progression of injury sounded familiar. “ I was in the tapering phase of preparations for Doha and gearing up for the inter-state championships when I began sensing pain. The injury started to interfere with my training. I had no problem running for a long time. The issue was with interval training or if I stopped and resumed. I got to the point where normal movement started to hurt. There was a meeting to decide how athletes were faring. I told the authorities myself that I shouldn’t be in contention for Doha as I am injured. At such venues you have to try your best. You can’t do that if you are nursing injury,’’ Nitendra said.

Rest and recovery should heal the injury. However, looking ahead, he has to make some conscious choices. Athletes typically work back from goals. For all elite athletes the next big objective is the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Its qualifying mark is tough. For the 2016 Rio Olympics, the qualifying time for male marathoners was two hours, 19 minutes. For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, that has tightened to 2:11:30. In other words, any Indian male marathoner qualifying by virtue of timing for the event (there is also additionally, selection based on ranking) would have set a new national record in the discipline. The existing national record is 2:12:00.

From an athlete’s perspective what is it like attempting to bridge the gap between current Indian performance and 2:12:00? Is it too formidable a challenge? “ When I was in England for the London Marathon, I shared my room with an elite runner from Italy. At the race, he improved his timing by a couple of minutes or so. There are multiple, helpful factors that converge on race day making such improvements possible. You train hard but those supportive elements also have to manifest. How, when and where that happens is beyond my capacity to explain,’’ Nitendra said.

Photo: courtesy Nitendra Singh Rawat

With little over three months remaining for 2019 to conclude, the next big event in his mind was the annual marathon in Mumbai. Among Indian elite runners, Nitendra is both the defending champion and the course record holder at TMM. It is an event that is close to his heart. But in the run up to Tokyo, the catch is this – although TMM is an IAAF Gold Label race, the course is a tough one (even among the World Marathon Majors, it is to Berlin and its fast course that everyone heads if they are pursuing a record or personal best). Viewed so, Mumbai may not be among most obvious options if you are chasing that stiff qualifying mark for the Olympics. You have to include other options too in the basket of races for consideration. Ideally for a marathoner seeking berth at the Tokyo Olympics of July-August 2020, the last big competition can be upto three months prior to the Olympics, not closer than that, Nitendra said. You have time till then. There is some conscious choosing and planning, he will have to do.

“ All that, after I overcome this injured phase. Healing and recovery is top priority for now,’’ Nitendra said. There was interesting sub text on that front too. Hailing from Kumaon in Uttarakhand, Nitendra believes that he gathers more injuries when training in cities. “ I am not saying that I don’t get injured in the hills. But it seems to me that I get injured less there,’’ he said. He hopes to get back to the hills but maybe somewhere else, not Kumaon; Kumaon is home and being close to home could be distracting for athlete in training. He also hopes that sometime in the future he gets to coach others, including good amateur runners.

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

Geoffrey Kamworor (This photo was downloaded from the athlete’s Facebook page)

Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor has set a new world record at the 2019 Copenhagen Half Marathon.

He finished the race in 58 minutes and one second (58:01), bettering the previous world record in the half marathon by 17 seconds. The earlier record (58:18) was held by Abraham Kiptum of Kenya; it was set at the Valencia Half Marathon last year.

The new record is “ subject to the usual ratification procedure,’’ the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) noted in its statement (dated September 15, 2019) on the subject.

The Copenhagen Half Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.

Kamworor is a known face in India having finished on the podium at past editions of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and the TCS World 10k.

What makes Kamworor’s performance doubly significant is that besides breaking the world record, his participation in Copenhagen appears to have been a conscious choice over competing in the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships to be held in Doha later this month.

“ It is very emotional for me to set this record. And doing it in Copenhagen, where I won my first world title, adds something to it,” Kamworor, 26, was quoted as saying in the IAAF report. In his tweet congratulating Kamworor, fellow Kenyan and world record holder in the marathon, Eliud Kipchoge said, “ a huge congratulations to @GKamworor! So proud to see you run this world record. Great planning, preparations, teammates, coaching and management is equal to record breaking.”

According to Wikipedia, Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor, hailing from the village of Chepkorio in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province, first competed abroad in 2010. He was the 2011 World Junior Cross Country Champion. He later won the World Half Marathon Championships three times in a row from 2014 to 2018 (the championships were held in 2014, 2016 and 2018). He also won the World Cross Country Championships in 2015 and 2017.

He won his first World Marathon Major – the New York City Marathon – in 2017.

Among other events, he had podium finishes at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in 2011 (00:59:31), 2013 (00:59:30) and 2014 (59:07). In 2012, he won the TCS World 10k in Bengaluru, covering the distance in 28 minutes. He also won it in 2014 (27:45) and 2018 (27:59).

Copenhagen had been the scene of the first of Kamworor’s three world half-marathon titles.

Outside of his appearances at the World Half Marathon Championships, the 2019 Copenhagen Half Marathon was Kamworor’s first 13.1-mile race since November 2014, the IAAF statement pointed out.

According to it, five other men finished inside 60 minutes at the event. Bernard Kipkorir of Kenya placed second in 59:16 followed by Ethiopia’s Berehanu Wendemu Tsegu (59:22) and Kenya’s Edwin Kiprop Kiptoo (59:27).

In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Birhane Dibaba (2018 Tokyo Marathon champion) finished first in 1:05:57. It was a personal best (PB) for her and the second fastest time at the event after the course record (1:05:15) set by Ethiopian born Dutch athlete, Sifan Hassan last year. That had been a new European record. Evaline Chirchir of Kenya (1:06:22) placed second and Dorcas Tuitoek (1:06:36), also of Kenya, third.

(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai.)

Scott Hawker (This photo was downloaded from the Facebook page of the athlete)

The Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) is among the most coveted races in the international ultra-running calendar. It is a difficult race, run in the European Alps. The course length is approximately 171 kilometers and the total elevation gain amounts to 32,940 feet. It is also among the largest ultra-races of its type with hundreds of runners converging every year at Chamonix in France, for what is essentially a week-long festival of running with races over various distances. UTMB is the flagship race. Ultra-runner, Scott Hawker, secured a podium finish at the 2019 edition of Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB). Scott has been rated among the leading trail runners from New Zealand. He has featured in the top bracket at well-known trail races. He placed third at 2019 UTMB, covering the distance in 21 hours, 48 minutes, four seconds (21:48:04). Scott spared time to respond to queries from this blog:

How do you normally plan your calendar every year? How many races do you typically participate in every year and do you follow any pattern like orienting the progression towards a major event? For example, if you are doing UTMB, do you structure the rest of the year such that you save yourself for UTMB?

Yes this year was all about UTMB. I raced less this year than in previous years. And I had a pretty quiet few months race wise leading into UTMB so I could focus on training and preparing as best as I could.

In one of your post-race interviews after 2019 UTMB, you have hinted at the return of an old injury in the early part of the race. Do you suspect you were overdoing things in the preceding years? You have also mentioned of struggling to get the right diet / nutrition in place. Can you give us an idea of these years, what was going wrong and how you corrected the situation?

The niggle / injury I’ve been dealing with for a couple of years is some sciatic nerve/ hamstring pain… with it being more nerve related it’s a little up and down. It hadn’t been an issue for a few months but reared its ugly head at UTMB after Saint Gervais.

My race day nutrition just wasn’t working for me in 2018, too many gels / chews and sweet items were causing a massive thirst and I basically ended up needing to drink too much fluid, which would then cause havoc in my stomach on downhills with the sloshing in the guts.

From 2019 UTMB (Photo: courtesy Scott Hawker)

How did you plan your approach to 2019 UTMB? How many events did you participate in prior to this in 2019 and which ones did you choose? Was your approach to the 2019 edition of the event, significantly different from how you approached it in 2017?

As mentioned above, I raced a lot less this year and the races I did do were shorter distance events than in previous years…

I ran in the HK100 in January, Mt Solitart Ultra 45km in April, the Retezat 28km Skyrace in June, Lavaredo Ultra Dolomites 87km in June, the Grossglockner Ultra 50km in July and then UTMB. The spacing between these races enabled me to recover well post-race and then kick back into training.

Going into UTMB this year, what was your pre-race expectation and strategy? How had you planned to run the race?

Pre-race I was hoping to sneak into the top 10 and maybe top five if on a good day… My plan was to stick around some runners who I felt would run a typically smart race. The pace in the beginning 10km was quite slow compared to previous years so I found myself in the top five athletes from early on.

In post-race interviews you have mentioned that the first half of the race was a struggle for you. What happened; what went wrong, what caused things to go wrong? How did the situation change in the second half; what made things change? 

Yes, the hamstring / sciatic pain came back and didn’t enable me to run freely in the opening 50km until Les Chapieux. I was walking down some of the descent resigned to the fact I was going to pull out as the race I was hoping for and what I wanted to achieve here, was gone. It was when my good friend Harry Jones came in to the checkpoint and said to try again as there was so much time to go that I decided to shuffle out of the aid station and try to get to Courmayeur. I was doing a nerve stretch I do a lot (every 10-12mins) and I think the super easy 5km descent was maybe enough to take some of the load off my hamstring. I was then able to start running without pain.

From 2019 UTMB (Photo: courtesy Scott Hawker)

The UTMB is run in the European Alps. You hail from New Zealand, home to the Southern Alps. Are there any challenges by way of terrain / weather conditions that you face running in the mountains of Europe or are the challenges faced more personal than related to environment?

The mountains in NZ are so similar to the mountains around Mont Blanc. I feel really at home in Chamonix. There’s probably a balance of environmental and physical challenges one faces at UTMB.

Can you give us an overview of your early life in New Zealand – which part of the country do you hail from, what is the topography there like, when did you get into running and most importantly, when did you get into ultra-running? Was there any specific instance / development that made you realize you will be good at ultra-running?

I played soccer when i was younger to a provincial and national level. As kids, my parents would take me and my brother hiking and on adventures. So I found a love for nature and the outdoors from a young age.

As a kid, I seemed to always be the fitter guy in the team and the one who was running later in the matches. Once I started doing multisport races in the mountains I realized I could move well through the mountains and combining that with good fitness – it was a good match for ultramarathon running.

What attracts you to trail and ultra-running? Can you give us an idea of your training – is it structured and supervised by a coach or has it been mostly a case of you discovering what works best for you?

The mountains, the solitude but also the companionship while training and racing with friends. Also it’s a sport I can share somewhat with my wife and daughter as part of the process, which is an amazing experience.

My coach David Roche from SWAP has been guiding me since March this year, he’s been monumental in helping me develop as an athlete and get to where I am now. The exciting part is we’re only getting started.

From 2019 UTMB (Photo: courtesy Scott Hawker)

As a runner, how long did it take for you to find sponsors? At what point in your running career did they start showing interest?

Around 2014 I picked up my first sponsors. I’m so thankful to be supported by such amazing brands as VIBRAM, CamelBak, Kailas and Naked Running Band.

At present your year is split into a first half spent training and racing in Australia and a second half devoted to racing in other parts of the world. How has this mix worked for you? Does that first half spent in Australia provide you with adequate opportunities and adequately diverse terrain to train in?

Being able to spend time in NZ and Australia and then the race season in Europe is a blessing. The mountains of Australia are so different from almost everything I’ve raced on in Europe so it’s hard to translate what I train in there to Europe but the trails are equally as beautiful and fun.

What is your plan going forward? Which other events do you have in mind for 2019 and 2020? Are there any changes you wish to attempt to your current paradigm of running in terms of type of events, nature of terrain and distances run?

I have 3 races remaining in 2019, the UTLO in Italy, the Mogan Ultra in China and then Maesalong Trail in Thailand. All these races are for fun and events my sponsors support. In 2020, I would like, at this stage to be back at UTMB but the rest of the calendar is undecided as yet.

(This interview was done via email. The interviewer, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai.)

Brigid Kosgei (This photo was downloaded from the Facebook page of London Marathon and is being used here for representation purpose. No copyright infringement intended.)

Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei set a new course record in the women’s half marathon, at the 2019 Great North Run in UK. She covered the distance in one hour, four minutes and 28 seconds (1:04:28), shattering the previous record held by Mary Keitany (1:05:39 / also of Kenya) by more than a minute. The men’s half marathon at the event was marked by Britain’s Mo Farah winning his sixth consecutive title; he finished in 59 minutes, six seconds (59:06).

Kosgei’s course record is better than the existing world record – 1:04:51 – set by Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei at the Valencia Half Marathon in October 2017. However owing to technical reasons, the new mark may not qualify to be a world record. The problem lay in the Great North Run’s course. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) noted in its weekend round-up of road races, “ as a point-to-point course and slightly downhill, it’s not valid for record purposes, but that shouldn’t take away from the performance by the 25-year-old Kenyan who dominated the race from the outset.’’

According to it, IAAF regulations (for the performance to be ratified as a world record) require that the start and finish points on the course, measured along a theoretical straight line between them, should not be further apart than 50 per cent of the race distance. It is also required that the overall decrease in elevation between start and finish should not exceed an average of one meter per kilometer. “ The Great North Run is contested on a point-to-point course with elevation loss of 30.5m and a start / finish separation of more than 75 per cent,’’ the statement pointed out.

As per published media reports, Kenya swept the top four positions in the women’s half marathon at the 2019 Great North Run. Magdalyne Masai finished second, Linet Masai placed third and Mary Keitany, fourth. In the men’s race, Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola finished second while Abdi Nageeye of Netherlands placed third. Britain’s Callum Hawkins was fourth.

Prior to 2019 Great North Run, Kosgei was known best for her finishes at the Chicago and London marathons. She placed second among women in the 2017 Chicago Marathon, second in the 2018 London Marathon, first in the 2018 Chicago Marathon and first in the 2019 London Marathon. Going by information available on Wikipedia, Kosgei has finished in top two at eight of the nine marathons that she has run in her career.

The Great North Run is the largest half marathon in the world. It takes place every September in North East England. It was first staged in 1981. As of 2019, Kenyan men had been won the race 14 times; Kenyan women – 12 times.

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