Vedangi Kulkarni (This photo was downloaded from the Facebook page of Vedangi Kulkarni and is being used here for representation purpose only)

Having completed the opening Australian chapter of her journey, Vedangi is now cycling in New Zealand. Up next is Canada.

Vedangi Kulkarni, who is attempting to be the fastest woman cyclist to go around the planet unsupported, has completed the initial Australian leg of her journey.

At the time of writing, she was cycling in New Zealand. She reached Wellington on August 11.

Vedangi had commenced her journey in Perth on July 17. In Australia, she covered 5631 kilometers from Perth to Brisbane before flying to Wellington.  During the Australia leg, she lost roughly five days to stomach ailment and work related to securing visa for the stages ahead.

“ She is now happy and doing well. She has recovered from that bout of ill health and her performance has been improving,’’ Vedangi’s father, Vivek Kulkarni, told this blog on Sunday (August 12). She is expected to cover around 1000 kilometers in New Zealand, starting in Wellington and eventually ending in Auckland. How the journey pans out on a daily basis is Vedangi’s call as cyclist proceeding unsupported and making her own decisions. Once the New Zealand segment is completed, she will proceed to Canada. Her documents for this leg are in place. The lingering visa problem pertains to the Europe section of the journey, which follows Canada. It is being addressed, Vivek said.

According to him, Vedangi had her bicycle serviced in Adelaide and Brisbane. “ Whenever she finds a good service center, she avails the opportunity to get her bike checked,’’ he said.

From the New Zealand section of the journey (Photo: courtesy Vedangi Kulkarni)

As per information available on Vedangi’s website, her journey of 18,000 miles (approximately 29,000 kilometers) will be attempted in four stages. The first stage covered Australia and New Zealand. The second stage was expected to see her cycling across Alaska and Canada but will now most likely be Canada alone with Vedangi putting in the additional distance required in Canada itself. The third stage spans Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and Mongolia. The fourth and last stage covers China and the trip back to where she started in Australia. Given the fact that all required visas cannot be applied for and obtained well in advance, the exact route of Vedangi’s expedition has to stay open to adjustments as her journey progresses.

Vedangi, 19, is currently a student at Bournemouth University, UK. She spent some part of her early childhood in Panvel (not far from Mumbai); later she attended Jnan Prabodhini school at Nigdi near Pune. Her family now resides in Kolhapur. The circumnavigation plan assumed shape sometime in September-October 2017. Vedangi’s circumnavigation attempt will take her across 14-15 countries, the final number depending on how the route is affected by visa availability. A film is being made on her journey. There will be a film crew meeting her at various points on the way.

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

Trans-Siberian Extreme route indicated in dots on the expanse of Russia. Photo: courtesy Team Amit Samarth

At the end of nine stages Amit Samarth soldiers on rock steady. Six stages remain. As he logs mileage longer than what he endured at RAAM, he knocks on the doors of new experience.

For a real estimation of what the Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme means, one needs to appreciate the vastness in the adjoining image.

Those dots linking the route of the race from Moscow to Vladivostok signify a long journey.

That perspective is only one half of the picture.

You have to also factor in the requirement to cover that expanse in 25 days on a bicycle.

The 15 stage-race spans 9100 kilometers, multiple time zones and a variety of weather and terrain conditions. At the time of writing, the race was past stage 9. Another six remained. The trans-continental sprawl of Russia hit home when the Ural Mountains was crossed in stage 4 and the cyclists transitioned from Europe to Asia.

In Russia; cyclist and support crew from Nagpur: Devnath Pillai (extreme left), Amit Samarth (second from left), Chetan Thatte (second from right). Photo: courtesy Team Amit Samarth

Amit Samarth, the maverick doctor from Nagpur has hung in there finishing every stage diligently, typically placed fifth in a field of six cyclists at an average speed of 25.7 kilometers per hour. In the distance cycled so far, there have been four stages in excess of 500 kilometers; stage 3 was around 693 kilometers long, stage 6 and 7 were both around 619 kilometers while stage 9 was 557 kilometers long. So far the top three positions at the end of each stage has switched around between Russia’s Vladimir Gusev, Pierre Bischoff of Germany, Michael Knudsen of Denmark and Marcelo Florentino Soares of Brazil. Stage 7 was noteworthy for Gusev pulling out over medical issues. He was back for the next stage. The rules of the race allow a participant to leave the race twice and continue in a minor classification. The sixth cyclist in the fray is Patricio Doucet of Spain.

Amit’s progress has been steady so far. The only aberration appeared to be a time penalty he got (along with Marcelo) for a navigation error in stage 3. Amit is the first Indian to participate in Trans-Siberian Extreme. If he successfully reaches the finish line, he would be repeating what he did last year in his maiden participation at Race Across America (RAAM) – complete yet another monster race in his very first attempt. “ He is doing good,” Devnath Pillai, currently part of Amit’s support crew in Russia, said.

Photo: courtesy Team Amit Samarth

Between Amit and completion lay the fact that the second half of the race in Russia is uncharted territory for the Nagpur based-cyclist. His previous longest race is RAAM, which at around 4800 kilometers is just a shade over half the distance involved in Trans-Siberian Extreme. In an earlier conversation with this blog, Amit had mentioned that whatever unfolds beyond this mark in terms of how his body and mind behaves, would be new experience for him. To his credit, he seems to have managed the race well so far.

According to those close to Team Amit Samarth, sometime in stage 10, the racers will exceed the length of RAAM in terms of how much they cycled since start in Moscow. What should further engage those tracking the progress of the 2018 edition is that most of the shorter stages have already been done. Looming ahead are a couple of truly long stages exceeding 1000 kilometers; stage 13 for instance spans 1372 kilometers (that’s more than the distance by road from Mumbai to Chennai). Stage 10 from Krasnoyarsk to Irkutsk will be the first 1000 kilometer-plus stage. “ Fortunately we have a day off after that. It will help if he pedals through safely today and tomorrow. All the cyclists are tired. It’s their mental frame that’s going to take them to the finish,” Devnath informed early morning, Sunday (August 5).

The 2018 Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme will conclude in Vladivostok on August 17.

Update: Amit Samarth has completed the 1094 kilometer-long tenth stage from Krasnoyarsk to Irkutsk. The latter is one of the largest cities in Siberia. Interestingly, when the race started in Moscow on July 24, the six cyclists in the fray were two and a half hours behind India in time. At Irkutsk, they are two and a half hours ahead. As of Tuesday (August 8), five stages remained in the 15 stage-race with the thirteenth stage being a very long one.

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai. This article is based on information available from Team Amit Samarth and the Facebook page of the race.)  

Nishanth Iyengar, soon after finishing the 2018 edition of the Trans Am Bike Race. This photo was downloaded from the Facebook page of the event and is being used here for representation purpose. No copyright infringement intended.

Fifty six days after he started out from Astoria on the US west coast, Nishanth Iyengar has reached Yorktown.

Bengaluru-based cyclist, Nishanth Iyengar has completed the 2018 Trans Am Bike Race.

Checked at close to 8.30 AM in India on Sunday, July 29, the race’s website informed that it was roughly six hours 40 minutes since Nishanth reached Yorktown, the finish line of the race. Trans Am is a self-supported race across the United States. Riders don’t get support vehicles and support crew. You are on your own. The route spans from Astoria in Oregon on the Atlantic coast to Yorktown in Virginia. It is approximately 4300 miles (6920 kilometers) long. The 2018 edition of the Trans Am Bike Race began on June 2nd.

Nishanth is someone who loves self-supported bicycle touring. Although Trans Am is a race, Nishanth is understood to have approached it as an opportunity to tour and know the US over a two month-break from work, he had. On a video of him reaching the finish line at Yorktown, available on Facebook, he parks his bicycle (a Surly Long Haul Trucker) and settles down for a photo saying, “ no flats, no nothing…..and it worked!’’

Nishanth was the 64th finisher of the 2018 race. He took 56 days, seven hours and seven minutes to ride across the US.

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

Rohan More (Photo: Shyam G Menon)

In 2017, Rohan Dattatrey More was selected for the year’s Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award. The Pune based-swimmer was well into a series of long distance swims when the award was announced. In February 2018, he wrapped up the Oceans Seven challenge. He had bagged marathon swimming’s Triple Crown earlier. He now dreams of taking a shot at the Olympics; the open water swimming event therein. At the time of publishing this article, Rohan worked with Infosys.

The word asthma is derived from the Greek term for panting.

In regular life, panting and asthma are very different.

Asthma is a medical condition; it affects the airways and can make breathing difficult. Doctors are known to recommend swimming for children suffering from asthma. Information available on the Internet says there is no evidence yet to prove swimming is better than other exercises in this regard. Preference for it appears founded on a few factors. First, swimming is one of the best exercises. It is particularly noted for its low impact on joints.  Second, when done with proper technique, the strain of swimming is handled without recourse to panting. You settle into a rhythm, inhaling above water and exhaling in it. There is also the general perception that the moist respiratory environment of swimming is less of a trigger for asthma than dry ambiance. Third – as one doctor this blog spoke to put it – exercise and outdoors are broadly deemed to be good for growing a healthy immune system. When you encourage a child suffering from asthma to take up swimming, you are hoping that its immune system is strengthened while its respiratory system gains from gradual passage through exercise-induced stress and adaptation. The overall benefits of acquiring improved lung capacity through swimming are seen to outweigh risks like exercise induced-asthma.

From the Dharamtar-Gateway of India swim (Photo: courtesy Rohan More)

Rohan Dattatrey More is the only child of his parents. Born 1985 in Pune to a father who served in the police and a mother who was a housewife, Rohan attended Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya in the city. He suffered from respiratory problems. The doctor recommended sports and athletics, particularly swimming.  “ I started swimming from around four years of age,’’ he said, end-June 2018 at his apartment not far from Pune’s Senapati Bapat Road and Symbiosis College. His mother, Vijaya, who accompanied him to his swimming sessions, appears to have been a major influence in how Rohan’s early years in swimming evolved. Rohan swam at the S.P. College swimming pool; it was of Olympic dimension. He was an introvert; metaphorically a lot like Sunk Rock, the lighthouse mounted on a pier and located some five kilometers out at sea from Mumbai, a city of thickly packed buildings. Compared to the cheek by jowl living conditions of Mumbai, Sunk Rock seems a lonely outpost; a pillar of a lighthouse jutting out from the sea. Those days, many swimmers from Pune used to head out to Mumbai for attempting the distance swim from Sunk Rock to Gateway of India. Vijaya, asked around if ten year-old Rohan could attempt it. The resultant trip to Mumbai with three day’s practice at Juhu beach, ahead of race, was Rohan’s first experience of the sea. Armed with those three days of familiarity with the sea, the ten year-old successfully swam the distance from Sunk Rock to Gateway of India. “ I had to get used to the dynamics of open water. But I didn’t worry about depth. Once you know you are a good swimmer, you don’t fear depth,’’ Rohan said of his first major tryst with open water swimming.

Five years after Rohan’s Sunk Rock-Gateway of India swim, the first section of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway would open, reducing the time taken to travel between the two cities. The road to Pune from Mumbai passes through Khopoli. With an elevation of approximately 200 feet and located at the base of the climb to Lonavala and Pune beyond, Khopoli is gateway to the hills. The Amba River originates in the nearby hills. At the point where this small river meets the Arabian Sea, is Dharamtar, now an upcoming port. For Rohan, the next logical progression after his Sunk Rock-Gateway of India adventure was to try the annual Dharamtar-Gateway of India swim. It is 35 kilometers long. He trained with emphasis on greater mileage.  On land, 35 kilometers is less than a marathon. The average amateur runner in Mumbai completes a full marathon in under-five hours. Progression in water is a lot slower. Given the longer distance involved in his next objective and the fact that swimming takes time, Rohan had to be prepared for an early morning start – in the dark hours preceding sunrise – if called for. He obtained special permission from the pool authorities in Pune and trained at night to get used to swimming in darkness. Vijaya accompanied him to the pool for these training sessions.

Crossing the Cook Strait (Photo: courtesy Rohan More)

This phase in his life also represented another transition. Ever since he started frequenting the pool, Rohan had developed into a strong, competitive swimmer.  Swimming around three kilometers every day, he was good enough to merit podium finishes at district level competitions and represent Pune district at state level competitions. He specialized in 100 meters and 200 meters backstroke. Post Sunk Rock, as he aspired for Dharamtar-Gateway, the drift in training moved from short distance swims to long ones entailing endurance. The concept of endurance entered the frame. In December 1996, an eleven year-old Rohan successfully completed Dharamtar-Gateway, covering the 35 kilometer-distance in seven hours, twenty nine minutes. At that time, he was the youngest swimmer to complete the annual challenge. “ By now I realized that I liked open water swimming. Unlike in the swimming pool, you see no boundaries at sea. It is open on all sides. I like that,’’ Rohan said.

Human life however isn’t as barrier-free as the sea. Geographically, Pune is part of Maharashtra’s `Desh’ region, plateau situated at higher elevation from the sea coast. Apart from some lakes and reservoirs, it offers no scope for open water swimming, certainly nothing comparable to the sea gracing the Konkan coast far below. Dharamtar-Gateway done, Rohan returned to training at the swimming pool in Pune with occasional forays to larger tanks. As he grew older, he graduated from representing Pune district to representing the state in swimming; he was also member of the state water polo team. When he reached eleventh standard, the fabled Great Wall of India went up – studying for exams and focus on academics. The years went by characterless; swimming reduced to recreational swimming. He studied engineering at the Government College of Engineering, Pune and secured a job with Cognizant Technology Solutions, a leading IT company with operations in India. For the next five to six years he worked in Pune, a visit to the pool or an occasional bout of football was all he did to break the monotony. Dharamtar-Gateway seemed distant memory.

Crossing the English Channel (Photo: courtesy Rohan More)

In 2013, Cognizant transferred him to Abu Dhabi, a city blessed with Persian Gulf for coastline but too hot for working person to find adequate hours for swimming in the sea. “ I explored Abu Dhabi as best as I could. But in six months I ran out of places to explore,’’ Rohan said of his predicament. He hit the gym with two friends. That soon dwindled to just him. He then started to swim at a pool, apprehensive alongside that the swimming too would die like the gym visits did. But a video of the English Channel he chanced to come by changed things.  An old itch returned. Back in 1996, when he returned from Mumbai after the Dharamtar-Gateway swim, Rohan had picked up a new fascination – the English Channel. He had heard the name mentioned in the Dharamtar-Gateway swimming community. He complemented that by reading up about Indian distance swimmers; among them – Bula Choudhury, the swimmer from West Bengal who swam the English Channel twice in 1989 and 1999. For almost seventeen years all that curiosity and research had stayed locked up in the head. Now, in the moneyed urban expanse of Abu Dhabi, the small voice of adventure and open water swimming beckoned stronger.

In the last Ice Age, when sea level was far lower than today, England wasn’t an island. It was connected to France in continental Europe by a ridge. As the ice cap receded, two instances of flooding are supposed to have eroded and submerged the ridge. The resultant 560 kilometer-long body of water between France and England, linking the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, is now known as the English Channel. The Channel varies in width from 240 kilometers to 33.3 kilometers. The narrowest part is called Dover Strait. Among the world’s busiest shipping lanes, it is also a magnet for endurance swimmers. Nobody quite knows how the imagery around the Channel as an objective in swimming, commenced. Some accounts (available on the Internet) mention the case – albeit unconfirmed – of a captured Italian sailor who escaped swimming the distance in 1815. Nobody knew if this was correct or not. The question lingered, likely engaging the fancy of those with the bend of mind to try. The first recorded successful unassisted crossing was by Captain Mathew Webb of England. On August 25, 1875, he swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours. The swim made him famous. He licensed his name for merchandising and participated in exhibition swimming contests and stunts. He died at the age of 35 while attempting a swim through the Whirlpool Rapids below North America’s Niagara Falls. The first Indian to successfully cross the English Channel was Mihir Sen; in 1958, he swam from Dover to Calais in 14 hours, 45 minutes.

From the swim across the Catalina Channel (Photo: courtesy Rohan More)

Not long after he saw the video on the English Channel, Rohan researched the topic of swimming across the channel, further. Given most channels targeted for crossing feature currents, tides, marine life and maritime traffic; not to mention marathon swimmer’s need for nutrition and hydration along the way, crossings are done with the aid of a support vessel. Rohan emailed eight to nine English Channel-pilots. They would be the ones managing the support boat guiding a swimmer through. In January 2014, one of the pilots replied informing of windows available in the period spanning July-September. Rohan settled for July 2014. Against the generally recommended two years of preparation, he had six months to get ready. Around January 20, he started training for the attempt in Abu Dhabi. He was a curiosity at the pool. Nobody from Abu Dhabi had trained in the city to cross the English Channel. Rohan persisted. Regaining three kilometers – his old benchmark in daily training – wasn’t a problem.  The difficulty began as Abu Dhabi’s summer unfolded.  It was very hot. By the end of March, Rohan was getting muscle spasms. His right arm wasn’t holding up well. The situation wasn’t making sense for another reason too. The English Channel is characterized by cold water, just the opposite of conditions in Abu Dhabi. Amid this, in April, Rohan had to rush to Pune as his father suffered brain-stroke. While in Pune, he continued to train at Tilak Tank in the city.

Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar (Photo: courtesy Rohan More)

By May, he was managing four kilometers at his training sessions. He also availed acupuncture treatment for the right arm. According to Rohan, the credit for solving the issue goes to a local masseur. He returned to Abu Dhabi from Pune with the massage oil the masseur provided. It helped ease the pain. One problem remained on the English Channel front – he had to do a six hour-swim in water temperature of 16 degrees centigrade to qualify. The evidence must be submitted to authorities, a fortnight before one’s Channel attempt. There was no way he could do this in Abu Dhabi. So Rohan resolved to do the qualifier in England. Two major angles were thus reserved for addressing in Dover – getting acquainted with the cold waters of the English Channel and executing the qualifier. He needed enough days on hand for this. The last obstacle Rohan had to cross in Abu Dhabi was getting leave from office. A new boss had taken charge and he wasn’t appreciative of so many days required to attempt crossing the English Channel. In matters of this sort, you cannot dialogue with those lacking empathy for the subject. Rohan’s work in Abu Dhabi revolved around a client located there. Luckily, Rajesh Narayanan, a senior official at the client’s office, understood the attraction for English Channel and the need for adequate time to do the crossing. He agreed to Rohan being away for that long, prompting in turn the sanctioning of Rohan’s leave from his own office. On June 19, Rohan left for England. None at home in Pune were told of his plan to attempt crossing the English Channel. As far as they were concerned, he was away in England on work.

Rohan and his mother, Vijaya, after Rohan’s swim across the Strait of Gibraltar (Photo: courtesy Rohan More)

Sonia & Martin welcome you to their family run Victorian Guest House – so goes the introduction to Sandown Guest House on its website. In Dover, Rohan found accommodation at Sandown. From April 15 till the end of May, he had been swimming four hours daily in Abu Dhabi. He also put in two sessions of eight hours each and two sessions of seven hours each. As he stepped into the waters of the English Channel, the cold temperature hit him. “ It was a Friday. After five to ten minutes in the water, I had a headache, my forearms were paining and after I came out, I was shivering. I ran from the beach to the hotel, downed cups of coffee and still I was feeling cold,’’ Rohan said. Weekends at Dover, Channel swimmers from elsewhere in England arrive to train. Thanks to Martin, Rohan got an opportunity to meet them. The interaction helped. That Saturday he swam for five hours; by Sunday he had touched six, which also served as qualifier. On July 14, he informed his pilot that he was ready to avail a window for the crossing.

After one call to start on July 19 aborted at Dover harbor owing to sudden onset of bad weather, Rohan commenced his swim on July 25 at 10 PM. There were hiccups en route. He had to change his goggles while in the water. Anticipating a swim largely in daylight he had brought along dark goggles. Now in the darkness of night, he could see nothing. “ I was blindly following the light on the boat. That light was all I could see’’ he said. While still in water, he traded his goggles for clearer ones. The hours went by. In open water swims the swimming is rarely in a straight line. The course changes with weather, maritime traffic and sea conditions, including currents and the movement of tides. The English Channel swim is typically in the pattern of `Z’.  Around the tenth hour of swimming, Rohan had a pain killer. By the eleventh hour, he could see the French coast. But the sighting was one thing. Reaching there took another two to two and half hours. He accomplished the crossing of the English Channel in 13 hours, 23 minutes. Against the distance of roughly 36 kilometers to cross, that day his crossing entailed covering 48 kilometers.  Once on land, he accessed a phone and informed his parents who had no idea of his attempt, that he had crossed the English Channel. “ I could swim the English Channel because I was a free person. I had nothing to prove,’’ Rohan said.

Swimming across the Molokai Channel (Photo: courtesy Rohan More)

While researching English Channel, he had stumbled upon the challenge in open water swimming called Oceans Seven.  In fact, before leaving Abu Dhabi for England and the English Channel, he had booked an attempt to cross the North Channel in August. The North Channel is the coldest of the seven channel crossings that constitute Oceans Seven. The relevant swimming association in Ireland wrote back advising against Rohan’s planned attempt of the North Channel as it is cold and demanding. There should be adequate rest between a crossing of the English Channel and attempting the North Channel. “ They said your money is safe. You will have your chance. But train and come back,’’ Rohan said. Not one to sit idle, he therefore booked a slot to cross California’s Catalina Channel in September 2014. “ Catalina is easier than the English Channel. Water temperature is warmer and the currents are less powerful,’’ he said. The main challenge in Catalina is – sharks. The crossing is therefore attempted at night. All the lights on the boat are switched off.  Swimming so is a peculiar experience. There are two glow sticks on the pilot’s boat, which swimmer follows loyally. There is one glow stick attached to swimmer for those on boat to track. There is also one safety kayaker in the water, keeping a watch on swimmer’s progress. While this may seem simple enough, accounts of open water swimming available on the Internet, speak of swimmer’s bobbing position in the water and the equally bobbing predicament of boat and its lights, as potential cause for swimmer to feel disoriented. For the Catalina Channel crossing (and every channel crossing thereafter), Rohan’s mother accompanied him on the trip. The swim played out well; he completed the crossing surrounded by a herd of dolphins. The time taken was 10 hours, 17 minutes. By now, Rohan was firmly locked into pursuing Oceans Seven and Triple Crown, another challenge in open water swimming made of the English Channel, Catalina Channel and the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim.

For the month after Catalina, Rohan had booked an attempt at crossing the Molokai Channel in Hawaii. Also known as Kaiwi Channel, the waters here are pretty deep, plunging up to 2300 feet below the surface. Rohan elected for a swim commencing at night. He felt it would be good to labor in water during the night and be ready for the pleasure of landfall by the morning sun. That proved to be a miscalculation. “ The night went by and quite a chunk of the following day as well,’’ he said laughing. On October 26, he accomplished the crossing in 17 hours, 28 minutes of swimming. It was late evening when it ended. For most of us, big projects are above all an invitation to be aware of the associated risk. Distance; depth, ocean dynamics, marine life – they all hit us, do jigs in the brain. Rohan said he takes note of risk but doesn’t dwell on it unnecessarily. Even in the context surrounding an imminent channel crossing, where other swimmers are also present, he said he does not latch on to conversation about risk. He would much rather listen to training tips or positive aspects around the attempt and discover things as they unfold. “ It is the pilot’s job to take me to the destination. My job is to follow the boat. Beyond a point, it is not my business to worry about current, wind speed and tide,’’ Rohan said.

Crossing the North Channel (Photo: courtesy Rohan More)

After Molokai, Rohan rested for a month. He resumed training in December 2014. In March 2015, Rohan wound up his work in Abu Dhabi and returned to India. 2015 was to be a busy year. In June he completed the Manhattan Island swim and bagged Triple Crown.  “ My focus that year was on the North Channel crossing. It proved to be brutal,’’ Rohan said. His research indicating potential battering in the channel separating north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland, Rohan concentrated on strengthening his core muscles as best as he could. The reason was simple. Open water swimming is primarily a mind game.  However as regards its engagement of the human body, the bulk of the work is done by the core.

According to Rohan, out in the cold waters of the sea, it is only a matter of time before swimmer loses sensation of his extremities. The arms and legs keep working mechanically driven by commands from the brain. Sometimes, in the depths of a long distance swim, it becomes utterly tough to keep the body horizontal in the water. The legs begin to tire and cave in. To counter this, the core has to be strong. Rohan concluded that if all this punishment was due in the North Channel, then, he better work like mad on his core. So in addition to swimming, he ran and cycled in Pune. “ I prefer to run on trails as that helps engage the core more than running on roads,’’ Rohan said. A typical mix of all three activities meant 10 kilometers of running, three hours of swimming and 40-50 kilometers of cycling – all in a day, including a portion of the night for completing the cycling. On weekends, he hiked that to 20 kilometers of running, 15 kilometers of swimming and 110 kilometers of cycling. This training regimen resembles a series of triathlons. Interestingly, for all this training, an open water swimmer like Rohan hardly resembles the typical triathlete in physical appearance. Ahead of a demanding channel crossing, swimmer may even put on weight for some amount of body fat is good insulation against the cold of the sea.

Induction as Honouree Swimmer Class of 2018, by the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. According to published reports, Mihir Sen was the first Indian swimmer to be recognized so, in 1956, followed by Taranath Shenoy in 1987 (Photo: courtesy Rohan More)

As with his English Channel attempt, Rohan reached Ireland a month before his shot at the North Channel. He used the time to acclimatize, get used to the cold water. Formidable as this training and build up to crossing the North Channel may seem, there is also one underlying truth in challenges around open water swimming. By now, Rohan was experiencing some of the proverbial wind beneath one’s wings that all human beings seek in life. As you progress through the challenges of Oceans Seven, the body begins to anticipate what it must cope with at sea. “ It knows what to expect in the next challenge,’’ Rohan said. And as that knowledge builds up, you work with a body more willing to respond than before. His preparations in Ireland started in July with swims in waters having a temperature of around 15 degrees centigrade. Given it rained in the mornings, early morning swimming sessions were cold. For the first week, he swam during the warmer afternoon; then shifted to cold mornings. Slowly he worked his way down to water temperature of 11-12 degrees centigrade. The North Channel features cold water and strong currents. “ Nobody attempts this channel crossing at night,’’ Rohan said.

Swimming across the Tsugaru Strait (Photo: courtesy Rohan More)

On the day of his attempt to cross the North Channel, there were three swimmers – including him – in the water. While the other two started earlier, Rohan commenced his swim at 4.30 AM. Ahead was a third challenge besides cold and current, to tackle. Jellyfish are free swimming marine animals that are very intriguing to behold and painful when they sting. They usually have an umbrella shaped bell and trailing tentacles. The bell pulsates to provide propulsion; the tentacles are armed with stinging cells. Jellyfish is found all over the world from the surface waters of the sea to its great depths. The largest known species of jellyfish is the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish. They are residents of cold water. In size, those residing in the higher latitudes tend to be bigger. The bell of a Lion’s Mane can be as big as six to seven feet in diameter and its trailing tentacles can be up to a hundred feet long. The cold waters of North Channel are among places hosting the Lion’s Mane.  “ You see them along with Blue Moons,’’ Rohan said. The latter is likely reference to the much smaller common jellyfish, which is capable of limited motion and typically drifts with the current. According to information on the Internet, the common jellyfish has a weak sting that is just about felt while the Lion’s Mane can make its presence felt. Both are nowhere near the pain caused by genuinely toxic jellyfish. When you are swimming out at sea, any sting can worry. The important thing is to not panic. “ North Channel is where I saw the most jellyfish in all my swims,’’ Rohan said. His passage included a few stings to remember the swim by. Rohan completed the North Channel crossing in 12 hours, 46 minutes. Despite late start, he reached the other side before the other two swimmers did. It was August 8, 2015.

Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago composed of 6852 islands. The largest island is Honshu; the second largest is Hokkaido located to the north of Honshu. Between Honshu and Hokkaido, connecting the Sea of Japan to the Pacific Ocean, is the Tsugaru Strait. September 2015 on Rohan’s calendar was reserved for attempting the crossing of the Tsugaru Strait. If the North Channel offers the coldest swim in Oceans Seven, Tsugaru offers the most powerful currents. Besides the current, there is one more thing to watch out for – sharks.  Rohan reached Japan two days before the scheduled date of attempt. It was to be on September 11 or 12, whichever proved ideal. Ahead of swim, he trained with a Mexican swimmer. On the day the swim was to start, the pilot asked Rohan which side he turned his face to, to breathe. Rohan found the question odd but he nevertheless replied: left. He completed the channel crossing in 10 hours, 13 minutes. “ I could have done it in eight hours or so. But for the last four hours I was at the same  spot, not making any gains due to the current,’’ he said. After the swim was over, Rohan asked the pilot why he inquired about the side swimmer turned to, to breathe. The pilot replied: that’s the side I should have the boat ladder on for you to grab and exit the water, should there be any hostile shark. The Strait of Gibraltar is the simplest of the Oceans Seven challenges. Rohan tried to book that for 2015 itself. “ But I didn’t have money,’’ he said.

Receiving the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award from Sri Ram Nath Kovind, President of India (Photo: courtesy Rohan More)

Post Tsugaru, Rohan’s Oceans Seven bid slowed down for want of resources. In September 2016, he joined Infosys, among India’s biggest IT companies. He was based at their campus in Pune. Roughly two months later, in November, he successfully swam across the Strait of Gibraltar, polishing off the distance in three hours, 56 minutes. Not long after the Gibraltar swim, Rohan was selected for the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, India’s highest award in adventure. He got it in the `water’ category. The award fetched him Rs 500,000, precious input for realizing the last challenge in Oceans Seven – the Cook Strait in New Zealand. Also of help was the financial assistance Infosys provides staffers attempting a challenging objective, which Rohan availed. Up till then, he had sustained the channel crossings from his own funds and contribution from friends. At this concluding phase, besides the money he got from the national award and the assistance from Infosys, Tata Trusts pitched in to help. As with some of the other swims, he went a month in advance to New Zealand to prepare and acclimatize. Separating the North and South Islands of New Zealand, Cook Strait has a reputation for being unpredictable and rough. It has strong tidal flows with submarine ridges running off the coast further complicating the flow and turbulence. “ The beginning of the swim is in generally warm waters.  On the day I swam, about two to three hours into the swim, the cold waters of the Southern Ocean arrived with the current. That really hit! It is a game changer. On the whole given the channel’s capacity to be rough, I would say, I was lucky to have a good day,’’ Rohan said. Cook Strait is noted for its marine life. It gifted Rohan plenty of dolphins for company. “ You feel good having dolphins swim with you,’’ he said. It was a fine way to conclude Oceans Seven.

In May 2018, Rohan commenced training for a new project. He wants to take a shot at the 10 kilometer open water swimming competition held at the Olympics. “ I am currently able to cover the distance in one hour, 58 minutes. I need to get that down to one hour, fifty or fifty five; in that range, to qualify,’’ Rohan said. Will he make it? Time will tell. Rohan’s training continues to be mostly at the swimming pool in Pune. He still has no long term sponsors.

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai. This article is based on a conversation with Rohan in Pune. Time taken to complete channel crossings are as mentioned by the interviewee.)

Sree Sivadas (Photo: Shyam G Menon)

In 2015, Sree Sivadas – then 48 years old – decided to attempt the triathlon. She had just learnt to swim; she didn’t know cycling.

The brain is everything.

Wikipedia describes the nervous system as that part of an animal coordinating its actions by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. Needless to say, this function is vital for sports. At the center of the nervous system and reigning as the most complex organ in any vertebrate’s body, is the brain. Thanks to advancements in science, the brain is understood much better now; yet it is also mystery awaiting science. The operation of individual brain cells has been comprehended in detail but the way they cooperate is still a subject of study.

The brain is well protected. There is the skull and then, the brain and the spinal cord are encased in three membranes called meninges. There is also the cushion and protection provided by cerebrospinal fluid. As with all inventions, language would have been impossible without the brain. Human language is very sophisticated. In Greek, `meninx’ means membrane. In medical parlance `itis’ denotes inflammation. That’s how meningitis, the medical condition caused by inflammation of the meninges, got its name. Sometime in the beginning of the 1980s, an eighth standard student came down with meningitis in Mumbai. Hers was a miraculous recovery. The medicines she had to take included steroids, a category notorious for its side effects. Sreedevi (Sree) Sivadas recovered from meningitis but at the cost of how she looked – she started to pile on weight. It wasn’t long before she realized she had to do something about it.

From a trek (Photo: courtesy Sree Sivadas)

Walking has never been a glamorous activity. Walking is so fundamentally human – it is what defines us; the idea of it as distinct activity takes some getting used to. Runners typically view themselves as superior to walkers just as climbers and mountaineers do, to hikers. Young people living the age of distinction aren’t known to celebrate ordinary things like walking. Sree’s father – he moved to Mumbai from Kerala in 1963 – worked at Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF). Not a very sporty person – Sree’s interest in sports never exceeded recreational level – and beset with need to reduce weight, the school girl joined morning walkers in Chembur, the Mumbai suburb where RCF has a residential colony. For those conscious about standing out from the rest, it was an unusual sight – school girl walking for exercise; most others engaged so alongside were senior citizens. Sree wasn’t bothered. She also enlisted for taekwondo, making it to green belt.

This phase was followed by a shift of residence to Vashi. Soon after her college education, Sree worked briefly at RCF. Then she wrote the staff selection exam conducted by the central government and was initially offered a job with the department of defence. Her posting was at Nhava Sheva, at that time an outpost away from Mumbai with port and defence installations for address. She elected to join India Post instead. She had a secure job. Marriage followed. In 1994, Sree got married. Her husband, Sivadas, ran his own business in engineering goods. A year later, their daughter was born.

In 1996, Sree joined the gym. She worked out in the early morning hours. The confines of a gym – that wasn’t something Sree liked. “ I got bored of the gym. So I shifted to aerobics,’’ she said. Then she got into kick boxing, eventually settling for a combination of activity with gym visits twice a week. But the activity she liked the most – and which probably explains the drift away from gym – was none of this. What Sree genuinely liked and did the most was a cousin of all the walking she did as a student seeking to lose weight – trekking. She liked the outdoors. It was a friend – Anitha Varghese, who worked at National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) – who got her into trekking. Sree is now a life member of Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI); she joined the outfit in 2005. She did a lot of treks – short and long ones – through YHAI.

October 2015; learning to cycle at Borivali National Park (Photo: courtesy Sree Sivadas)

In 2004, thanks to Anitha again, Sree became curious about Mumbai’s annual marathon. For two years – 2004 and 2005 – she participated in the seven kilometer-Dream Run. In 2006, without any prior training, she attempted the event’s half marathon segment. “ I didn’t know a thing about running,’’ she said of how she went in for the event. She is aware of how politically incorrect such an approach seems in world where running has become an industry driven by logic and protocols.  Equally, an aspect of world where human activity has become edifice wrapped in perfection and achievement, is that nobody wants to fail. The less you are prepared to fail, the less you try anything new. Sree doesn’t mind trying new things. “ I don’t dwell on failure,’’ she said.

In Mumbai, elevators speak a lot. The elevator at the city’s General Post Office (GPO) screamed heritage building and go-find-who-John Begg-is. As the old, elegantly cast metal cage ascended in shaft open to world, you saw and heard machinery at work; something you don’t, in the secluded ambiance of modern elevators. By 2018, it was 81 years since Begg, Scottish architect known for his Indo-Saracenic architectural style, died. Mumbai’s GPO is his design. Sree, personal secretary to the Post Master General, had her office in one of the building’s turrets. The small room was circular in lay out. With its sunlit windows, the room had a faint Disneyland feel to it; like being in a fairy tale castle albeit one with a heavy touch of government office to it. In appearance, Sree is hardly the sought you would associate with sport. The way it is being promoted, sport is increasingly competitive even at amateur level. As performance becomes main goal and room for error shrinks, the approach smacks of going to office. Conversation with Sree is comfortable; you don’t sense office. She completed that 2006 half marathon in three hours, forty minutes. That is a very slow time. The evening of the half marathon she went for her regular dance classes.

Roughly two years later, in 2007-2008, a 40 year-old Sree began addressing another shortcoming in her life. She didn’t know how to swim. She joined for classes in swimming, learning the skill from scratch. There is however one problem in self-navigated learning. You may be good at breaking the ice; you may not be as good at sustaining the learning. “ I joined for classes, learnt the basics and then I dropped out,’’ Sree said. During this time, she also kept running, pursuing it as best as she could; general awareness of her abilities for guide. Then in 2010, tragedy struck. Her husband died of cancer. The disease developed rapidly. There was little time to respond through treatment.

At the Wada duathlon (Photo: courtesy Sree Sivadas)

“ Have you met Sree Sivadas?’’ Naushad Asanar asked. He is a senior member of Soles of Cochin, the Kochi-based runners’ group. The conversation was about triathlon, which entails swimming, cycling and running. Naushad mentioned how Sree, having just got into swimming and not knowing how to cycle yet, had enrolled for a triathlon. It put her on a voyage of discovery. According to Sree, her journey to greater intensity in amateur sport had nothing to do with escaping grief. In the years following her husband’s demise, she soldiered on doing the things that interested her, keeping her life interesting. In 2014, as a continuation of her curiosity for running, she joined BNP Green Runners (BNP stands for Borivali National Park). This was the first group of runners she was joining and they introduced her to more systematic training methods. In 2015, Sree met Naushad, Vijayan Pillai and Mathew Mapram – all runners from Soles of Cochin – at Mumbai Ultra, where she was assisting as volunteer. Held every year, Mumbai Ultra is a non-competitive 12 hour-run (5AM to 5PM); it is run on a six kilometer-section of road earmarked for the purpose in the Shivaji Park-Worli Sea Face area. A good swimmer, Naushad had done a triathlon in Goa. During their conversation he suggested that Sree try the Goa triathlon. Sree resolved to give it a shot. At that time, she had rudimentary knowledge of swimming and was still learning to balance on a cycle. “ I just went for it as I was interested in doing all the three disciplines together. I just wanted to try it out,’’ Sree said when asked how she decided on attempting the Goa triathlon after that conversation at Mumbai Ultra.

In October 2015, Sree started to learn cycling. “ I began with a small bicycle meant for children. I learnt it slowly at the Borivali National Park,’’ she said. BNP – as the park is known in running circles – sees a lot of regular walkers and runners. Sree was dismissive of the specter of her learning to cycle on kid’s bike amid all that humanity. If you want to learn something new, you have to go through the process. “ It took me two to three months to get the hang of riding a bicycle. Then I shifted to using a bigger bicycle which I rented at BNP,’’ she said. Later that same year, she bought her first bicycle – a Schnell mountain bike. In the meantime, she also registered for the triathlon in Goa. As a stepping stone to Goa, she decided to do a duathlon – 10 kilometers of running and 40 kilometers of cycling – that was due in Wada, less than 100 kilometers away from Mumbai. “ Even now, I can’t hop on to a bicycle like those who learnt cycling in childhood do. I have to keep the bike stationary, get on to it and then start pedaling. If the surroundings become too congested or traffic gets too gnarly, I grow concerned,’’ she said outlining her competence on two wheels. Wada was tough for her. The cycling there was a combination of road and trail. Newly entered into cycling, she finished long after everyone else did. “ I think everyone was surprised to see me approaching the finish,’’ she said. Sree’s learning was exactly that – she finished! In her mind, Goa seemed doable.

Sree at a triathlon; shouting her bib number after every lap (Photo: courtesy Sree Sivadas)

The Goa event required swimming 1.5 kilometers in the sea, 40 kilometers of cycling and 10 kilometers of running. She started to train again in swimming, electing alongside to stick with the breaststroke as she was comfortable with that style. About the sea, her coach and friends assured her that her worry was “ psychological.’’ Although ` psychological’ is frequently thrown around in India as panacea for beginner’s fears it addresses much less than it proposes to. There is more to sea-swimming than overcoming fear of depth and distance. For example, as distance increases both the swimming style used and strokes deployed therein have to be hydrodynamic and efficient. Rather than fearless mind making you confident (which is the usual Indian argument), it is good technique that makes you confident and thereby, less afraid. In February 2016, at the event in Goa, a mere 100 meters out to sea, Sree panicked.

One attribute about the Goa triathlon, you hear often, is that it is well organized. That helped Sree. In the sea, overcome by fear, she made for a lifeboat nearby. She hung on to it for ten minutes. Then the organizers asked her if she wished to continue. She said yes. “ Thereafter I faced no problem. The sea also helped; it is more buoyant than the waters of a swimming pool,’’ she said. However the event wasn’t without mishap. Shortly after she commenced the cycling leg, she crashed and broke a tooth. “ I still remember. There was a photographer watching all this. He picked up the broken tooth and gave it to me,’’ Sree said. Although she completed the cycling, her knee was swollen. The running was therefore difficult. But as at Wada – she completed the event. She finished in approximately five hours, forty five minutes. “ It was a feeling of mission accomplished,’’ she said. Less than five months after Goa, Sree completed the triathlon in Chennai organized by Chennai Trekking Club (CTC). “ Thankfully that went off without any accident. I didn’t fall from my cycle,’’ she said laughing. The swimming for the CTC event was in a big abandoned quarry. According to her, the cut off for the Chennai event was seven hours. Sree said she finished in roughly five hours, thirty minutes. In November 2016, Sree completed a triathlon in Pune, designed to Olympic distances. Here the swimming was in a lake and the cycling was in the hills. “ This one was really tough for me,’’ she said. Sree completed the event. She took way beyond six hours for it. “ I just managed to finish, that’s all. I was not prepared for the cycling route,’’ she said.

At the Goa triathlon (Photo: Sree Sivadas)

Three triathlons old, the unassuming India Post staffer, begins her day around 4 AM. Depending on the day’s choice of workout, she trains for about two hours and gets back home by 6.30. On weekends she trains for three hours. To help her use time efficiently, she has bought a home trainer that allows her to cycle at home. She is also moving away from breaststroke as preferred swimming style at triathlons. Breaststroke leaves the legs feeling tired and at a triathlon, all the three disciplines involved, require use of legs. If a swimming style – like freestyle – can be more efficient, it makes sense to learn it. She has also realized how flawed her bicycle purchases have been. From the Schnell MTB she progressed to a Fuji hybrid. But a bike fit she got done at a 2017 cycling expo in Mumbai, showed her that both cycles were not of recommended frame size. Some of the difficulties she continues to face in cycling probably stems from this. Meanwhile, the legacy of those steroids from childhood linger. At one point in her childhood, the injections had been a dozen a day. Then it was brought down to eight, finally six. “ I have always been on the heavy side,’’ Sree said.

For future project, she hopes to do a Half Ironman someday, provided she can balance the training with her work schedule. Triathletes are often the most meticulous and disciplined of athletes. Viewing life differently, Sree hasn’t allowed the sport she has got into or the projects she has signed up for, to reduce her life to a matrix of goal-setting and achieving. “ I don’t fret if I can’t keep up a training schedule. I do the triathlon for fun. I hope one day I can attempt a Half Ironman overseas,’’ she said.

(The authors, Latha Venkatraman and Shyam G Menon, are independent journalists based in Mumbai. Timings at races are as mentioned by interviewee.)

Sumit Patil (Photo: Shyam G Menon)

In mid-June 2018, when the year’s Race Across America (RAAM) kicks off in Oceanside, California, Sumit Patil won’t be there. The Mumbai cyclist qualified for the event and registered for it but cannot go for want of funds. Sumit won’t be sitting idle. He has other plans up his sleeve.

In Mumbai, Colaba is well known. It is the southern tip of the city; home to Gateway of India, the Taj Mahal hotel, the flea markets of the tourism district and the local military cantonment. With its popular pubs, longstanding eateries, the iconic Regal Cinema, the fish market at Sassoon Docks and proximity to other South Mumbai nodes like Churchgate, Nariman Point, Kala Ghoda and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), Colaba is a place many in Mumbai visit once in a while. Beyond Colaba is the Arabian Sea, albeit a busy portion of it, for it is through the nearby shipping channel that ships headed for the region’s two major ports and naval base navigate their passage. That channel is a bit out to sea. Closer to shore are the sail boats, yachts and ferry boats.

Not many people know Kulaba.

Kulaba is the old name for Maharashtra’s Raigad district. As the crow flies, it is approximately 45 kilometers, south-south east of Mumbai. While Mumbai is a composite of islands, Raigad is on the mainland. The administrative headquarters of Raigad is Alibag. If Matheran and Mahabaleshwar are the hills Mumbai frequented to escape itself, then Alibag is where it went for sea and farm life. The city’s rich and famous are known to own property there. According to Wikipedia, the name – Alibag – is rooted in farming and plantations. The place was historic hinterland of Bene Israeli Jews. One of them, Ali, was a wealthy person owning plantations of coconut and mango. The region where he stayed came to be known as Alichi Bagh (garden of Ali in the Marathi language); over time that became Alibag. The first major industrial unit in these parts was the factory producing urea and chemicals, set up by Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (RCF), a company owned by the central government and having significant presence in Mumbai and Raigad. Born 1985, Sumit Patil studied at the school in RCF’s Alibag campus. His father worked at RCF while his mother was employed with India Post. He has a younger sister; she is now a doctor. “ Alibag was close to Mumbai. Yet it was so unlike Mumbai,’’ Sumit said. We were at a café opposite Mumbai’s famous Siddhivinayak temple, in the suburb of Prabhadevi. Although Saturday, the arterial road outside, linking South Mumbai to places like Bandra, Andheri and Borivali roared with traffic. Alibag was a vision in mind dreaming slow life.

Anatomy of an interest; in the foreground, Sumit’s Trek Madone (Photo: courtesy Sumit Patil)

Life at RCF’s school in Alibag was interesting. “ We had two large football grounds and an Olympic size swimming pool,’’ Sumit said. He made use of it. He also took to swimming in the sea. These are possibilities hard to find in wealthier Mumbai with its congested environs. “ When I moved to Mumbai, I realized that most people here hadn’t enjoyed such facilities in their childhood,’’ Sumit said. Besides the facilities at school, Raigad provided options for hiking and star gazing. Having picked up cycling around the third or fourth standard, he recalled a memorable field trip facilitated by mobility on two wheels. A class on what taluka (an administrative division in South Asia) is came alive after the students cycled around their taluka for improved comprehension. Very simply put, in Alibag, free of overwhelming urban currents Sumit could indulge his childhood curiosities. The shift to Mumbai was gradual. Determined to join the armed forces and required to clear the relevant exams, he used to come to the city on weekends for coaching classes. Although in his eyes, the interest in the armed forces was a major influence shaping his life, in retrospect, that would seem to compete with another trend setting in strongly. From a very early age, volunteering appears to have captured his imagination. Among the first major instances of this was a multi-day cycle trip organized by Dnyan Prabodhani, a Pune based-school that saw Sumit and other students visit places ranging from Vigyan Ashram founded by Dr Shrinath Kalbag to the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope to Ralegan Siddhi and its social activist, Anna Hazare, and a night climb up Shivneri fort, the birth place of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha empire.  In all the students cycled some 600-700 kilometers taking a little over a week to do it. “ Today you would call it bicycle touring,’’ Sumit said. Uniquely, it wasn’t the cycling that left an impression. The take away for Sumit was the volunteering he saw at many of the places he visited. That and subsequent similar experiences, has left him deeply suspicious of and uncomfortable with commercial instincts in human activity, including sports.

Cycling up the Nilgiri hills (Photo: courtesy Sumit Patil)

Following school education, Sumit joined Ruia College in Mumbai to do his graduation in Physics, following that up with MSc in the subject. Away from studies, two lines of interest characterized college days. To bolster his chances at joining the army, he stayed active in the National Cadet Corps (NCC). Within NCC, participation in the annual Republic Day camp is prized. Selected to go and adjudged best cadet from Mumbai Group Headquarters, the camp however eluded him as he came down with jaundice. But his desire to join the military was the strong. Over the years that followed, Sumit would attempt selection to the armed forces 13 times and be rejected at some stage or the other.  He exhausted his last chance via these selection tests in 2012. He hasn’t given up hope yet; the final port of call is the Territorial Army, a second line of defence after the regular army, composed of volunteers. The other thing which happened during Ruia days was immersion in Mumbai’s hiking scene. According to Sumit, the attraction for hiking was as much outdoors as it was an opportunity to mimic the military, popularly associated with all things tough. “ You saw them as heroes and when you hiked, you walked a bit like them with rucksack on your back,’’ Sumit said laughing. Mumbai has many outdoor clubs with the local hiking season peaking during the rains. He didn’t join any of the clubs. He trekked with whoever came along. The hills and mountains would become a major influence in his life. In April 2001, he did his Basic Mountaineering Course from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), Uttarkashi.

In Mumbai, with Btwin FC 7 (Photo: courtesy Sumit Patil)

Sumit is a little unclear on what exactly pushed him into endurance sports. In 2005 he suffered a road accident in Alibag. He was on a two wheeler and was hit by large truck. The truck drove away from the scene; he was left unconscious on the road. Passersby ensured he was taken to the hospital. Among injuries, he had a fractured wrist and a broken mandible. Coupled with the consistent failure to get into the army, this was a trying phase. He admits he may have looked for release, an outlet to vent his frustration. From some years earlier, the Indian bicycle market had begun to slowly change. Firefox entered the market with bicycles that attracted for their design; they were also sold at swanky showrooms, another first in the trade traditionally associated with heavy, steel bikes and a retail format that paid little attention to customer. Firefox was also local distributor for Trek bicycles. The Firefox-Trek combination (Firefox has since been purchased by Hero Cycles and Trek now retails in the Indian market on its own) was the first whiff of change. By 2006, a large shopping mall that opened in Mumbai’s western suburbs had begun selling imported Raleigh bicycles. Sumit bought a Raleigh M-Trax, a MTB. Meanwhile in 2004, the Mumbai Marathon commenced. With all that exposure to sports in school, the intermittent cycling and his fondness for hiking, Sumit was a decent runner. He participated in the Mumbai Marathon’s half marathon segment in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010; his best timing across these years was one hour, forty two minutes. With this came another realization. Thanks to the RCF pool, he knew swimming from a young age. Alibag’s proximity to the sea had also ensured that he swam in the sea and held no fear for it. Now he was into cycling and running. Had the time come to attempt the triathlon? – That was the thought.

Serendipity is a 2001 romantic comedy directed by Peter Chelsom; it stars John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale in the lead roles. Sumit liked this movie. In 2010, there was a triathlon announced in Goa. Event in mind, Sumit bought his first road bike. It was a Trek 1200 SL. He named it Sara after Kate Beckinsale’s character in Serendipity. As it happened, the triathlon didn’t take place that year. Given bike anyway bought, Sumit rode to Goa from Mumbai. On the third day of cycling, he heard a passing three-wheeler driver shout something about the road ahead. Sumit couldn’t understand what he said. Ahead was a series of badly built speed breakers. That was the end of Goa trip for Sara and rider. Sumit returned to Mumbai in a state transport bus, nursing his injuries. Sara lay lashed to carrier on the vehicle’s roof.

Riding in Kerala (Photo: courtesy Sumit Patil)

In cycling, audax means audacious. According to Wikipedia, the first recorded audax cycling event took place on June 12, 1897; twelve Italian cyclists attempted to cover the 230 kilometers from Rome to Naples during daylight hours. As similar events gained popularity, a French journalist, Henri Desgrange, formulated rules and regulations for audax events. Riders rode as a group and successful rider were awarded a certificate called Brevet d’Audax. The onus of organizing events was assumed by Audax Club Parisiene (ACP). But following a disagreement, Desgrange withdrew ACP’s right to organize events using his regulations. The ACP created its own version of the sport with successful riders being awarded certificates called Brevets des Randonneurs. This format came to be popularly known as randonneuring. It has its own eccentricities. A brevet – which is how these rides are called – is not a race. No order of finishers is published; everyone is equal. Riders may ride alone or in groups. They are required to be self-sufficient between check points. To that extent, randonneuring is sometimes considered a cousin of touring. Brevets come in various distances and cut-off times. They are: 200 kilometer-brevet to be completed in 13.5 hours; 300 km / 20 hours, 400 km / 27 hours, 600 km / 40 hours, 1000 km / 75 hours, 1200 km / 90 hours (or 80 hours or 84 hours as the rider chooses) and 1400 km / 116:40 hours (or 105:16 hours or 93:20 hours). A rider who completes a 200 kilometer-brevet is called a randonneur. Brevets are many in the world but some are iconic. One of the most famous is Paris-Brest-Paris; started in 1891 and currently the oldest regularly held bicycling event in the world. It is held once in four years and to participate, a cyclist must complete a series of brevets in one year.

From a ride in Coorg (Photo: courtesy Sumit Patil)

The first thing Sumit did when he got back to cycling after the accident was, buy a helmet. He hadn’t been wearing one on the ride to Goa. To buy a helmet, he visited the shop run by Prabodh Keny. During their conversation Prabodh mentioned about an upcoming BRM (Brevets des Randonneurs Mondiaux), the first 300 kilometer-BRM being held in India, from Mumbai to Vadhivare near Nashik and back. The distance had to be covered in 20 hours. “ At that time, I was doing 100 kilometers in four to five hours. So I calculated in my head and decided 300 kilometers in 20 hours should be very doable. That was the first mistake; my first lesson in endurance – there is no mathematics in this madness,’’ Sumit said. On the day of BRM, Sumit rode Sara, breezing past the first 100 kilometers in good style. That was when reality hit home – he had no clue about how he would fare for any kilometer following that first 100 kilometers as he hadn’t ventured past such distances at a stretch, before.  It was a cardinal error – thinking that all the stages of a ride unfold similarly. Ideally, you should visualize the whole distance and plan your hydration, nutrition and pacing for each stage. Such ability is a product of experience and maturity; it comes from having lived life and having been out there cycling, for long. “ As Indians we specialize in racing straight off the blocks in a mad rush to be first. That is what we are taught at our schools. In the race between the hare and the tortoise we reserve our admiration for the hare. Endurance is all about being tortoise,’’ Sumit said. By the time, Sumit reached Kasara Ghat the BRM had become a killer for him. He tagged along with Raunak, a friend. Eventually he completed the BRM in 19 hours, 45 minutes. From finish line in Mumbai, he had to go to the RCF colony in Chembur in the eastern suburbs, where he lived. Utterly drained from the ride, he alternatively walked and cycled, treated himself to dinner at Chembur’s roadside food stalls and slept the exhaustion off. “ After this first BRM, I started attempting BRMs like anything. It was now familiar territory. The more I became aware of what I did, the more analytical I became. I then consulted the Internet for advice. It is awash with people’s experience and suggestions. You have to pick what is relevant for you and adapt it to your reality,’’ Sumit said.

BRM was brought to India by Satish Patki, among Mumbai’s most respected cyclists. Now in his late sixties, interviews done with him and available on the Internet say he splits his time between the US and India. Satish is more than cyclist. According to published articles, he has a background in mountaineering and has indulged in a variety of adventure and endurance sports. The first BRM Sumit went for was the second BRM Satish organized. Sumit remembers being overtaken very early in the BRM by this much older cyclist, who he saw next only at the finish line. Satish was what endurance cycling was all about. He had tonnes of experience, he had the required maturity to assess a route and plan his strategy. “ Satish was older than many of us youngsters recently entered into distance cycling. Yet he was so much stronger and better than us that pretty soon, we knew, he was the guy to beat. Satish used to finish two to three hours ahead of the rest. For us the only goal was to beat this veteran. How was he managing to finish so? ’’ Sumit said. Listen carefully to Sumit’s talk and you understand this wasn’t competition with another person. Newcomers, in their attempt to improve, seek external benchmarks. For Sumit, his first such quest was to be as good as his friend Kaushik Iyer, who had more experience in cycling and had done a Tour of Nilgiris before the two started attempting BRMs together. Beyond Kaushik, the person to catch up with was Satish. Sumit considers Satish his mentor. Their camaraderie has seen its share of ups and downs.

Sumit cycling in Ladakh (Photo: courtesy Sumit Patil)

2010 was a busy year. Sumit kept attending BRMs regularly. He also planned a cycle trip from Alibag to Leh. That plan had to be abandoned following cloud burst in Leh. But around this time, he read an article about Samim Rizvi in the media. Samim, who hails from Mumbai but lives in Bengaluru, was the first Indian to attempt Race Across America (RAAM). It is a 4800 kilometer-long ride across the US, from west to east, with the winners typically finishing it in eight to nine days. As he gathered more information on RAAM, the race captured Sumit’s fancy. Same year, a 600 kilometer-BRM with 40 hour-cut off – from Pune to Kolhapur to Lonavala and then back to Pune – occurred. Sumit and Kaushik finished this BRM by cut-off. “ Those days BRMs had an accommodative ambiance. It wasn’t about competition. Riders helped each other. They looked out for each other. They left none behind,’’ Sumit said. Nevertheless one thing he had to do to feel good about his abilities was beat the maverick; which he did at a 2011 600 kilometer-BRM from Mumbai to Ratnagiri and back. Sumit passed Satish at Mahad and reached Ratnagiri two to three hours ahead. On the return leg from Ratnagiri to Mumbai, which was after some rest, they rode out together. Sumit was now at peace. He knew what he can do. Satish told Sumit to go ahead, for the BRM was opportunity to ensure a slot at the upcoming edition of Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP), subject to qualifying in 2011. Sumit eventually finished the BRM three hours before cut-off, earning his slot at PBP. He subsequently qualified for PBP as well. Then the young man in him set about complicating the opportunity.

At the Pune-Kolhapur-Lonavala-Pune BRM, one of the participants was Samim Rizvi. That BRM had been opportunity for Sumit to talk to Samim and get acquainted with RAAM. However he didn’t mention his own interest. He researched RAAM more and found an imminent avenue to qualify. PBP offered three options for participants – you could sign up to complete it in 80 hours, 84 hours and 90 hours. Sumit found that there was a provision at PBP, whereby if you finished it in 64 hours, you qualified for RAAM. An old bug – the sort that had bitten him just ahead of his first BRM – got to Sumit. While most others from Mumbai signed up for 90 hours, Sumit signed up for 80 hours. Others tried to talk him out of it to no avail. Then to compound matters, his visa for France got delayed. He reached France with less than 24 hours for PBP to start. By the time he got to the venue the riders aiming for 80 hours had already cycled off. He was allowed to ride with the 84 hour-group but it was hopeless. His ride was terminated at Brest. Sleep deprived from having reached the venue straight from airport and tired by the cycling that followed, he was hallucinating, mistaking Brest’s architecture for Mumbai’s CSMT. That year, there were two Indian finishers at PBP – Samim and Kailas Patil.

At the start line of 2014 RAAM (Photo: courtesy Sumit Patil)

After the 2011 PBP, Sumit continued to go for BRMs. But his interest was slowly waning. The first BRM he went for after PBP was a 200 kilometer-trip. In due course, Satish stepped down as organizer and a new set of organizers took over. While he didn’t articulate it as such, it was clear from Sumit’s talk that among reasons for his fading interest in local BRMs, was the event’s own maturity, a process that progressed in tune with cycling’s growing popularity in the country. In any sport, such progression is characterized by love for camaraderie and purity of sport in the beginning. Then as the movement gathers momentum, the original values rust a bit. “ I kept going for BRMs despite my receding interest because the mileage all of us put in matters for country at PBP,’’ Sumit said. As per rules, the more the cumulative mileage earned by cyclists completing BRMs in a given country, the more the slots allotted to that country at PBP. At a 600 kilometer-BRM – his third time at Pune-Kolhapur-Lonavala-Pune – Sumit’s disenchantment eventually caught up with him. Some 180 kilometers ahead of finish, he got off the bike, handed over his energy bars to his friend and sat by the road. He was done. An antidote for the obsession with competition in India is to stretch endurance so much that completion itself becomes a daunting task. As his fancy for BRM receded, RAAM grabbed attention in Sumit’s mind. It was an ultra-endurance event. He qualified for RAAM at the 2013 Ultra Bob, a RAAM qualifier in India conducted by Globeracers.

2013 was also the year another portal to opportunity presented itself. That year, Sumit started working as volunteer with Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI). His job was to shepherd YHAI’s clients attempting to cycle from Manali in Himachal Pradesh to Khardung La, the high mountain pass near Leh. This is high altitude landscape. Cast into volunteer mode, a style of work he has had considerable respect for since childhood, Sumit liked the assignment. YHAI charged a fee that was much lower than many private operators. The approach appealed to Sumit, who has an ideological disagreement with steep sums of money charged for adventure activity that results in those who are talented but not wealthy, being unable to try it. The work gave him considerable satisfaction. Sumit wishes for those entrusted to his care to have done their homework and prepared in advance for the trip. Thereafter, if someone struggles, he helps by giving them company. Sumit has been YHAI’s point man for the Manali-Leh trip for many seasons. In turn, it has meant prolonged cycling at altitude. He stays in Leh for a few months every year and ends up doing the Manali-Leh cycle trip two to three times. An endurance monster like RAAM wasn’t therefore a shot in the dark. Once back in Mumbai, Sumit shifted to Pune to train for RAAM. It was based on a simple logic – exit to highways and good roads with less traffic takes longer in Mumbai as it is a huge city. It takes less time in Pune. But even as he trained, there were other problems cropping up. Big expensive projects like RAAM have multiple components. There is the challenge of raising funds; there is the question of finding the right people for support crew. With endurance cycling and RAAM little known in India, raising resources proved a drag. Eventually the minimum required funds were pieced together thanks to two rounds of crowd funding and assistance offered by the Rotary Club of Mumbai, Worli.

Sumit with support crew at 2014 RAAM (Photo: courtesy Sumit Patil)

By then however, there were issues with the support crew. The original team Sumit had imagined – it featured some of the most experienced cyclists, managers and technicians around – didn’t seem keen to go along. A new team was assembled. But neither with this new team nor the earlier one, had he managed to put in long hours of training together. Mutual familiarity born from such training is critical for endurance races like RAAM. “ I tell people, it isn’t rider; it is rider plus support crew that win a race. Ideally the team should think for you. Sometimes if support crew is damn good, all a rider does is listen to what the crew says,’’ Sumit said. But most important of all, a rider won’t ride well if he has too many worries in the head. And that is what Sumit was beginning to face ahead of 2014 RAAM; the funds were in place only close to departure for the US and the support crew was relatively untested although he was happy that somebody came along.

From 2014 RAAM; Sumit’s support vehicles and his three bicycles (Photo: courtesy Sumit Patil)

In California, the 2014 RAAM got off to a shaky start for Sumit. Lack of adequate work with support crew before the event meant that details like hydration and nutrition wasn’t as aligned to his needs as it should be. By day three, race officials informed that he seemed unlikely to meet the cut-off at Durango. Currently, besides Sara, Sumit owns four other cycles – Mukta (Pinarello Dogma 60.1), Toothless (Btwin Alur 700), Veronica (Giant Trinity) and a yet to be named Trek Madone. Given he had a stint as technical partner with Btwin in India, he also owned a Btwin FC 7 in between. Of these, Mukta and Veronica were bought specifically for RAAM. However bought with funds gathered for the purpose, they had been acquired late and were still new to Sumit. On the road in the US, this too was a problem. For the first time Sumit developed blood blisters from long hours spent on the saddle. Shortly after his fate was spelt out by race officials, Sumit shifted to the Btwin FC 7, which he was familiar with. His pace picked up. One reason for this was tyre pressure. An experienced combination of rider and crew would calibrate tyre pressure to the sort of surface the bicycle is tackling. Mukta was mistakenly calibrated to smooth race track. Result – on the road, the high pressure kept air time (the time the wheels are in the air) high causing less traction. The Btwin didn’t have tyres that could hold air at such high pressure. So, even as the team continued to err on the tyre pressure front, the Btwin gripped tarmac and Sumit cruised comfortably. Noticing his improved pace, race officials relaxed the Durango cut-off and let him continue. However at South Fork, past the highest pass on the RAAM route and with approximately 1600 kilometers covered, Sumit pulled out. It was curtains for the 2014 attempt. On the bright side, according to Sumit, he learnt later that his RAAM attempt which had been back-ended into raising funds for charity had raised close to ten million rupees for a project distributing prosthetic limbs.

Cycling in Ladakh (Photo: courtesy Sumit Patil)

Big cycling projects are like mountaineering expeditions. The echoes of actions taken continue long after expedition. With performance at stake, things are said in the heat of the moment. Misunderstandings occur. Sumit burnt some friendships. He regrets it; there is pain sensing the void that has crept in where good relations once existed. Then there are the obligations emanating from resources raised. His RAAM attempt may have ended but his responsibility to those who supported, continue even after event. It was a three year contract. Sponsors expect you to meet these obligations. In the process, an attempt to set a record, cycling India’s Golden Quadrilateral (the highway linking Mumbai-Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai) had to be sacrificed so that the demands of sponsors, who backed his RAAM trip, could be met. In world smothered by the triad of money, media and marketing what they ask you to do may not be agreeable if you are someone wishing sport to stay pure. Sumit had to swallow his reservations and go along. June 2018, when I met him, Sumit had become free of all these obligations. The shadow of 2014 RAAM was gone. But his attempts to go for RAAM post 2014, had all failed. In the meantime, the first Indians to finish RAAM had also happened – in 2017, Lt Col Srinivas Gokulnath became the first Indian to complete RAAM; he was followed by Dr Amit Samarth. Sumit’s latest RAAM qualifier had been the 2018 edition of Shivalik Signature, which he completed successfully in April. He was also registered for 2018 RAAM as Team Agni. However lack of resources decided otherwise. As Indian teams registered for RAAM made their way to the US or were already there, Sumit was cautiously sipping coffee with me in Prabhadevi. A coffee lover, he has been told to restrict his caffeine intake. Reason – he suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis. It was diagnosed after PBP; symptoms had set in earlier. Ignored, this type of arthritis can be debilitating. One of the best ways to keep the condition in check is to remain active. That is a solid reason to keep cycling. Coming up therefore was something else; a segue from RAAM.

In Ladakh, man on bicycle, another on motorbike (Photo: courtesy Sumit Patil)

Days after we met and a few days before the start of 2018 RAAM in the US, Sumit was scheduled to leave for Leh. Sometime in July, he will take up a project that seeks to improve a record he achieved in 2015. That year in September he had cycled from Manali to Khardung La, a distance of roughly 517 kilometers, in 71 hours, 28 minutes. The route features several passes – Rohtang (13,051 feet), Bara-lacha La (16,043 feet), Nakee La (15,547 feet), Lachulung La (17,598 feet) and Tanglang La (17,480 feet) before reaching Khardung La (17,582 feet). It gained him entry into the Limca Book of Records; the certificate awarded describes it as “ fastest solo bicycling across Himalayan passes.’’ According to Sumit, the choice of September for riding affected the time he took to finish. When you are riding with little rest, seeking record, you cannot decide when you will be on a high mountain pass. Sumit reached some of these passes in very cold circumstances. September is the beginning of winter. The real problem is in the descent. Wind chill adds to the cold and conditions can be quite unbearable for rider on bicycle. Consequently, he had to halt at times on descents, go down by car to wait out the cold, come back up to where he stopped and resume. This year, he plans to improve his record. He has chosen July for the attempt and believes that the halts of before may not be required in July’s temperatures. Daylight will also last longer, at this time of the year. The section selected is Manali-Leh and his goal is to cover the distance involved – approximately 490 kilometers – in under-40 hours. “ We hope to enter the timing in the Guinness Book of Records,’’ Sumit said. Both the Manali-Leh project and a similar attempt planned on the Golden Quadrilateral later this year, are steps towards showcasing endurance cycling in paradigm familiar to the public and thereby make cyclist deserving of support. The RAAM project lives.

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai. This article is based on a conversation with Sumit Patil. Except for the road distance mentioned in the Limca Record and those associated with BRMs, all elevations and distances quoted have been taken from the Internet. Save the first photo, all other photos used herein have been downloaded from the Facebook page of Sumit Patil and used with his permission.)             

Shubham Vanmali (Photo: courtesy Dhananjay Vanmali)

A young man, who battled Learning Disability as a child and discovered purpose in swimming, is trying to complete one of the toughest challenges in open water swimming. This is his story; based on a conversation with his father. 

On May 29, 2018 the Navi Mumbai suburb of Nerul woke up to news of one from their midst completing a long distance swim in the US.

Twenty two year-old Shubham Vanmali had become the youngest person to complete the San Francisco Round Trip-Angel Island swim entailing a distance of 16.1 kilometers in the waters of the San Francisco Bay.

According to a statement from the North California Open Water Swimming Association (NCOWSA), the swim is reputed to be the most technically challenging in the Bay waters and has been attempted by more than 25 people over the past 40 years with only 12 completions. Besides being the youngest person yet to do it, Shubham is also the first Indian and the first to complete the swim under the newly formed NCOWSA. The swim starts and ends on the shared beach of San Francisco’s open water swim clubs, the South End Rowing Club and Dolphin Club. The course requires the swimmer to leave through the opening of Aquatic Park, swim past Alcatraz Island, swim around Angel Island through a body known as Raccoon Strait before returning past Alcatraz and back through the narrow opening of Aquatic Park. All this, while crossing three international shipping lanes twice, 12 ferry routes and swimming cross-current for the major part in 10-14.5C waters, the statement said.

May 29 evening, this blog caught up with Shubham’s father, Dhananjay Vanmali for a chat.

Shubham doing the San Francisco Round Trip-Angel Island swim (Photo: Pacific Open Water Swim Co)

He was due to leave for the US, the next day. Coming up was another swim, part of the main project Shubham has been working on. Over June 3-9, he will attempt swimming the Molokai Channel in Hawaii. According to Wikipedia the Molokai Channel aka Kaiwi Channel separates the islands of O’ahu and Molokai. The crossing of this channel is part of the Oceans Seven Challenge, which is the project Shubham has been working on for the past few years. The other crossings required for the Challenge are the North Channel (formerly called Irish Channel) linking the Irish Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, the Cook Strait between the North and South Island of New Zealand, the English Channel between Britain and France, the Catalina Channel in California, Tsugaru Strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan and the Strait of Gibraltar connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. The only Indian to have done the Oceans Seven yet is Pune’s Rohan Dattatrey More who is also so far the youngest and the first Asian on the finishers’ list. The first person to complete the Challenge was Stephen Redmond of Ireland. A former rugby player and triathlete, he completed the Challenge over 2009-2012, at times requiring multiple attempts at some of the channel crossings. The Oceans Seven Challenge is positioned as swimming’s equivalent to the Seven Summits of mountaineering, which entails climbing the highest peak on each continent. The Challenge was conceived in 2008 by former professional marathon swimmer Steven Munatones who was world champion in the discipline in 1982 and coached the US national team for several years. Articles on the Challenge published in the media say that participants need to be hardcore endurance athletes with ability to swim in very cold and warm seas and be physically and mentally prepared to tackle adversity ranging from sea creatures to currents and strong winds.

Shubham; from the Dharamtar to Gateway of India swim (Photo: courtesy Dhananjay Vanmali)

Shubham comes from a family of sportspersons. His father is a former state player in volleyball, his mother used to play kabaddi and his sister used to be a competitive swimmer. According to Dhananjay, Shubham’s career in swimming commenced after an initial foray into football. Around 2001, Nerul Gymkhana started Mission 2010 seeking to train talented youngsters in football, swimming, hockey, cycling, tennis and athletics. Shubham was selected for football under Mission 2010. Born 1995, he was quite small and very likely would have not been well developed and competitive in the sport by 2010. “ So he was shifted to swimming,’’ Dhananjay said, adding that by around 2009, Mission 2010 ended for want of funds. Following this, Shubham moved to practising at the pool in the complex housing Nerul’s D.Y. Patil Stadium. However, from the point of view of becoming a competitive swimmer, he seemed to have a problem. Although he trained well, at the time of competition, all that hard work couldn’t be made to focus and deliver performance. By around eighth standard, Shubham was formally diagnosed with Learning Disability. It took a while to locate the correct doctors but eventually intervention by good psychologists and sports psychologists helped.

Shubham crossing the English Channel (Photo: courtesy Dhananjay Vanmali)

Around tenth standard, Shubham’s approach started to change. “ In the tenth standard he was selected for the state championship. By the twelfth, he had secured podium finish in the state championship in 1500 meters freestyle,’’ Dhananjay said. During his time in eleventh and twelfth standard, Shubham trained at the pool belonging to Father Agnel Sports Academy. Gokul Kamath became his coach in swimming. By the time Shubham reached college, he secured bronze in 100 meters, silver in 200 meters and gold in 400 meters and 1500 meters at the inter-college meet, Dhananjay said. Besides clear evidence of his emergent ability to focus his energies, it also indicated that his strength lay in the longer distances demanding endurance. In Shubham’s first year at college, there was a competition in Thane he participated in. Dhananjay recalled that a couple of senior Channel swimmers had come to attend it as guests; they were watching from the gallery. A month and a half after this event, Shubham approached his father and said that he wished to attempt crossing the English Channel. After discussing it with his coaches, the family decided to take up the project. Shubham started training for it. Besides his regular swimming, every Saturday and Sunday he used to go to Uran and be taken out to sea in a boat to do open water swimming for three to four hours.  “ We also did swimming at night,’’ Dhananjay said. For stepping stone to English Channel, Shubham first swam from Dharamtar to Gateway of India in Mumbai, a distance of roughly 35 kilometers. Then, on August 4, 2014, he swam across the English Channel becoming the youngest to do so at that point in time.

Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar (Photo: courtesy Dhananjay Vanmali)

Given he was going all the way to Europe and UK for doing this it made sense to attempt the Strait of Gibraltar soon thereafter. Approaching bad weather restricted his window for the Gibraltar swim. It was complicated further by the fact that the swim had to done the same day he was reaching the start point from UK. However Shubham went ahead. For a prospective record, the family first thought of trying a to and fro swim. Shubham gave it some thought and told Dhananjay that there was another option – he could try and reach the other side faster than any Asian had done so far. That’s what happened on August 14, 2014 – he became the fastest Asian to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, doing so in three hours, sixteen minutes. Dhananjay believes that it was from this trip to Europe and interaction with swimmers and other people he met that Shubham picked up the idea of Oceans Seven. With two of the required crossings done, it seemed worth pursuing.

Shubham (in the water, next to the kayak); from the Catalina Channel swim (Photo: courtesy Dhananjay Vanmali)

In 2015, Shubham successfully accomplished the swim in the Catalina Channel. “ He began the swim one night and finished early next morning. It took him 10 hours and 42 minutes,’’ Dhananjay said. Shubham followed up Catalina with the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim on the US east coast, thus completing a smaller challenge in marathon swimming called Triple Crown – it is composed of swimming the English Channel, Catalina Channel and the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. Then a reversal of fortunes happened. In 2016, Shubham travelled alone to Ireland to attempt the North Channel aka Irish Channel. His family searched on the Internet and rented suitable accommodation for him to stay in Ireland and prepare for the swim. The Irish Channel is rated one of the toughest swims in Oceans Seven. On the day of the attempt, after 13 hours of swimming and a mere two kilometers from successful completion, Shubham developed hypothermia. He had to abort the swim at that stage.  It left him feeling low for quite some time. “ He didn’t swim much. He was into cross-fit. Then last year, he began returning to swimming,’’ Dhananjay said. On the Internet, the Molokai Channel is described as the longest swim in Oceans Seven. The sea is deep here, nearly 700 meters. Early June, should the young man from Nerul accomplish the swim in the Molokai Channel; that would be four down, three to go in his pursuit of the Oceans Seven Challenge. He plans to go back to Ireland to attempt the North Channel again.

Dhananjay (left) and Shubham after the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (Photo: courtesy Dhananjay Vanmali)

Swimming at all these locations and the training required for it, requires financial resources. His family has funded Shubham so far. That was also among reasons, he felt bad after the North Channel attempt didn’t succeed; he apparently felt he had wasted his parents’ hard earned money. Dhananjay works with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL); his wife works with Vijaya Bank. He tried getting sponsors. According to him, he would have repeated meetings with prospective sponsors but on the day of providing sponsorship they would offer an amount much smaller than what was originally promised. There were also other problems. Projects of this sort are PR intensive and securing such traction is not the forte of every athlete or his / her family. On the other hand, mileage in the media is what sponsors seek in return for their support. Further sponsors easily warm up to supporting games because that is a picture of team effort which is a popularly liked theme. It is also one that is in line with corporate imagination. Adventure sports and endurance sports are on the other hand, typically solitary pursuits. “ These things affect my motivation level,’’ Dhananjay said. He still looks for sponsors but in the meantime dug into his own resources to fund Shubham’s project. Among means of raising resources, he sold an apartment he owned. “ This is a unique feat and it is my son who is doing it,’’ he said at his house in Nerul, less than a day left for his flight to the US and opportunity for family to watch Shubham attempt the Molokai Channel.

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai. This article is based on a conversation with Dhananjay Vanmali.)

Grant Maughan; from the Everest expedition (Photo: courtesy Grant)

Grant Maughan is an experienced ultramarathon runner and adventure racer. Hailing from Australia, he is a freelance super yacht captain who also keeps a busy schedule as endurance athlete. He has participated in many ultramarathons including some of the world’s toughest. In India, he is remembered for his 2016 joint win – with Jovica Spajic – in the 333 kilometer category of La Ultra The High. In May 2018, Grant climbed Mt Everest successfully. In this interview done by email, he shares his thoughts about Everest, altitude, ultramarathon and plans he has around the theme of endurance and adventure.

Everest ascents happen from the Nepal (south) side and the Tibet (north) side. Was there any reason why you chose to climb from the north side? Did you want to be on that face or was that natural fall out of the group you chose to go with and their choice of route?

I chose the north side because inherently there are less people doing that route. I also find the history of Mallory and Irvine disappearing there in 1924 very interesting.

Can you briefly describe the climb? What were your testing moments therein?

Everything about the climb is difficult: the time it takes to acclimate, establishing camps and equipment at different levels, technical impediments, oxygen deprivation and fatigue. Your body and mind get worn down after weeks and weeks of ascending and descending. It becomes a real chore just to be there and accomplish some for the daily tasks. As you get higher on the mountain some of the technical sections become more difficult and your energy and focus at overcoming the tasks become harder to manage.

One measure often used to describe the challenge involved in an ultramarathon is cumulative elevation gain. Many ultramarathons have cumulative elevation gain exceeding the altitude of Everest. That is further complemented by the act of running and moving, often with little rest, to meet cut off times. Obviously you had a fascination for Everest despite the challenges in ultramarathons and adventure races. Can you describe the specific attraction / motivation you had for climbing Everest? Had you been thinking of it for long?

After some years of mountain running it became a natural segue to start climbing bigger mountains. It was a real fascination for me to get up some of the mountains. I spent years reading climbing books but never thought I would be able to achieve such things because I have a natural fear of heights. Even though I had flown hang gliders, tried free-fall parachuting and bungee jumping when I was younger I just figured high altitude mountaineering was for elite athletes and people much braver than I. My first big climb was Mount Rainier in the US and after that trip where I learnt some new skills and equipment selection, I was keen to try other mountains. I climbed Aconcagua in Argentina; then headed to Denali in Alaska where unfortunately we couldn’t make the summit because of a nine day storm that trapped us at almost 15,000 feet before we retreated due to lack of food and our permit, close to expiring. I have climbed Mt Shasta in California a number of times solo; Stok Kangri in the Indian Himalaya solo plus Mera peak and Imja Sja in the Nepal Himalaya. I really wanted to try an 8000 meter peak like Cho Oyu or Manaslu before considering Everest but this year after talking with a team leader I decided to just go for Everest and see how it turned out. I wasn’t sure if I would ever get the chance due to expense and the time required but everything fell in place and I only decided three weeks in advance to go on the expedition. Sometimes it is better that way so you don’t have much time to think about it and talk yourself out of it.

From the Everest climb (Photo: courtesy Grant Maughan)

How would you describe your relation with altitude? How well do you cope with it? Does the reservoir of endurance, distance runners have, make them better at tackling it or is altitude, the great unknown that even the best of runners must approach respectfully? What was your experience on Everest?

I definitely think that endurance athletes have a bit of an advantage when climbing big mountains. Endurance and fitness are part and parcel of some of the most important aspects of getting to the top. I seem to be able to acclimate fairly well and without too much trouble. I have developed breathing techniques for distance running that I cobbled together from the sport of free-diving and by just thinking about the mechanics of gas exchange that have worked for me really well. I did notice that at about 7000 meters the breathing techniques still helped but were not as efficient as at lower altitudes. Above that height everything just becomes harder. We started to breathe bottled oxygen above 7000 meters using different volumes of gas per minute compared to height and difficulty of climbing at the time. It definitely made things easier but never the same as lower down. It was always an extra worry about running out of gas or having a regulator or mask fail. So it actually added to the stress.

Distance runners and adventure racers are used to getting pushed to their limits. How extreme is this in the combination of strain and altitude that is mountaineering? In your Facebook post, you have described what you experienced on Everest as quite challenging. What made it so?

The limits are a little different. Sometimes you are struggling carrying a large, heavy backpack on steep terrain or trying to focus on getting over a technical section using hardware, both of which are not common in distance running or mountain ultras. The physical aspects can be very similar though: being on your feet for days on end, sleep deprivation, fatigue. I also found the danger aspect to be way higher than anything I have done before in the sport. A combination of the terrain, altitude, weather and support; there was always stress in the back of my mind of what could go wrong and how I would deal with it.

Aside from the busy calendar of ultramarathons and adventure racing you maintain, did you indulge in any training that was specific to your attempt of Everest?

No. I didn’t have time beforehand. I spent four months working on a ship in Antarctica with no training over Christmas; then went straight to Alaska to do the Iditarod 350 mile and then straight to Tennessee for the Barkley. One week later I was in Tibet at Everest Base Camp.   Some would say this is crazy but I seem to have the capacity to do things like this with no training and hardly any preparation of any sorts. Next month I have the 315 mile Vol State race across Tennessee and then straight to Death Valley for my sixth Badwater 135 race.

From the Everest climb (Photo: courtesy Grant Maughan)

Personally, what was it like for you to be on the summit of Everest? What did you feel right then or at the first instance you had to reflect on it?

I spent 14 minutes on the summit. It was blowing around 40 knots of wind and bitterly cold though the sky was a beautiful deep azure color. I was scared. It had taken 10 hard hours of climbing through the night to get there (we arrived at 8:50 AM on May 19th). I remember looking back down at the ridge line we had traversed in the dark and knowing how long it would take me to get back to any sort of safety at high camp number three and feeling the dread. I really just wanted to get started down to find out if I could make it back safely and get far enough down the mountain to get out of the death zone. My three cameras were all frozen as well as all my water. I didn’t know if my oxygen bottle would last and how hard it would be to descend the technical sections while being extremely tired. It was very stressful. Just after leaving the summit one of our team members got snow blindness and had to be helped all the way down. It was very difficult to manage to overtake this group on the narrow section we were on. So I lost a lot of time waiting and getting cold.

Do you have any other dreams similar to Everest and away from the world of ultramarathons and adventure races you are regularly associated with? By profession you are a seafarer. The sea is a magnificent medium; it too is wilderness. Do you have any projects on that front?

I plan to row solo across the Atlantic as well as climb some other 8000 meter mountains in the future. Lots of things to think about and plan…

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai For more on Grant Maughan please try the following links: https://shyamgopan.com/2018/04/05/barkley-2018/   https://shyamgopan.com/2016/09/16/the-captain-the-teacher-the-warrior-and-the-businessman/  https://shyamgopan.com/2016/10/13/living-the-interesting-life/)