When you see a uphill, you are happy. And when you see a downhill, you are happier.

I had only one goal in mind. I wanted to do my set workout of twenty miles. The hilly terrain goal was already taken care of the location.Speed or timing was secondary.

We were stating at the Taj Gateway, and I had asked for route suggestions with the receptionist. More than one person knew that I was crazy to be running 30 km.

Luckily the night duty receptionist, Dushyanth, was knowledgeable about the area and suggested me a route. He even offered half a dozen yelaki bananas. Wah Taj, they treated us royally. Of course, what else to expect after you have taken the best room available, and have arrived early and got acquainted with half the staff. The F&B manager was more than happy to give a flask of milk to start with. All complementary.

The morning start was planned at 0500. And I went to bed at 2300. I barely could sleep because of the new environment. At 0430, I decided to spring out of bed and get ready. I had to get a few last minute items ironed out.

At 0505, I went to the main gate to find out that it was closed, and the security guard wasn't around. It took some more time to get the run started. It was 0523, when I started, and Dushyanth was there to see me off.

I had four yelaki bananas, and a glass of milk before the run. The fuel along run was Gatorade, wth two sachets tucked neatly inside my running tee. I could carry only 600ml on my water bottle. I double checked that water will be available en route. As a backup, I carried some spare cash, if I were to buy water.

The tank bund with the dirt trail

By the side

Add I exited the hotel, the climb down was steep, and I was only grinning what I could be covering on the way back. It was still dark when the first mile beeped, and I missed the split. I was eagerly waiting to note down the tone for the second mile, which was a cumulative 19:00. I was happy that I was getting a 9:30 average per mile. There was a fork where the road split, I decided to head straight.

Another mile I hit the first village, saggalipura. There were a pack of dogs barking at me. I slowed down a little to appease the dogs and carried on. As I reached the end of the village, the road turned into a trail. I was a little disappointed that the road had ended and carried along the trail. 


With freshly ploughed fields on one side, tall trees bordering the hills on another side, it surely looked like the Garden of Eden.

By this time, sufficient light had come up, and the scenery around the trail was excellent.Within half a mile I hit the fringes of a forest, and was cautious that wild animals could be roaming. I kept my eyes wide open just to be cautious. Another half a mile, there was a small water hole, and the trail ended. I wasn't ready to get into the forest and it could be tricky running inside the forest.

So, I turned back and headed towards the fork, where the road split. The road led me through an elevated platform, what appeared to be a tank-bund. It took me through another village, Nettakerahalli, and into a trail. But this time the trail was wider. It was a steep uphill, so I pushed along. Within another kilometre, the trail abruptly ended in what looked like a farmhouse. I checked if there was any other way, but there wasn't any. So it was time to turn back again.

A long winding downhill

I was going to head back to the hotel. After a few minutes, I realized that I had missed a turn and was heading in another direction. There was still a lot of distance to cover, and so....  After a rough patch of semi-paved road, I hit the next village Kurvangi. This time, I bypassed the village, and ran at the edge of it. Missing your turn can never be so rewarding.

And what came along was truly spectacular. At the end of the village, the road led me into a tank-bund, which wasn't paved. It was just pure earth. "Blissful", I thought and carried along. On the distant horizon, was a small temple atop the hill. I kept thinking, if I should break my run and visit the temple or not. And when it came to crossroad, I decided to carry along with my run, and cover it while returning.

When the dirt trail ended, I entered the village to the left (which I later got to know is Nettakeranahalli, the second village). This time around, there were lot of people outside their houses. The same old routine of running till the end of the village and returning continued.

About 100 metres to my turning point, I saw this steep uphill, and I was grinning. Who wants to miss an uphill when you are training for hills, anyway. So I overshot, ran up the hill and continued further. After a few minutes, I was a steep downhill, leading into a village, Chikkanahalli. And who wants to miss the return climb. The same old routine.

The uphill climb

Railway track in construction

At this village, I saw that they were laying a railway track. On one side, I could see the track being laid, and on the other, the preparation was going on. I also filled up my water bottle at the "Jet" pump, while picking up a conversation with a few teenagers.

It was time to return, and per my calculations, I should be able to cover my target of 32K if I just make it to the hotel. So, I bid goodbye to the temple and continued.

Upon reaching the hotel, I realized that I was still two miles short of my target. I headed down Kadur road, which was heading downhill. This is the kind of a slope, that you can coast and cruise at 60kph on a cycle. I ran the downhill for one mile, and when I turned back, I said to myself, "Take fifteen minutes, but complete the climb non-stop".

I walked the first few metres, sipping the last droplets of Gatorade remaining in my bottle, and mind you, walking the climb was difficult. I gently pushed off, and shortened my stride, increasing the turnover. One step after another, I pushed along, counting myself down last 600 metres, 400 metres, 200 metres, and so. When I reached the turn for the hotel, the mile beeped 12:57.

I didn't stop there, and carried along the next 200 metres to the hotel climb, which was doubly steep, And when I reached the hotel gate, stopped and reset my Garmin. The security guard opened the gate with a smile.

When I reached my room, my family was just getting out for breakfast. I asked them to take a quick picture, headed to take a quick shower and joined them for breakfast. I finished four strawberry milkshakes, two mango smoothies, one banana smoothie, and one buttermilk from the buffet bar. All small servings, after a longish run.

To run a 20-miler is a difficult task,...
and that in the hills is daunting, and
when you top it off with a steep mile climbing 240 feet,
there is nothing more you can ask.

The hills were so mesmerizing that I returned two days later, to do a 10K tempo run, but ended up doing double the distance, covering the temple that I had missed on the first run.

When you see a uphill, you are happy. And when you see a downhill, you are happier.


Garmin Link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/190326339