Having finished the TCS10K in May 2013, albeit in flying colors, I was preparing for the next event. After considerable thought and deliberation I let go of the training for Hyderabad Marathon, as I couldn't afford to mix the training with ultra-distance runs. It is during this time, I was in constant touch with Shreyas for planning ultra runs though none of them materialized. Shreyas had indicated that he wanted to do an ultra distance run, preferably Bangalore to Mysore.
My plans for the rest of the year were scuttled by a long-pending US trip, both for work and personal purposes. I decided not to register for Bhatti Lakes last minute, as I had to travel the week before that. The much anticipated Bangalore Ultra was also missed.
Having missed Ultra distance runs in 2013, it was always in the back of my mind to run an ultra distance nearing 100 miles in the coming months. However, the plans were put-off till SCMM.
A month after SCMM, when I approached Shreyas, he had many ideas, but we couldn't conclude on how we could make the run practical.
I had known earlier that Shreyas was trying to arrange a ultra-run with Vishwanathan Jayaraman, a barefoot popularly known as the Hubli Express. When I approached him, he readily said yes, and that he could affort only a single day run, which led us to finalize on Bangalore to Mysore.
When I approached Dharmendra, he readily agreed. However, he had some constraints with the dates as he was involved in organizing many events on behalf of his group Proton Runners. The only date he had in mind, March 9th, seemed to work with all the three of us.
Kieren, is the no-problem man. As long as it didn't clash with this exams, he was ready to do any distance, any where, any time. Shreyas had some constraints with the dates, with some upcoming family events conflicting with our date. However, with the four of us opting, we had critical mass, and I decided to start planning.
Dharmendra had another constraint that he wanted to participate in the Bangalore Unity Run which was scheduled on March 9th. So we tweaked the event around, and changed the start point to Mysore, that would enable him to attend the Unity Run.
With the date finalized, I approached Giridhar Kamath, (who is like a Eveready battery, always full of energy, and always ready), who readily agreed. He had been the backbone of the support team, committing the first support car for the whole duration of the race. Brijesh had once mentioned that he would crew me for my next Ultra, and I used this opportunity. He was the trainer-cum-coach, who kept us fit through the run with his stretches.
Sakthi joined in after I posted the event on facebook.
While Saroja wanted to join in, she wasn't sure how to. With Dileepan opting in two days before the race, that brought in new strength to the team. The second support car had been very valuable. It is like oxygen. We only notice it, when we dont have it.
Kieren filled in his share with the two volunteers he brought in. Andrew Teron, cycled and ran through the course, and was with Kieren for the duration of his run. Joshua Fernandes, who stuck to Vishy, for a major part, and with me during the last part. Like Andrew, he also spent time on the whole course either on his feet or on his wheels.
Patrick had been planning to run a longer distance run, and joined in to fulfill his marathon for his birthday. Patrick and Shaiju started along with the Ultra runners, and completed a marathon. This was Shaiju's first marathon ever.
Dharmendra brought in Jen Chocken, who finished 42K on feet and another 8K on wheels, to complete 50K for the day.
We would have been happier if we had someone who was medically trained, either a qualified doctor, or a physiotherapist. That didn't materialize till the last minute. We decided to carry on, without any medical support.
