Khardung La Challenge 2019 (72km)

Khardung La Challenge (KDC) was one of my BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) of 2019 season (all puns intended)! The other one was Comrades. I had to skip Comrades so KDC assumed even greater importance.

In 2018, I had run Ladakh Marathon and KDC 2019 was penciled in at the finish line back then. And, I was looking forward to this one with a child like anticipation.

To say that KDC is a tough ultra run is an understatement of the highest order. Here is how I put it in an equation:

72km on Tar = Not so bad…

72km on Tar + Killer Gradients = Challenging but still…

72km on Tar + Killer Gradients + 5370 Alt = Pheww…(gasp gasp gasp)

72km on Tar + Killer Gradients + 5370 Alt + Sub 0 to 30 Deg = WHY…

72km on Tar + Killer Gradients + 5370 Alt + Sub 0 to 30 Deg + 50% Air O2 = …

A KDC runner is also a juggler (on them move for 72km) trying to make sense of these factors which change faster then the mood of tricky girlfriend. So, here is the story of my 12:29 hrs of jugglery!

Part 1: Anticipation

This part didn’t involve actual running but a lot of thinking. 150+ of us arrived at the Khardung Village the start point of the race, roughly 12 hours prior to the start time of 3 am.

Externally, I (and most others) played cool but heart beats were racing like an F1 car out of anxiety and anticipation. The cultural program and food were a welcome little distractions for the runners. I managed to have an early dinner in and also got a few hours of sleep. Woke up about 2 hours prior to the race time and started layering.

Now, layering is one of the first critical success factors for KDC. I had 3 layers on – a base layer, a mid layer and outer layer. Had two gloves (thin ones inside and thick outside) and two socks (again thin running socks inside and woolen ones outside). The head was also covered with 3 layers of buffs. I decided against having a rain jacket considering that rain was unlikely – a calculated risk.

Then moved on to setting up my drop bags. I organized 2 drop bags. One at Khardung La Top (2nd drop point) and other one at South Pulu (3rd drop point). K-Top bag only had some food, it was mainly to delayer and put the outer layer back. The South Pulu bag was critical. I stuffed in extra pairs of shoes, socks, tshirts and food.

Part 2: Exhilaration

This is the part from the start of the race till the first major point – North Pulu, a distance of roughly 18km.

We started at 3am in the morning. The dark and clear Nubra sky and the silence of the mountains were seducing. With our head lamps on, we scooted off from the start point.

This section of the race is tricky as with fresh legs and low distance visibility, one can tend to run faster than needed and get fried.

My plan was to stick to 10 min pace, brisk walk/jog on uphills and run on downhills/flats (not many though). Building running rhythm in near 0 degree temp and 4000 mts alt can be tough and takes longer. I had 18km to get there.

This is the phase where we need to kill the smaller demons in the mind. Positivity needs to kick in and the joy of running should start overpowering the anxiety. I felt good by 4km mark and actually started believing that this isn’t as hard as it was in the mind.

I reached North Pulu at around 2:55 feeling satisfied about being better than the pace plan. No major niggles so far and I was set for the most challenging segment of the race.

Part 3: Agony

The 14.5km stretch between North Pulu to Khardung La top (K-top) is the highlight of the race. A steep climb from ~4600 mtr to ~5300 mtr with temperatures falling gradually despite the day break and air oxygen content depleting at every step.

My race plan was to go conservative on this stretch with overall average pace of 13 mins. Run on flats and downhills (if any) and purposeful walk on the uphills.

By this time the group has pretty much spread out. I was determined to find some company on this stretch as running alone can seriously mess up one’s mind. Thankfully, I caught up with Martin Bell from the UK. On his first trip to India, Martin was attempting KDC. He was as chatty on the run as me so we gelled well and decided to run together till K-Top.

Till 26km, we were able to go below 13 min pace so things were looking up. And, then begin the toughest 6km of my running career so far. At some stretches, we found ourselves barely moving despite 100% effort. The inclines were treacherous and killing every part of my legs and back. The objective reduced to just a forward motion.

I could see several runners taking a leg/breath break after every climb. I was determined to no stop except for the aid station and keep moving even though the progress was slow.

With just 3km away from the K-top, I felt so close to the target but it was just an illusion. That long winding roads amidst breath taking set-up (literally) turned out to be the toughest I have run on. The water streams along the road were all iced up.

We were forced to find motivation in small little things – things other than the run. I visualized the happy face of my son, Vivaan, at the finish line. The finish line feeling of several previous Ultras like Hennur 100K & Malnad 80K.

In what seemed liked eternity, finally I was at the K-top. Martin was about 200 mtrs ahead. At K-top my watch read 5:55 mins. The race plan was to reach under 6 hrs so I had 5 mins in bag. The cut-off time to K-top is 8 hrs so I was comfortably withing the cut-off.

I took a short break to delayer. Got rid of the outer bottom layer and a few buffs. Also, got rid of the head lamp. I also took off the outer woolen socks and then realized that I had a big blister developing on the left forefoot. I requested the medical staff to burst if off and tape it but they were clueless and ill-equipped. I just ‘volini-ed’ the whole damn thing – the single most solution for all runner problems during the race. :-D.

I munched in a banana and a cup of hot soup. Took out the phone and rang Hiral to inform her that I had safely reached the K-top. I could sense an immense relief in her voice.

Part 4: More Agony

If I had a chance to change one thing about my race, I would happily change this part. The 14.5 km stretch between K-top and South Pulu was one full of suffering for me. More than the physical plain, the agony was mental.

My race plan was to start running on this stretch as it was either flat or downhill. Two things hampered it – that blister and the gravel filled track. The combination of pokey surface and blister made my life miserable. At every passing Km, I knew I was loosing time as I was not able to run at all. The whole stretch turned into a brisk walk. The only solace was that I found most other runners also resorted to walking; may be the surface wasn’t too conducive.

I tried to shut off the pain and get into motion several times only to be forced to stop – either due to ankle twisting on a pokey gravel road or blister paining beyond tolerable limit, or both. I was desperately waiting for the my favorite surface – road. It was a long wait of about 11 km. As per the race plan I had to be around 8 mins pace but I was just about under 10:30.

But, blister wasn’t getting any better so my hope of running the road section of the downhill at the target pace also vanished.

My watch read 8:50 at South Pulu (cut off time is 10:30). I had lost a lot of time but the race wasn’t fully into the dump. I de-layered further. Applied more volini on the blisters and got more food in. Shoes and socks were good so no change was needed.

Part 5: At Par

The short stretch of 12 km between South Pulu to Mendhak Mod features perfect road and its all downhill. A superb stretch with awesome views and with good legs, this is very much run-able at Marathon pace. But, not with a big blister on your fore foot.

It was time for the change in plan – after all, what fun is an Ultra if you are not forced to switch plans! I call this part ‘cut loss’ as the strategy was to cut every avenue of time loss. Stay at par and live to fight it out at in the last 10-12 km.

I set myself a target of staying below 9:30 pace not matter what – walk fast, avoid impact on the blister, no stationary time at the aid station and attempt to find a rhythm which makes running possible.

I had the worst race position attrition on this stretch. I saw about 15+ runner cross by. Some familiar faces stopped by to check on me, surprised to see me not running. I thanked them for the concern and jokingly told them that I would catch them towards the end as I was saving up for the burst in the final 10Km.

I shut out all the negativity. I was on a look out for one little opportunity to shift gears but I also wanted to time it right. I made a mental note of running through the pain in the final stretch.

I reach the final drop off point at Mendhak Mod with my watch reading 10:45 (cut off time is 12 hrs). I knew that sub 12 hours time is not going to be possible. I setup a revised target of sub 12:30.

I did not waste anytime time as Mendhak Mod. Only thing I did here is applied more volini on the damn blister :-D.

Part 6: Back in the Game

The final stretch of 13Km from Mendhak Mod to the finish line is mostly down-hill or flat on a perfect tar road. The temperature was shooting up and it was almost 28 Deg. That temperature starts stinging when you are at 4000+ mtrs height. Thankfully it was breezy.

With a sub 12:30 finish in mind, I set the pace target of staying under 8 mins as the worst case scenario. I tried to set-up some form of running rhythm to make 8 mins stick. Every passing km, I increased my running stretch by about 100 mtrs. By 3rd km, I was running half km at decent pace despite the pain and then taking half a km of walk to ease the pain.

The process finally stuck. I started hitting 7:XX pace. I started passing all the runners who had crossed my in the previous stretch. More adrenaline kicked-in which meant more running through the pain. Over next 5 km, I passed ~20 runners and waved and cheered all of them to egg on till the finish.

I was happy to see my race back on track. I kept improving pace and passing more runners. Finally, I hit the race point where we enter the city of Leh. After that point, it was just 5km to the finish line on the city roads which are flats or with slight inclines.

Part 6: Finish Line

The run through the city roads wasn’t as pleasant one, and most runners would want the organizers to consider changing this part of the route. The route snaked through many bye-lanes and I had to literally ask and confirm the route at a few points. The pace was good and I passed several more runners. I was preparing myself for a final push to the finish line.

The final 1Km run through the Leh market was one of the most surreal experiences for me. There were people on both sides of the road cheering loudly. Since I had a quite a margin over the runners behind me, I was as if the whole city was cheering for me. I spotted Hiral (my wife) and Vivaan (my 7 year old son) right at the start of the Leh market and waved. And then came the highlight of the race.

Vivaan, inexplicably and out of some natural instinct, broke through the route barriers (caution tapes) and joined me in the final stretch. He started running with me and was matching me step for step. We started running together and people started cheering loudly. This time not for me, but for my him. I heard someone say, “Push your Dad to the finish line”. Vivaan took it literally, slowed down a bit and them gave a nice little push down the back side. The final 200 meters of running with Vivaan will remain etched in my memory forever. We hit the finish line with a time of 12:29.

The job was done. My wife and friends were right there at the finish line waiting for us. It is difficult to express those feelings in words so I wouldn’t even try doing it. It was just surreal.