I’ll be honest here, Ladakh was never on my bucket list of places to run. Didn’t think myself as capable of running in a place like Ladakh (it overwhelmed me), didn’t think I would have the time and finance to spend acclimatising and staying there. But what attracted me to it was that date. Seeing that date made everything else click, all the chips to fall in place. What was meant to be a run, became a short vacation, a Runncation, for both mom and me.
No matter what I did, no matter how many time I ran up and down Gandhi Tekadi, even reaching a couple of days earlier to acclimatise to the weather, nothing could prepare for me for the challenge of running in Ladakh. A friend even suggested trying running in a oxygen deprivated chamber. I knew I would be able to navigate the downhill (as if it was rocket science) but it was uphills that took my breath away. So in short, the race was meant to be experienced, to be enjoyed, to be soaked in.
Come race day and sleep seemed to have deserted me. Maybe it was the excited nervousness, he pre-race jitters, or maybe it was the fact that race day also happened to be my birthday and was responding to messages, or maybe it was a toothache that was irritating me, not letting me sleep.
Somehow made it through the night and found myself at the holding area with my fellow runners, friends. It was time to click those pre-race selfies and wish everyone well. In a very brilliant coincidental way, runners from Malad seemed to have a sequential bibs. So Sopan was 6000, his wife Ami was 6001, Prerna was 6002, Jaj’s 6003 and mine 6004.
After all the hugs and wishes (no kisses) and back slapping and nervous joking, it was off down a road that rose and fell with every ebb and flow, like the beating of the heart with it highs and lows, telling you that you are alive and running, commanding you to rise to the challenge. The route twisted and turned, left you mesmerised, left you in awe. Where else would you have the opportunity to run among mountains covered with snow, covered with clouds, a sight to behold, a breathtaking sight. Every minute needed to be soaked in, every minute needed to be experienced, and all of it didn’t seemed laboured.
You ran freely, all the fears of breathing problem seemed for naught. All those feeling of breathlessness that you felt when you ran the previous days, seemed to have passed. You ran, you walked, when you needed to, and didn’t mind. Guess you finally relaxed and soaked in the experience of running amongst the mountains, amongst people of different nationalities, different genders, different ages, different physicalities, different backgrounds and social status, but all bound by one common thread. Each and everyone who were on the road that day, were runners, amateur, elite, Ladakhi, hobbyists, first-timers, all runners with the same running spirit burning within each of them.
You cheered your friends on, when you saw them, you cheered every runner who needed cheering, who needed that extra support, that extra push. You did your best to smile and not look so stressed or tensed, to relax as you navigated through every incline, cheering every runners, as much as you required their support in return, which you got in return. You were a brotherhood/sisterhood of runners.
Now around the 16th km I saw my friend Pinto standing there, waiting for us, cheering us on, encouraging us, pacing us, cheerfully clicking us as he ran with us. Now Pinto had run the treacherous Khardung La challenge two days ago. He could have just waited for us at the finish line and cheered us on, but he came down 5 kms to pace us and give us the boost we needed. This indeed is what the running spirit is all about, but most importantly spoke volumes of the gem Pinto is.
Though the finish was in sight, had to walk it off, jog to the finish line, unlike the sprints I love to do, cause the last 5kms were on inclines, gradual at first, a bit more challenging for the rest of the way. So crossing that finish line was a triumph in itself, a joyful, momentous feeling, the perfect birthday gift to yourself.
So now that you had crossed the finish line it time to cheer people on, to bring your friends home. Since Pooja was right behind me we immediately congratulated each other, and started clicking pictures. Then came Sanjay and then we found Jaj too completed his run. We went back to the finish line to pace Prerna, who was running her first marathon of the year, after an injury break. So we got Sopan across the finish line, then Asha. Ami came along and finished strong. Ajaneya insisted at finishing at his on pace. Now we began to worry if Prerna had not indeed completed the race, cause when we last saw her on the route she was ahead of all of them.
Last we saw was Viral and Apeksha making their to the finish line. Now Viral was doing his first half marathon on a route like Ladakh was commendable, but having Apeksha by his side no route seemed so tough that it couldn’t be overcome. They showed us what true love was meant to be and gave us a memory to cherish for all eternity.
Finally when we walked to the finish line, as racers slowly completed their races, we met Prerna there. She has completed her run a long time back. So now that we all had completed our run, it was time to indulge in the post race shenanigans. We clicked pictures, took selfies, danced to Hindi music and even Ladakhi song, following the steps of the Local youth.
Once done we headed back to the guesthouse for a quick change and head for a beer and biryani party by runners, for runners, to celebrate running and the spirit of running. So I finally got to wear the clothes I picked for my birthday. But not before fighting back the dreadful toothache that reared it’s ugly head again. So once again we clicked pictures and headed to the party where we greeted congratulated and took even more pictures.
Now in the evening, we planned to have a quite celebration amongst ourselves, and those who could join us. As Prerna and Jaj went to find a birthday cake for me, I asked Sanjay to take my mom to the place we were going for dinner. As I walked towards the the market to find a chemist, it began to drizzle. As the air became cooler, I found myself thinking that it would be more easier to run a full than to walk in the rain with that pain.
After finally finding a chemist (actually, the second one) I made the journey back in the drizzle but the pain finally subsiding. I found my mom and my friend seated on a cushioned floor covering themselves warm blankets. They weren’t able to get a proper birthday cake but in its place they’ve got carrot cake. Now when you say carrot cake it reminds me of the time they replaced Phoebe’s name with it on the board outside Central Perk. But the cake tasted more delicious than any cake I had ever tasted, cause it was filled with love of mum and friend (and though I missed many of those who were not there at that moment but were with me in my thoughts and heart). So as they sang for me, the people in the adjoining tables to chimed in, much to my delight and a bit embarrassment, I dug into the cake and gave a piece to my mum and then Prerna and to all of them.
It was wonderfully delightful way to bring a close to a what I can only call a day the way I would have wanted it (except for the toothache). But now it was time to get back to reality and life, after being in heavens and in the laps of the mountains. But for that one last night, I would forget all that is to come, savour the moment, savour the memories I had just made.
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