I traveled around Ladakh for the first 2 weeks of September
and during that period, I ran the Ladakh Marathon on 8th Sunday. I
must admit that it was truly phenomenal to run at an altitude of 12,000 feet;
it’s tough but a soul connecting experience!
This year was Ladakh Marathon’s second year since its
inception and is an excellent drive by Rimo Expeditions to encourage the local
Ladakhi folks to take up running as an active sport. And, the participation has
shown great running stalwarts, who have proven that they can easily live up to
tough mettle. It is to be noted that the event is at more than 12,000 feet with
lower oxygen and moisture content in air, and very cold weather conditions –
not a “get into your running shoes and start running” environment. It demands
great level of fitness, planned training and a strong will to face the odds.
I reached Leh about a week in advance to acclimatize and
managed about 3 training sessions before the race day. On the race day, half
marathon kicked off minutes after the full marathon was flagged off at 6am,
with temperatures hovering well below 8 degree Celsius. The attached elevation
profile clearly says it all that approximately the last 6km were a killer. I
ran close to 17km and had to walk the last 4km with the final few hundred
meters of sprinting! I must say that I finished it strong in 02:23:38 (category
rank of 152), well below my personal target of 02:30:00. I felt accomplished
and very happy at the end!
I’m also highlighting below the winner’s timings which are simply superb owing to the difficult terrain conditions.
Half Marathon (21km): Stanzin Norboo in 01:25:53
Full Marathon (42km): Shabir Hussain in 03:25:33
Kardungla Challenge (Ultra Marathon 72km): began at 3am from
Khardung village (14,000 feet) with the route involving a gentle but steady
climb to the Khardung La, one of the world’s highest passes (18,380 feet)
before the route descends to Leh, the capital of Ladakh (11,562 feet). The
winner finished it in 06hrs 55mins; and this in my opinion is a killer
timing!
