Journey of a sea warrior from sea coast… Jamnagar (17 metre from sea level) to world’s 2nd Highest Motorable pass…..(5328 metres from sea level)
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts and yes this courage only made me to survive in those 5 Hell days of #Hellrace.
#winner
#HellRaceHigh5s
#211km
#28hr45min12sec
#5Days5Passes5Marathons
#NewcourseRecordset
I had participated in the running events organised by the Hell Race as part of 04th Himalayan Running Festival between 15 -23 June 19.
On 16 June 2019
And the starting shown me a positive nod & I was the podium finisher at the first edition of Vertical Kilometer, one-of-a-kind race in India, here in Solang, Himachal Pradesh.
Vertical Kilometer is an uphill race gaining an altitude of 1000mtrs in less than 5kms distance which I had finished with with a timing of 1:00:08 hrs.
Mentioning point about this vertical race was that it was the first vertical race I ran and my team mates were very happy on my performance .
#Nowcomesthe High5s
The race known as High5 s was flagged off from Marhi, 36 kms from Manali, on the morning of 18th June and progressed as a 5 day,5 challenging stages crossing 5 passes. The most challenging and toughest part of the race was to cross all the 5 mountain passes enroute bearing murderous climate conditions and strong winds. Runners had to negotiate steep gradients combined with low temperatures between -10 degrees to – 2 degress with snowfall, hail and rain.
#Day1 18 Jun 2019
ROHTANG PASS , ALTITUDE 13050 FT, TEMP -5 degree to -10 degrees
First time in my life i saw snowfall that is also when i was participating in India’s toughest and cruelest Race.
It was Rohtang pass ,snow walls both side i was crossing it like a horror movie actor.
16 km totally upslope and rest 26 km was downslope . The time taken was 4:30:35 Hrs for full marathon and i was fully satisfied with my timing on very first day.
#Day 2 19 JUN 2019
BARALACHALA PASS , ALTITUDE
16085 FT, TEMP -4 degrees to +1 degrees
Second day was very tough and challenging bcz the elevation gain was quite high. Finally 5:59:02 Hrs was total time to complete the second day challenge.To achiecve timing of 6 hrs i pushed my self at optimum level and took a sprint in last 2 kms of race. After completing second day i got and an unbearable headche for approx two hrs at that time Yogesh tiwari sir was the man who helped me in recovery and and guided me for some breathing and stretching excercises.
#Day 3 20 JUN 2019
NAKEELA PASS , ALTITUDE 16175 FT ,TEMP -4 degrees to + 10 degrees &
LACHUNGLA PASS , ALTITUDE 16580 FT ,TEMP -5 degrees to +15 degrees
Third day race started, i was little bit worried today because this day have to cross two most toughest passes within short duration of time.
After crossing Nakeela Pass, body started pain, eyes were feeling sleepy, headache was at its peak suddenly i saw a ‘ray of hope’ i.e Nupur Ma’am, she was the lady who provided hot soup and then paced me for some time.Now reached at LACHUNGLA PASS, here the route was declined so i increased my speed and finished easily with a timing of 6 hr 46 min 23 sec.
#Day 4 21 JUN 2019
MOREY PLAINS , ALTITUDE 15615 FT , TEMP -2 degrees to +5 degrees
On 4th day, It was totally flat route, due to last three races body was fully tired and exhausted but i was continue with my hope to reach at finish line like wise last three days. First 10km i was alone at route after that i found Kapil Ustaaj who is an inspiring face for me.He motivated me in entire route with his motivational stories.We both were continue till 37km then we met with Sandeep Kumar sir he encouraged us and told that only 5km left. The course was finshed by me in 5:44:27 hrs which was quit satisfactory.
#Day 5 22 Jun 2019
TANGLANGLA PASS , ALTITUDE 17500FT, TEMP -10 degrees to +5 degrees.
The day started with a motivational factor that YES! today is the last day of race and finally we will reach to Leh. But as soon as i was heading towards #17500ft my body’s oxygen level was going down and i started facing breathing problem. But still i pushed very hard to my body and Reach on the top of #TANGLANGLA PASS . There i saw Physio Akshay who gave me hydration support and clicked some pics . Then i suddenly rushed downwards as it was very freezy cold over there , fully spreaded area of ice .
I was pushing very hard that this is totally downhill , here i can save some time . At 38 km mark i saw Nupur mam and prityush sir who motivated me and gave a moral Boost up by saying that sanjay these 4 kms are final one . Then i accompanied by a mountaineer friend who was keep on motivating me very strong and i completed the last day in 5 hr 44 min 45 sec.
Finishing was super strong with flying Naval Ensign high in the sky.
Got a chance to meet great runners Sandeep Kumar & #sunchaser AbhishekRathore#and exchanged Running tips with them.
This was the 4th edition of Hell race and the Course record for this race has been set for 211 kms in 28 hr45 min 12 sec by breaking previous course record by a margin of 6 hr 15 min which was set by David cole from Australia.
I was surprised to see my cumulative timing but yes this would not have been possible without god grace and all my well wishers .
special thanks to Yogesh Tiwari sir and kapil ustaj who motivated me at each and every instant where my body was feeling low .
I’ll especially mention #Ram jat who was simultaneously doing non stop 480 kms who was a great motivational factor for full Navy Team of Hell race.
During the race when I was feeling sleepy specially on 3 rd and 4 th day Baba and Nupur mam Helped me in pacing for some distance. Regarding The hydration support in between by Team Hell race was Really praise worthy. You demand whatever you want it will be in Front of you. Thank to you Physio Team who were very dedicated towards their job that after every run they were personally goes to the runners for Body stretching and also during the route they were simply awesome & dedicated towards ther profession.
When i was training myself for this ultimate Race my close partner Dinesh use to take care of my body strengthening , stretching and core workouts. I personally think that he is superb physiotherapist. Partner Vinod use to be my personal dietician and he use to plan my Daily diet. Before this race i planned long runs and during these runs Partner satpal , Partner Dinesh & Partner vinod use to be my moral support and they use to come with me during these long runs. yes offcourse it was impossible with the great care and support of my family. Proud to be associated with one of the great organiser of ultra running Vishwas sindhu sir .
It was memorable time I had spent with the organising team of #Hellrace …Nupur mam, Baba (The strong members in route markings & photography) ….If the route marking is done by them … then at the end of race one thing you will surely praise is the route marking. pratyush sir .. a professional photographer …. People are amazed to have a look on Hell race photography.
This race was not possible without the moral support of Arjun khatana bhai ji, Hariom ustaj ,
Ram jat, Jena , Shailesh,pranav,vinod Bhai ji ,Manish jha , Amar sir , kn sir ,Lalit mehra sir , Nitin ahlawat
bhai sahab. It is very difficult to mention everyone’s name here but it was possible because of my well wishers .
Lt cdr yogesh tiwari sir our Team Oic was a great moral boost to me & our team , His precise planning helped me in achieving a decent time in the race. Thanks to Harshavardhan sir & Gs malhotra sir who initially guided me and supported me when I was not knowing anything about ultras.
#MRR
#SQUADRUNRUNNERS
#SWATT(RUNNERS)
#SUNCHASERS
#HARDWORK
#PASSION
#DETERMINATION
#ULTRARUNNER
#201DAYSFACTORCHALLENGE
#CYRUNS
#100Daysrunning challenge
#Kshannorganisers
Only the one who ran the distance knows what mammoth of a task it was for me . No amount of words could explain what emotions, and physical and mental suffering I went through and came victorious on the other side of all the passes.
The race provided the runners every kind of challenge and scenic beauty but the runners spirit were high all the time as we motivated each other. Our team took each day and every stage individually, one-by-one, we finished every stage and celebrated our victory in Leh city at an altitude of 3500mtrs.
Jai Hind .
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