The Indomitable Joggernaut

The indomitable Joggernaut

                                                            -- C S Jayanth Subramanian

Inborn sporting talent and determination have a penchant for prevailing over unfavorable conditions like lack of infrastructure and organizational support.

Like millions of boys in India, Shashwat Rao too aspired to be a cricketer. He played for his college cricket team and a fair bit of Club Cricket too. Even as he was completing his education, the best days of his cricketing exploits began fading in the background. He settled down in Bangalore and  and like most young people of his age lived a fast paced life. Suddenly, for no good reason he bid goodbye to his Job.

Sitting  with eyes rivetted on the computer screen and punching keys did not interest him anymore. He zoomed away on his beloved Royal Enfield “Bullet”  to explore every nook & corner of the country.In short, he rebelled!. But soon he returned and joined Wisden India, the statistics arm of Cricinfo the popular Sport news website owned by ESPN as cricket analyst.

 Shashwat began jogging to and from work to break the monotony of everyday life. He participated in road marathons in various towns and hill stations and started saving money.

He developed a burning desire to run along trails in the lofty mountains. Soon Shashwat Rao was a well known, popular figure  easily recognized among the small Ultra Runners  fraternity in India.

Meanwhile his dream of the mountain solitude where he could jog along peacefully for hours far away from the bustling city of Bangalore grew stronger.

 He qualified for the Ultra-trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) a171Km mountain trail race passing through France,Italy and Switzerland. Though overjoyed something began gnawing at his mind. How would he train for the prestigious event where he would contend with the world’s best Ultra Runners?

So he quit his job once again and headed to Solang Valley about 15 Kms from Manali in Himachal Pradesh and lived in a shack in an obscure village on the side of a mountain. His only protection from the biting Himalayan Cold was a sleeping bag. Life was difficult ; shoveling heaps of snow that covered the shack, gathering firewood  and managing with frugal diet. Being South Indian and a Vegan made it  more challenging. Acclimatizing to the high altitude and low oxygen levels was never easy. But, he trained hard on the gorgeous mountain trails.

Now, the vast mountain  slopes of lawn in Solang Valley is a   popular skiing Destination visited by hundreds of tourists both native & Foreign.Strapped for cash , the resourceful Rao  began carrying  gliders on his back to the mountain top,essentially doing the job of a porter for the tourists who would  launch themselves from the peak. .While he earned small sums of money, it also helped him get stronger. And with help from well-wishers & friends he reached Paris, participated in UTMB & was the only Indian to cross the finishing line.

 In early 2014  a small group of “Ultra”enthusiasts in India led by Vishwas Sindhu fantasized about India’s Own Ultra Trail. After exploring several routes &considering all aspects, a trail route was finalized:

The road from Manali to Leh, spanning  over a length of 480 km   through the most treacherous stretch of the  Himalayan mountain  range : Manali – Rohtang – Kokhsar -Keylong – Jispa – Zingzingbar – Baralacha La – Gata Loops – Nakee La – Lachulung La – Tanglang La – Upshi – Leh.The little known sport of Ultra running  was coming of age  in India.

The breathtaking trail takes  runners through five of the most imposing mountain passes reaching upto 17600 Ft., a series of 21 switch backs & vast plains. Aptly Christened the “HellUltra” or The Hell Race, the first edition was held in September 2016.

Hungarian Ferenc Szonyi is the only runner who has finished the race on two occasions.  He is known for his ability to maintain an incredibly fast pace throughout the race. He completed the challenge in113 hours 13min 29sec in 2017 &an astonishing 108 hr 52min 29 sec. in 2018. Shashwat  Rao had the opportunity of watching Szonyi‘s pre- race training from close quarters. He acted as  his support . In the 2018  he even managed to keep pace with the superman in most of the first half of the Hell race. All the while , he wasQuietlygearing up for his next big Challenge.He  aspired to win the Hell race for himself.

The big moment arrived as Shashwat Rao lined up with sixother Ultraathletes at the starting line of the Hell race at Manali in June. 2019. The runners were off the starting blocks at 10.00 pm.

Taking short 30 minute naps, eating a handful of Rice & Dhal at road side Dhabas and munching Granola energy bars on the run became  routine over the next five days. By the end of the third day it became clear that  two runners Pulkith Jain and Shashwat Rao would challenge eachother to the extreme right upto the finishing point at Shanti Stupa in Leh. 

Volunteers along the trail and trackers were awestruck by the ferocious determination in Shashwat Rao’s eyes.Murmurs that this would be a stupendous battle of perseverance and debilitation excited the onlookers. In his own words"The thought of becoming the First Indian to win the Hell Ultra further strengthened my resolve” and he was in no mood to squander the opportunity. With the allotted 120 hour deadline firmly etched in mind, he jogged along inright earnest.

Chewing up  Kilometres , he Covered  the plains in the dead of  night. It was not easy running.  Fighting exhaustion and delirium induced by lack of sleep, braving the excruciating pain caused by a cracked shin bone  he managed to run past the Banner at the finishing line.The Chronometer stopped at 113 H, 36 m, 50 Sec. The only other finisher Jain  arrived 33 minutes later.

The winner of the 2019  edition  Shashwat Rao and runner-up Pulkith Jain  thus became the first Indians ever to finish theHell Ultra.

The winner was rewarded with a commemorative Tee shirt, a wooden plaque, a Bouquet of flowers and little else.

However Shashwat Rao has received greater rewards. Kuai Sports Promotions ,Hong Kong the sponsors of Trail Master Championship series (trail running) has  conferred the Title of “ Asia Trail Grand-master”, on him by virtue of being the first runner from India to triumph at the ATM Quest,which requires aspirants to  complete  six recognized  Asia Trail Master races  of not less than 70 Kms distance each  within two years.

 He has now qualified for  the 10th Anniversary edition of Tor des Géants (meaning Tour of Giants) a punishing  356 Km  mountain endurance  Trail Race  which will  held in the Aosta Valley covering the Italian Alps & Grand Paradiso National Park  in Italy in Sep.-Oct. 2019. 

A few federations around the world cater specifically to trail &ultra running and support their Runners.But, In India, these extreme athletes have to   depend entirely on private sponsors and Sports enthusiasts.

The Athletics Federation of India has only recently focused its attention on this sport.

Sashwat Rao has made an Appeal  for support to offset the costs of travel, accommodation, entry fees etc.for theTor des Géantsin the Crowd funding platform Ketto.org.Details are available at https://www.ketto.org/fundraiser/tor

ATM Grandmaster Shashwat Rao, a qualified engineer and MBA is now  rightfully regarded as the pioneer of high endurance sport in India.Ordinary mortals however considerUltra trail running as an unforgivingly Brutal Sport.

Shobha & Nanda Kishore Rao, the proud parents of Shashwat Rao are residents of V.V Mohalla Mysore.

Note:

Ultra running is a long distance running sport that has evolved around ultramarathons.. An ultra distance race is typically a race of any distance beyond 42.16 Kms .(The standard marathon)

The most common races begin at 50Km, and can span up to 175 Kms long. Ultra races can take place on roads, mountain trails or tracks, and as a result of  the growing popularity, more than 75,000 athletes compete in ultra races each year.