Post the night of volunteering at Jarakhabande Eco Ultra, the forest beckoned me to to do a single loop next morning. Having done the 100km last year, I have enjoyed the sweet not-too-long, not-so-short loop of mixed terrain with a mild climb of ~500m over the 6.4 km stretch. Here is a what it is and how it felt as a poem poster titled “A morning at Jarakhabande”. (#237)
Volunteering for Jarakhabande Eco Ultra on Sat night was an interesting experience. Being a beautiful full moon night of Karvachauth, it was just magical. Here is my creative take on this as “Jarakhabande by night”. (#236)
Running in the undulating trails of Malnad Trails is simply blissful! Here is my creative take on this as “The trail is very alive”. (#234)
When Chethan Ram showed me a picture he had taken at the Malnad Trails of a serene mini waterfall so full of life, I could not resist assembling words to describe a fraction of what one can see and feel. Enjoy the creative “Slivers of silver”. (#230)
Trails seem to stir up images of unpaved rough and rumble that can be hard on your feet and make you suffer. Here is what I felt about the trail in “Malnad Trail Ultra” expressed as a short poem titled “Gentle”. (#228)
Many runners warned me about the torturous and scary 9KM trail loop between 82-91 in the Malnad Trail Ultra. In fact one of the runners at 82km rest area warned me not to go without a water bottle as it is a hard climb. I don’t carry a bottle and had to find a empty soft drink bottle that I could re-use. That is when I thought ‘this must be a lovely fun climb’ as…
A demanding trail with 2000m elevation over 80KM was made more interesting with slush due to prior rain. The no-loop trail of 80km under the canopy of trees caressed by coffee shrubs is just wonderful to run on. The slush due to pre-race day rain is something I did not enjoy, as I am yet to get comfortable with slush running. My first experience of slush was with Chennai Trail Marathon (50KM) a few weeks…