S o have you just finished with a marathon? Maybe, your first of many? Do you want to now go further and ascend the balance between mind, body, spirit and the unknown? Fortunately for runners with a hankering for the extreme, there’s a class of ultra-running that’s a step above the rest. They’re extra long, incredibly tough, hard as hell and can break a person mentally. Ultra running is a full-fledged counterculture. It has nothing to do with your conventional running world.
There are many, many, many spectacular, impressive, challenging, interesting and demanding events around the world and then there is the adventure into the bowels of Death Valley, California. How about running 215 km in temperatures that hover around 50°C? Brij Mohan Sharma, aka Breeze Sharma (pictured), lives out the extremes of life — the highs, the lows, the suffering, the survival, the joy... discovering all of the amazing things that you just may be capable of. A civilian with the Navy, Breeze has run several races with distances going well above 100 km and enjoys grueling conditions.
As one of just two Indians to have completed the “toughest footrace on Earth” — the very notorious Badwater Ultramarathon — he says ultramarathons are an alluring “love affair”. “Remember Forrest Gump? Stupid is as stupid does. Badwater fits into what I have been looking for as an athlete and seeker. It’s a tough and spiritual journey like no other. It’s just you against the course, you against yourself, you against everything that tells you to give up. You have to reject the world and look within.
Every living thing responds to quality. These are harsh conditions, climbs that break you down and a long road that seems to never end. You are disconnected from everything other than the task at hand. You must find your peace to complete Badwater, there is nothing there to help you or ease your comfort. I think it’s as close to a near death experience as you can have in every way.”
While people adore and love mainstream runners for speed, ultra-running is all about distance and endurance. It’s about the limits and virtues of stoicism. It’s about being alone and running your own race. It gives you that deep-rooted knowledge that you are so much stronger than you have ever imagined — that your capabilities far surpass the limitations you may impose on yourself... and that in your darkest hour, you will see light. Ultra running is not about your finishing time, it is about you being able to finish.
“Ultra-running is about devotion, discipline, consistency, a well-trained mind and body and faith. These are salt-of-the-earth people who give their shirt off the back to help another. One must believe in themselves when the chips are down. One must acknowledge, appreciate and respect these powerful God-given individual qualities. Use them effectively, never take these wonderful assets for granted. 'They are gifts and the pillars of your life as an ultra-athlete.
The author can be reached at gs.sudhakarrao@gmail.com
