By Ashish Pande, SMP-06 (2021-2022)
Caption: Author standing at the 40th Kms milestone, at the start of desert point, during The Border Ultramarathon, Thar Desert.
On the night of 4/5 December 1971, 120 Indian soldiers etched their name in history by choosing not to leave their post at Longewala, Jaisalmer. They were just 120 with limited resources to fight against the massive 2000-3000 Pakistani forces laced with modern equipment and tanks – clearly outnumbered and outgunned, they still were able to hold the enemies at the Longewala post fighting courageously till the dawn when Indian Air Force started the assault on the enemies.
This battle of Longewala was a turning point and proved to be the defining moment in India’s win of the 1971 war. Our soldiers had the option to quit, but they chose to fight and emerged victorious giving us timeless tales of valour and supreme sacrifices. To celebrate this bravery every year an ultra-marathon is organised in Jaisalmer called, The Border. I consider myself fortunate to have completed this ultra-marathon of 50 kms on 14 December 2024. This is my story from fighting various health conditions like asthma and sciatica to completing the ultra-marathon.
My running journey
My experiment with running started almost a decade ago and within a short span of time it became my passion. To keep myself fit I started running and eventually I elevated the hard-work to cover short distances. I started noticing the change in myself be it physical or mental, with the fat soon disappearing and I became more focused and healthier.
Things were going well as planned when one day I had severe back pain due to sciatica. The pain was so serious that I couldn’t even sit or sleep, the continuous pain would aggravate with the slightest movement of my body. I was advised complete bed rest of three weeks and physiotherapy once the pain subsided. On the bed I used to think a lot about when I would start running again. When the physiotherapy started, I noticed I couldn’t put weight on my leg properly and my walking posture had also changed which concerned me.
The doctor advised that I would be able to get back to the normal walking posture once the treatment is over and all cycles of physiotherapy are done and, also dropped a bomb saying that I should stop running as the pain can crop up anytime with more severity if the nerve gets damaged more. I didn’t want to give up running, so I asked the doctor to help me and monitor my condition regularly.
The exercises and proper diet helped me recover fast and I was back on track again, this time more resolute and focused as I had my health at stake. I found that I could run 5 kms easily and then upping my game I reached 21 kms. I upped my game further and decided to run my maiden full marathon in January 2018. I still remember the day when I crossed the finish line of the 42 kms full marathon. The elation is still fresh in my mind. Soon after, I completed multiple full marathons in Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and at the Statue of Unity, Gujarat but my first one is always close to my heart.
In 2022, I decided to up my game to run an ultra-marathon i.e. a minimum of 50 km and while scrolling on the internet I came across a running event known as ‘The Border’, I thought that nothing could be more satisfying and achieving for me if I complete The Border as my first ultra marathon as it would be a perfect tribute to our soldiers for their valour. In 2022 and 2023 I couldn’t get through the registration as the slots were over, however, I was fortunate to get it in 2024.
About The Border
The Border race is organised in Jaisalmer every year in December and starts at 12 noon when the sun is at its peak. In this run, the runners not only have to battle the extreme weather like intense heat in noon to chilling evening but also the strict rules made by the organisers, any non-compliance to the rules would make one ineligible. The entire run is supported by the Indian Army.
Most of the marathons in India start early in morning however this one starts at noon hence one has to practise hard to run this marathon as runners are vulnerable to dehydration and other related health conditions easily. As part of my practice, I used to start running around 12 in noon to make myself accustomed to running under heat without much support.
On the day of the run, I was amazed to see the confident posture of runners, the radiance on their faces, and the display of resolute attitude to conquer our biggest challenge, and emerge victorious no matter what we are going to face in the form of extreme weather to limited resources to tough terrain of Thar desert. Committed to our cause, just as our soldiers fought for our nation, we started the run to honor their legacy and sacrifices.
The temperature was around 27 degrees Celsius and expected to drop to less than 5 degrees by evening, the wind was dry and the Sun at 12 noon made the run extremely challenging. My plan was simple to run 5 loops of 10 kms each i.e hydration point to hydration point but the terrain, headwind and scorching sun had some other plans. The run started well with the first 2 kms going well with all runners enjoying the camaraderie but after that real fear started creeping in. Navigating all the challenges I reached the first hydration point of 10kms and started thinking it’s just 40 kms now. Around the 13th km we saw massive windmills, the sight was refreshing and forgetting all the challenges I was facing I decided to run windmill by windmill. This way I was able to complete 20kms and reached the second hydration point. Legs were in pain, body dehydrated, mind wanted to quit but heart said continue. Juggling the battle between mind and heart I completed the next 10 kms i.e reached to 3rd hydration point of 30 Kms, by this time I had seen a lot of runners either quit the race or had been asked to quit due to injury or other physical conditions. I embarked on the next 10 kms journey, this was extremely hard as the battle of mind and heart became more severe now, my body totally exhausted but I continued thinking that I can’t quit now after putting so much effort into it for months. I pushed myself hard, very hard in every km and completed the 40th kms. By now I was sure in my heart I would complete the race no matter what since the next 10 kms are going to be the most challenging Thar desert patch. It was 5.30 p.m by that time, I was on my feet for almost 5.30 hours – totally exhausted and to make things worse, the temperature dropped suddenly by 6 pm and it became dark by 6.30 pm. It was completely dark and I was running with the help of a torch, battling severe cold now on the rough desert patches. After 47th kms I started seeing the finish line light and that sight gave me a sudden burst of energy to complete the rest of 3 kms. As I crossed the finish line the sense of achievement that crossed my mind was unparalleled.
Looking back to my experience of running this marathon I can say that I ran the first 30 kms with legs, next 10 kms with heart, next 5 kms with hope and touched the finish line with faith. It teaches us the importance of being persistent in life to achieve anything and everything. This was not just a race but has transcended beyond that giving me infinite stories to tell. During those hours while I was on the war front (route) battling against a lot of negative cognitions of mind – quit, impossible, failure, loss, and whatnot, the one thing constant was my belief and all the way it has given me the strength to complete the race fighting all the negatives and emerge victorious.
Aashish Pande works in ALOIS SOLUTIONS as Chief Financial Officer, he lives in Vadodara and is interested in FM (Finance & Marathon).
