First Amdvadi to complete 161 km ‘Run the Rann’ narrates his experience

Ahmedabad: Dipak Patel, president GIHED CREDAI raced ‘Run The Rann’- widely regarded as one of the hardest and harshest trail runs in India and successfully completed 161 kms (100 miles) in 41 hours and 20 minutes, touching the finishing line with more than 7 hours to spare before the 48-hour cut-off. He became first Ahmedavadi and second Gujarati runner to finish such a toughest race. ‘Run The Rann’ is an ‘Ultra-trail footrace’ organised by Uphill EMG at Dholavira in the Greater Rann Of Kutch. This record time by any ultra-marathon standards is a huge achievement a runner can have. ‘Run The Rann’ is now organised for the fourth year in a row, and it is the race for the strongest and is known for breaking and exhausting even for the best of runners. In 2016 he braved the desert with finishing 101kms in just 25 hours and 29 minutes.

Unlike the other sports, Distance running offers a different type of challenge: -You versus those Trails. This ultra-trail segment is a challenging way to explore some of the rann’s most remote northern areas that see very few human activity apart from the local occasional shepherd or Border Security Forces. The race was totally GPS-navigated thus there were no route markers, runners had to rely entirely on their instincts, patience, experience and technology to make it to the finish line. All the runners had to deal with the cracked Desert land, vast salt marshes, unforgiving cacti, rocks with several ups and down, hills and a few slippery Surprises like Wet Mud.

In his words “A desert holiday sounds like a great idea, but it turns into a nightmare when you have to run non-stop for 48 hours on an insane terrain.” And to be on your feet in the most extreme weather conditions and terrain with the heavy headlights and to handle GPS continuously for more than 40 hours is surely a superhuman effort. This year also the desert was not forgiving but welcoming to him. For him running is a lifestyle and meditation. Whenever he tries a new type of marathon, he forgets about the last marathon and thinks like a beginner. As a second-time Ultra-marathoner, he was prepared for the worst. As much as he is a Big Optimist, he thinks it’s important for us to be realistic sometimes as well. The better prepared you are, the higher the probability that you will finish Your Life’s Marathons. Over the three days, the greatest journey of all had been inside him. It’s marvelous how one finds the strength to go further than ever before, just as the next step seems impossible. Sometimes you have to travel so far to get so close.

DeshGujarat