Category: Trail running

  • INTHANON20 | Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB: A Warm-Up That Warmed My Heart

    Race day: November 30 Location: DOI Inthanon National Park Weather Conditions: Pretty cold and freezing INTHANON20 was meant to be a “shakeout race” before the big one next weekend, but it turned out to be so much more… a reminder of why I love toeing a start line, feeling the buzz of runners around me,…

  • Life’s Best Detours are Found Off-road!

    I recently stumbled upon the quote, “Life’s best detours are found off-road.”And I haven’t been able to shake it off since. It made me reflect deeply on why I’m a trail runner. It wasn’t just because the best ultras happen on trails or because I went through a phase of being obsessed with ultrarunning. It’s…

  • Bhatti Mines Ultra 2025 | Race Recap

    As winter faded and Delhi-NCR stepped into the warmth of summer, a group of passionate trail runners took on one of the toughest challenges of the season—the Bhatti Mines Ultra 2025. On March 9, these fearless athletes toed the start line, ready to push their limits on a course that promised both beauty and brutality.…

  • Mixing It Up – The Secret Ingredient to Become a Well-Rounded Runner

    It’s race season in India, and Strava has been buzzing since October. Training, racing, and more racing – everyone seems to be on a medal-collection spree. For me, it’s not about how one races; it’s about how one trains for it. I’ve noticed certain areas of Delhi-NCR becoming especially crowded during race season, as these…

  • Trail Femmes in 2024: Redefining the Trails, One Run at a Time

    Earlier this year when a small yet determined group of four women embarked on a journey to redefine their relationship with the trails, it began the story of Trail Femmes, a women-only trail running collective with a mission to empower, inspire, and explore. The Spark Trail running is often seen as intimidating, especially for women,…

  • Malnad Ultra 50 km Race Report

    Date: November 23, 2024Location: Chikkamagaluru, KarnatakaCategory: 50K Ultra MarathonTerrain: Coffee plantations, forest trails, rolling hills The Malnad Ultra 2024 lived up to its reputation as one of India’s most scenic yet challenging ultramarathons. It was great to be back on these trails – one of my favourite races in India. Reaching Chikkamangaluru/Pre-Race One of the…

  • Trail Femmes: Six Months Strong

    And, we made it to 6 months! It feels like just yesterday we gathered in Sanjay Van on a chilly morning to embark on a new journey for women and trail running in India. As the first all-women trail running club in the country, we knew it was just the beginning. From a group of…

  • Trail Running in Summer

    The summer in Delhi has been beyond everyone’s expectations this year. From the scorching heat in May and June to this terrible humidity in July. Running in this weather has become a bit challenging and as I see from Strava there are a lot of abandoned runs. Although most of my training runs are on…

  • The Trail Femmes Story So Far

    Earlier this year, when I started Trail Femmes, I wasn’t sure how the running community would respond. Today we have grown in strength having some strong-willed women joining the group. From 4 women (including me) for the first group run in April, to 26 in the July group run, the club has exceeded expectations… We…

  • Global Running Day on World Environment Day… What are the odds!

    What are the odds that World Environment Day and Global Running Day fall on the same day! The theme for World Environment Day 2024 is “Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience,” emphasizing the urgent need to restore degraded lands, combat desertification, and build resilience against droughts. This theme resonates deeply with trail runners, who often…