My experiences - Satara Hill Marathon

On Saturday 6th October 2012 my friend Umesh Sonavane (The bare foot champ) has come to our house at 9.30 AM. We quickly ate our breakfast (Hot dosa, with chatni) and went in my car to pick other marathon runners. We first picked Vijay Chavan and Srikant Bharti and finally Sujit Kolke.

We drove towards,  Mumbai-Bangalore highway. We took a route that is unknown to me till then. At  Swargate, instead of taking Katraj, we took to Kadhakwasla road. We hit Bangalore highway and were driving towards Satara.

We got a call that other marathon members, have already reached McDonald restaurant on the highway. Nitin Pandya, Parag, Neel (Parag's Son) were waiting for us at McDonald.

We reached Satara by 2.00 PM. Satara is a beautiful town, around 120 Kms from Pune. It is the city of Shivaji Maharaj and his descendents.  We went directly to the collection center. It was well arranged. We got our bibs and goody bag within few mins. After having a photo session at the collection center we moved to our Hotel.

After checking into hotel, we went to see the half marathon route and also Kaas Plateau. Kaas Plateau is world heritage site. It blooms once in a year with variety of flowers. We were there at the right time so after recceing the half marathon route, we proceeded further to Kaas Plateau. 2Kms before the Kaas plateau we stopped at dhabha and proceeded to Kaas Plateau by foot.

We wanted to check our stamina on a hill run. So we all jogged to the Kaas Plateau. It started raining but its was fun running in rain. We prayed that his weather continues on the day of the run. God for sure were listening to our prayers. Satara hill half marathon run starts at a foothill proceeds to the top of foothill for 10.5 Kms (5Kms before Kaas plateau) and returns back to the start point to complete 21Kms. The first 10.5Kms is up hill and then second one is completely down hill.

While coming back on the half marathon route, there is a 2 Kms stretch that had no road but only stones. All the barefoot runners tested if they can run over that harsh patch. I tried to walk few steps without my shoes and felt it was sheer madness. I advised all barefoot marathoner to drop the idea of the running barefoot at Satara. The advice was unheeded.

After a great dinner we rested for the day. We knew we have to wake up early for the run. The run was to start at 6.00 AM. We reached the venue by 5.30 and was excited to run the first hill run. All of us were attempting the run first time. After the recce, me being a new entrant into long distance running, was not confident of completing this run within my past timing (at Hyderabad by 3h 5min). So I re-aligned my goal of completing the run. I felt completing the run was more of an achievement than time. My strategy for the run was simple go slow or walk the up-hill and then slide down/tumble the down hill.

Just as the race was about to start, Gods were smiling upon us and so we had rain. It was a beautiful weather, and the race started at the right time. We started running towards the foothill and started the slow climb. Just after 1Km I could sense that it was getting tough. So I slowed down, with few min, I started almost crawling.

There were good water Stations at every Kms. Children from different schools came to volunteer at these water stations. The water stations had good energy drinks. This energy drink was different than Gatorade. It was good in taste and was a better energizer.

I came to the rough patch and wondered how our barefoot runners (Umesh, Sujit, Parag) were doing on this stretch. I crossed the 5K mark when I found Dr Kale (President of Satara Hill Marathon) on a bike. I thank him for good arrangements and told him that I would not be able to complete the run in 3hours as it is a uphill and asked him to keep the timer mats for at least four hours. He, with a bright smile said not to worry and continue my run.

I continued my run, before 6Kms mark when I saw the first runner coming down the hill. I started climbing up. It was raining and was pleasant weather. There were runners twice my age (almost 60+) who were running this harsh terrain. This inspired me and started running slowly. I saw, Sujit, Dhananjay, Neel, Parag, Umesh, Srikant running down the hill. At about 9Kms I met Vijay.

I raced towards the half way mark. I wanted to start tumbling down as quickly as possible. But the scenic beauty of Satara valley mesmerized me. It was such a beautiful view that words cannot explain. I wanted to slow down, take a break and sit there for few mins, but since I was a slow runner and timer mats were to be removed by three and half hours, I could not stop there. Unwillingly I proceeded towards the half way mark. Since I have to return the same path, I knew I would pass that scenic view again.

At the half way mark I saw the State Road transport bus stopped altogether. They were all waiting for the race to complete. We definitely were causing some trouble for these commuters.

Apologizing for the inconvenience we were causing them, I started my descent. Well tumbling down would be the right word. I could not stop myself.  Was tumbling down at great speed. I was enjoying the run this time. No effort-sheer gravity was driving me. Gods were still smiling at us. It was raining and a cool breeze kept the running spirits high.

I came to the spot that I like the most in the run. Enjoyed the view again. It is difficult to pick one spot from the whole stretch. But this spot somehow mesmerized me so much that it continued to stay for long time after the run.

I rushed to the foothill and into the town. It was almost 3 hours (about 9.00 AM) and people started coming on roads. We were causing inconvenience to them, but still they were cheering us. Being a slow runner, seeing the cheering crowd, started picking up pace.

At about 20Kms I had my first cramp. I started limping to the finish line. I knew it is just 1.5 Kms which I would make it. I heard the timer in my phone say it is 2 hours 55 mins. This gave me confidence that I can make it in 3 hours 5 mins. But since I had cramps, I was not able to pick up pace.

Limping I came to 500m to finish line. I saw some finishers coming back and cheering me. I ran to the last 100m. All my group mates who have already completed started cheering me. After crossing the finish line, felt like a winner. The timer read 3 hours 15mins. 10 mins more than my timing at Hyderabad. Felt really good that I could complete so close.

Immediately after crossing the finish line, the volunteers crowned me with the finisher medal and guided me to the snacks counter. The police ground which is the venue of the marathon was muddy. It was still raining. They had good arrangements. We had good vada pav, sandwiches and eggs as snacks. I ate vada pav and sandwiches and proceeded to meet my friends. All proud finishers were talking about their timing. I was also happy with my timing. We all posed for the photographs

We rushed back to the hotel. It was almost 2 Kms from the police ground. We did not realize the distance in excitement at the start of the race.

We took a hot bath and had a great lunch at the hotel. We drew back to Pune 120Kms in car. It was definitely a memorable run. I would be waiting for Satara hill run for the next years. All  the runners from our group are of the same opinion. It is going to be one in our running itinerary.

(Don't forget to click the links to know more about Kaas Plateau and Satara)