Rahul’s Race Report: Border 100 km Hell Race, Jaisalmer
After completing the 72 km Khardungla challenge last year, which was already an Everest for me back then, I never imagined my coach would ask me to attempt an even gruelling run. But my fears came true when he asked me to attempt a 100km ultra run which goes by the name of ‘The Border Hell Race’ in December 2024.
This isnt just called the ‘hell race’ for nothing. THE BORDER is the only point-A-to-point-B hundred km road race in India, that starts at an indoor stadium in Jaisalmer City in the middle of the day. Contestants are given 16 hours to complete this race, while being tested by the extremes of the day and night desert temperatures, strong headwinds, sandy patches on the track, and seldom-seen civilization after the city. It ends up testing the ever extremes of both mental and physical endurance.
With an overhead sun, the runners are prone to the very dangers of the nature right away and if proper hydration and nutrition is not controlled from the get go, things can go haywire quite early into the day by the time runners leave the outskirts of the city through Chhatrail.
I started training from Aug-24 slowly increasing the intensity of the training eventually clocking a weekly mileage of more than 100 km in November.
I touched down in Jaisalmer on 13th Dec, a day before the grand event to collect the kits and participate in the pre-race socialization, briefing and promotional events. Even after participating in scores of runs, the pre-race day always gives me the jitters so I decided to sleep after an early dinner.
Finally, it was RACE DAY and the runners gathered at the start line and the race was flagged off at noon. I wanted to start off with an easy pace of 6:15-6:30 per km.
After about 12 km into the race, the magnificent windmills of Jaisalmer started showing up, and they went on to accompany the runners for the good part of the next 25 km of the race. Mental toughness started being tested throughout the monotony of the terrain.
I managed to reach the 20 km mark at a decent pace within 2 hours. However, after the 30 km mark, the glare of the sun became extremely intense when I decided that I had to reduce my pace to around 6:25 per km to cope with the rising mercury and not push the body physically at this stage.
Around the 40th KM stretch, the runners also faced some patches of sand on the road. Around this stage, the temperature started dipping ever so slightly that brought about a hope in not just me but all the runners and I maintained my target pace till the 50 km mark.
It was just around the U-turn near Siyambar Lake that the 50K Aid Station had the first timing mats. By now, the runners had been tested by the higher extremes of the desert temperature, strong headwinds, road-traffic, and the dwindling habilitation as they went deeper into the desert. When I crossed the 50 km mark timing line, I was at the 12th position and going super strong. I wanted to split the remaining distance in sets of 10km.
The evening sun between 50 – 60 km stretch was magnificent and marked a smooth transition of the race from the blinding sun to the limitless darkness. The next few kilometres of the race would expose the runners to the dipping temperatures of the early evening. There were almost no signs of civilization, except for occasional encounters with dogs and cattle from then and beyond.
At Aid Station No. 6 around the 60 km mark, runners prepared themselves for the desert night ahead. This AID Station offered full-course meals and changing rooms if the runners wanted to replenish but I didnt want to break the momentum so I spent a few minutes changing my running shoe and adding warmer layers for the colder stretch ahead. After spending just 15 mins, I picked a few dates and a boiled potato and again resumed my run.
The wilderness through the 70–100km stretch tested the patience and endurance of the runners to the very extreme. I crossed the 71 km mark within 8 hours (7:52) and was going as per my plan. I was happy to get the company of two fellow racers till the 85 km mark which gave me a much needed push mentally and managed to reach with a timing of 9:22 hours.
At this point i was grateful to God that I was feeling very strong physically and prayed it stayed the same for the final 15 kms, “Wahe Guru 16km aur karwado!”.
After hydrating myself at the final hydration point at the 90 km mark, I wanted to power through and get myself across the line. When one of the organisers reminded me that there was just 1 km left and I could finish within the 11 hour mark, I gathered all the energy and pushed myself at a pace of almost 5:00 per km to finish at 10 hours and 59 minutes!
The icing on the cake was that I stood 7th put of 335 participants in the HELL RACE! I had to pinch myself and shout this out to myself several times to believe that it was true. I immediately wanted to share this achievement with my wife, family and my coach. What a way to end 2024!
If there ever was a moment where I truly understood the below saying, it was at the finish line after a gruelling 11 hours!
“If you want to run, run a mile;
If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon;
If you want to talk to god, run an ultra”
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