At 17,618 Feet: Gurleen's Khardung-La Ultra Story
The Beginning of a Dream
My dream run “World’s Highest Ultra Run, Khardung-La Challenge 2022”. The aspiration came in year 2018 when I completed my Marathon run at Ladakh with podium finish in open women’s category.
It was the eve of the full marathon event and the Ladakh central market was bustling with runners from all over the world. It wasn’t just the anticipation of the Ladakh FM the next day but also the runners who had just completed the Khardung-La ultra-race were milling about adding to the sense of magic in the air. You could see emotions all over their face – some really excited, others with a look of satisfaction and others tired and a bit disappointed.
I got to hear their stories of the ultra-race, made me intrigued but apprehensive. My first thoughts were to never ever run the Khardung-La race, but the challenge beckoned – I was curious, I wondered if I could push myself and test my limits.
With losing 2 years to COVID, this looked distant dream. However I took the challenge in March’22. My dream of completing the Khardung-La challenge started taking shape – I have trained hard, followed a balanced, nutritious diet all the while focusing on my goal in mind.
Hoping to bring all my training to fruition, I flew to Leh on 31st August 2022 to acclimatize and adjust to the high-altitude conditions. I spent the week preparing myself physically and mentally, fine-tuning every detail. The day before the race, all runners were transported to Khardung village for medical checkups.
At 12:30 AM, the alarm pierced the silent, cold night. Who wakes up at this hour? I thought, only to see my roommates already bundling up in their thermal jackets. I dressed quickly, grateful for the hot tea our landlady offered against the biting wind.
By 2:00 AM, we were at breakfast and then heading to the start line for roll call. The route director briefed us on weather conditions, aid stations, and safety measures. My heart pounded with anticipation.
02:59 AM – Every sacrifice, every hour of training, every preparation led to this moment, and at 03:00 AM, we were off!
The Uphill Battle
As soon as the whistle blew, all the runners clad in their multi-layered gear with head lights beaming in the golden path to mighty KC, start off but within a kilometre, a large section of them have started walking barring the local Ladakhi and elite runners who seem to have adjusted to the altitude very well.
I soldiered on braving the elements and the fatigue but as I was nearing the 5KM mark, it got a whole lot worse – it started drizzling and then very quickly began to light snow as well. The road being tar got very slippery with this deadly mix of rain and snow and as if that wasn’t enough, it was accompanied by a bone-chilling wind that lasted for hours.
With the temperature dropping, my mind wandered off a bit and I started wondering ‘what on earth was I doing up here’? I managed to gather my courage to see on my sideways, the potent mountains seemed to approach me,my brain was freezed and illusions took up my mind.
Banishing those thoughts, I set myself a goal – get to Khardung-La pass (the first intermediate stop) because something good awaited the runners – hot garlic and coriander soup! In this weather and these conditions, a bowl of soup is a Godsend and after a continuous incline of 32KM, nothing works better.
The good thing was once we got up there, the weather improved, and we could see the sun coming out too.
The Descent and the Struggle Within
All recharged, I then turned my attention to the next stage of the race – the 40KM decline. It sounded easy enough, but the reality was different. After a 32KM constant incline, my legs were like jelly and I considered several times of quitting the race and taking the mobile van back to Leh, but I didn’t.
Every time the thought of quitting came to mind, I looked back at the planning made in last years , my family, the sacrifices – NO, I decided – I cannot quit!
Summoning all the grit and will power n determination I had, I pushed myself even more and was proud to have reached the finish line in 13 hours 13 mins. Just before the finish line I held my nations flag proudly and crossed the mark.
The sense of relief and achievement is something that I cannot describe. As I received my finisher’s medal, a sense of pride filled me and I was over-the-moon at making my dream come true.
My tribe, my friends my better half were awaiting to hug n congratulate me with tears of happiness n pride in their eyes. I was quickly moved to the medical tent in order to check my vitals and with Gods grace I walked with ease.
The race itself is organized brilliantly and Motup (Chewang), the race director deserves a lot of appreciation for planning it so well. The crowd support in Leh was amazing and each one of the runners received an ecstatic ovation.
An Emotional & Deeply Meaningful Experience
One of the most emotional and unforgettable experiences of my life was the Khardung La Challenge – a 72 km ultra-marathon across one of the highest motorable passes in the world, at over 18,000 feet.
Crossing that finish line after 12 grueling hours left me deeply transformed. It taught me the value of the very basics of survival – oxygen, sunlight, food, and resilience – and reminded me how small yet powerful we are in front of nature.
That run wasn’t just a physical challenge, it was a spiritual awakening.
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