When finishing fourth became a game changer

When finishing fourth became a game changer

August 11, 20153 mins

April 1991 After years of asthma suffering, things seem to be turning around. I was still living in a city with cold winters but.. I had started making an effort. Picked up that beautiful sport called…

Bangalore Ultra 2014 Race Report

Bangalore Ultra 2014 Race Report

November 17, 201410 mins

It was the best of races. It was the worst of races. Let’s examine that adopted idiom. What IS the “best” of races? The race where you shatter your PB by double-digit minutes? Or that tough trail…

KTM 2013 race report

KTM 2013 race report

September 14, 20146 mins

There are two kinds of runner bloggers. The one who hits Publish within 48 hours after the race ends. The other who’s perpetually playing catch-up to God_alone_knows_what and may get around to hit…

When a sacred bull got a beating

When a sacred bull got a beating

August 29, 20145 mins

sacred cow (idiom): something considered (perhaps unreasonably) immune from question or criticism I’ve been a regular long distance runner for almost 6 years. For exactly 2 1/2 of those years (or 4…

A terrifying thought

A terrifying thought

July 18, 20142 mins

I thought 2013 was a tough year for running. If the first six months are any indication, 2014 has put 2013 to shame. Barring a 3-month gap in early 2011 and a 3-week gap 18 months later (both slipped…

When life gives you a ripped toe you make lemonade

When life gives you a ripped toe you make lemonade

May 24, 20143 mins

For the uninitiated it must seem like an act of god that we barefoot runners don’t get injured more often… especially with all those glass pieces and strewn on the road, right? Turns out no superhuman…

My first DNF and a Forrest Gump moment

My first DNF and a Forrest Gump moment

April 09, 20143 mins

Two days ago I had my first DNF in a full marathon. Considering the spate of races recently sprouting all across Bangalore it might surprise you to know that I *wasn’t* running in a race. So where the…

The Stotan Code

The Stotan Code

March 02, 20144 mins

[Editor’s Note: Unfinished blog post #77 in my Drafts folder is Scott Jurek’s “Influences and Reading List”. The most interesting character in that list is Percy Cerutty, pronounced “just like…

Call of the Asphalt

Call of the Asphalt

February 28, 20143 mins

Election time in India. Everybody loves it. The poor love it because it’s “freebies time” and they get to vote out the politicians that didn’t come through for them (usually this meant anti-incumbancy…

The Cult of BHUKMP

The Cult of BHUKMP

February 24, 20142 mins

[Editor’s Note: It’s been almost four years since I started running with (and became part of) the BHUKMP cult. I never got around to writing about BHUKMP, aptly described as a “cult” rather than a…