Conquering the Pachmarhi Monsoon Marathon

History

Running a full marathon in Madhya Pradesh was long due. Before COVID, back in 2019, I had registered for the Bhopal Full Marathon. But later the organizers called and informed me that they only got permission from the civic authority to hold a half marathon. They asked me to come and run that instead.

It was a no-brainer for me to ask for a refund --- my goal was always to run only a full or beyond in each Indian state.

Those days, the Pachmarhi Marathon had just started, but its remoteness didn’t make it a top choice. Another option was Indore, the largest city in MP and well-connected to Bangalore. But the Indore race happens in February, which often clashes with other winter runs, limiting my options.

So at last, it was Pachmarhi Monsoon Marathon for Madhya Pradesh. Many of my college (MACT, now MANIT, Bhopal) friends had visited Pachmarhi --- an old British hill station --- during hostel days. Me, being on a shoestring budget back then, never joined such trips.

Anyway, enough of the prologue…

Preparation

This year I contacted Kalyani, who was with us in Leh in 2023. She immediately connected me with Mitesh Rambhia, the race director of this marathon, from Nagpur. As soon as registrations opened, I signed up and even booked my hotel.

I chose to stay at the MPTDC Glen View, which also happened to be the starting point. Expensive choice, yes, but one of the best decisions for the experience. The marathon started at 3 AM --- where are you going to find transport at that hour in a sleepy hill station?

Yes, if you are with a group and have a private vehicle, you can definitely opt for other stays. But after almost two days there, I can say you wouldn’t regret Glen View. I booked for two nights, which wasn’t really needed, but it gave me space to recover after the gruelling marathon before heading back to Bangalore.

The best thing Mitesh sir did was creating WhatsApp groups: one generic group for all runners, and another only for full marathon runners. This helped a lot, especially since many runners were coming here for the first time.

I was in close contact with Varun, a MACT junior who had run the half marathon last year. He’s from Bhopal, an avid adventurer --- he once cycled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari --- and was preparing for a Ladakh cycling expedition this year.

Through the WhatsApp groups, I also found out that 3—4 more runners were coming from Bangalore.

Training

The training for this run wasn’t great. I didn’t push myself much with so many things happening at work. Thanks to Arun R, I did a few runs above 30 KM. But no strength training or yoga, and that gap was clearly hitting my preparation. I knew I would be in trouble.

On June 3rd, I booked my flight tickets to Bhopal. I was in two minds: travel to Bhopal or Nagpur. Connectivity between Nagpur and Bangalore is better, but getting from Nagpur to Pachmarhi isn’t --- while the distance is almost the same compared to Bhopal. So, I booked train tickets between Pipariya and Bhopal instead. Pipariya is the nearest railway station to Pachmarhi, after which it’s only road.

That week, starting Monday 9th June, felt exactly like Lenin’s famous quote:

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” — Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

As we grow older, this quote becomes easier to relate to --- unlike kids, where height, IQ, and everything else keeps changing every year. For me, this was one such week. If I had a crystal ball, I would have just booked the train all the way from Bangalore.

This big reset shook me completely at a personal level --- but also gave me a new purpose and cause to keep running.

Meanwhile, I was in touch with Vikas & Adeeb from college to figure out the best stay closer to Bhopal railway station, as I had opted for late-night arrival on Friday and early-morning train.

Race Weekend

I left Bangalore in the evening and reached Bhopal around 9:30 PM. It was drizzling. I booked an Uber to my hotel, near Rani Kamalapati (Habibganj) railway station. The place was buzzing even at 10:30 PM. After a quick check-in, I joined the crowd for a thali dinner. With a race coming up, hogging was not an option --- but hunger won, and I may have overeaten a bit 😅.

I woke up early, showered, and walked about 1 km to the railway station, along the newly built (yet to be operational) metro line. Stray dogs gave me curious looks, but nothing serious.

I had booked the 22187 / Intercity Express, connecting Bhopal to Jabalpur. The 160 KM journey took about 2:15 hours. At Pipariya, it was obvious that many passengers were headed to Pachmarhi as tourists. Met two runners from Delhi --- we stood out in our dri-fit tees and GPS watches.

Feeling adventurous, I squeezed into a crowded bus heading uphill. It was packed with chatty college kids. The bus broke down just 10 KM before Pachmarhi 😬, but luckily another bus from the same company picked us up.

After reaching, I walked ~2 KM to my hotel, passing typical Raj-era remnants --- a man-made pond, an old crumbling church, and army institutes with tall walls.

The Glen View property itself was lush green, with giant old trees. After a quick freshen-up, I collected my bib right there at the hotel (since MP Tourism was the main sponsor). Met Mitesh sir and his team, then went back for a much-needed nap.

In the evening, I tried to meet Varun but failed. After a light dinner, I prepped my minimalist kit for race day.

Race Day

Sleep wasn’t great, but I didn’t have to wake up too early. After freshening up, I headed to the start line. It was raining, and at 3:00 AM sharp, we started with our headlamps cutting through the dark.

The route was different from the one I had taken the previous day, but it merged onto the same road eventually. The first half was all downhill. Most of the time I ran alone, but I chatted briefly with a runner from Lucknow. By the time we made the U-turn at 21 KM, it was still pitch dark.

The second half was all uphill --- back to Pachmarhi. There were water stations every 2 KM, but both water and electrolyte tasted the same (water was as sweet as electrolyte 😂). The volunteers, standing in the rain, did their best, but organizers definitely need to improve here.

Around 5:30—5:45, the sky cleared and I could switch off my headlamp. By then I was fully drenched, and slowing down meant shivering in the wind. I managed to run non-stop till 35 KM. After that, it was run-walk, with lots of walking.

At the arch gate of Pachmarhi, about 4 KM from the finish, I started running again. Entering the small market area, I recognized signboards from the day before and while going out. I knew I had to make a right turn, but couldn’t find it. Two locals were clueless. My watch already showed 40 KM.

I continued running but soon realized I had missed the correct final stretch --- the one with all the race photographers. Ended up finishing 200 meters short of the official marathon distance.

So, no photos of me running this marathon 📸❌.

As a perfectionist, I wasn’t happy with that last 2 KM part. But for now, I’ll consider Madhya Pradesh done. Maybe I’ll do Indore in coming years --- it’s well-organized and in February.

After the Race

A hot shower. A heavy breakfast (3 meals were part of the hotel stay). Tried drying my soaked shoes and gear, but with monsoon humidity and cool temps, nothing dried at all.

In the afternoon, finally met Varun in person after so many WhatsApp and phone conversations. He offered me a return ride to Bhopal with his friends, so I cancelled my train booking on the Vande Bharat.

Monday & Meeting Friends in Bhopal

The plan was to start early, but Varun called to say they’d be late --- post-run celebrations. Most of their group had run 21K or 10K and even gone for a hike to a nearby waterfall. The delay turned out a blessing --- I got another hearty breakfast 😋.

Varun cycled downhill to Matkuli, made some content on the way, then folded his cycle into the car. The drive to Bhopal was stunningly green in the monsoons.

At a junction, I switched to Manish’s car for the next round of pampering. He took me for lunch at Rajhans (Ala Carte this time, and the food was fantastic). Post lunch, I visited his family factory --- producing fiberglass insulation for big companies like BHEL and Crompton. It was an eye-opener, with semi-automated manual work alongside fully automated CNC machine. I was so engrossed, I forgot to take pictures.

Later, I met his lovely family at home.

Soon after, Sunil came and whisked me away. We had coffee at ICH (now on the other side of the road in New Market).

As time came to leave for the airport, I was shocked to find no Ola, Uber, taxi, or auto available. Even Sunil tried --- no luck. Finally, I bargained with a local auto driver and got to the airport.

Airport ✈️🍸

After check-in and security, I found myself in front of a liquor shop. Now, if you’re not familiar with India’s system, here’s the deal:

• Earlier, domestic terminals never had liquor shops.
• Liquor taxation is outside GST, still run under a rent-seeking model by both state and central governments.
• That means huge price disparities between states.

So when I saw prices at almost half compared to Bangalore, I picked up three bottles 🥂 on request for friends.

Back Home

Landed late in Bangalore. Thanks to Pamela and Aarush for picking me up from the airport. With that, my Madhya Pradesh Marathon conquest came to an end. ✅