The Malnad Ultra is a volunteer-driven trail race hosted in the Malnadu region of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, India. It offers a unique trail race experience among the lush green coffee estates of the region. The 2023 race, it’s 7th edition, had three categories – 100 km, 50 km and 30 km, each with its own qualifying criteria, race cut-offs and gear requirements. The race route is majorly jeep tracks with some single track sections and connecting roads between different trail sections.
Malnad Ultra is a great option for runners who are keen to attempt their first mountain trail race as the course is semi-technical and suitable from someone transitioning from road to trail. In 2023, among all categories, the race had over 700 participants, which is a large number for trail races in India.
Malnad Ultra is also affiliated with ITRA National League, Asia Trail Master series, Western States Endurnance Run. This helps attract international trail runners as well as domestic runners from different parts of the country.
While creating fitness journey roadmaps and building super personalized training plans is a good part of what I do as Founder & Coach at All In Running, it’s been a few years since I followed a structured plan for my own training. Thanks to a deep understanding of training methodologies and the ability to manage training loads, I’m able to stay “race ready” through the year, which is my primary training goal even though I only participate in a race once in 2-3 years. So, barring some unavoidable training interruptions or forced off-season blocks, training is year-long endeavour and with some training specificity closer to race day.
With on-ground weekend group runs for All In Running as well as for our local trail running club, CapitalTrails, I only get 1 to 2 weekends for my own weekend training runs. While I would’ve liked to run 90-110 kms/week during the build-up, I only managed between 70-90 kms/week. Hence, training for the Malnad Ultra was slightly less than “ideal”; However, it was “sufficient” to get the training effect needed to achieve key performance metrics for race day.
My training week starts on a Monday with a weekly mileage target range and I try to get within that range by Sunday night. Training runs are mostly super slow and easy runs combined with different types of speed sessions and long runs. In order to get some “elevation under the legs” in flat-ish Delhi terrain, we either get on a treadmill or just run up and down a local hill section. I did the latter for this training block, doing repeats of a local (trail) hills, road flyovers or segments with stairs. The longer training runs ended up with 500-700 metres of elevation and 3-4 hours of time on feet, while the mid-week runs had 200-300 metres of elevation with 1.5-2 hours of time on feet.
I was able to manage a few key sessions, including an unplanned FKT of the 35 km Nilgai City Trail loop (not officially submitted yet). All In Running hosted a trail running camp at Bir between 15-19 November, which also allowed me to get quality time on technical trails and lots of elevation gain (and loss); though, this meant that there was no proper taper for the race.
The team at Malnad Ultra is a very professional crew. Announcements are sent well in advance and timelines are met for deliverables. As part of the race build-up, they host insightful webinars for participants, which are quite useful for novice runners. An online race briefing is conducted almost 2 months in advance, helping registered participants prepare for the race. Here is a very useful page by the Malnad Ultra team that helps with pre-race preparation. Having information readily available in advance is a welcome change compared to the usual practice of last-minute delivery of information. Despite the best effort of the organizers, many participants still come ill-prepared for the trail experience (I only hope our running community matures over time).
Details on how to get to the race can be found here. With long workdays, limited time for planning travel logistics and in order to simplify things, I purchased the travel package with Active Holiday Company for Malnad Ultra, which turned out to be a hugely beneficial! The Active Holiday team selected a lovely property and went out of the way to take care of each person’s needs. For example, the lead coordinator with us, Suraj, waited for every 100K participant till the last one (at 3:30 A.M.!) and gave us a ride back to the hotel after the race ended.
As an outstation runner (outside of Karnataka), I arrived in Bengaluru on 23rd November. On 24th November, my friend, fellow coach at All In Running and top Indian trail runner, Sannat Sachdev and I did a short pre-race tune-up around Agara lake. After a lovely breakfast, left for Mallanduru and the Malnad Ultra race expo for our bib collection.
The race expo was at The Estate Café, a nice, open outdoor space that allowed for interactions with fellow participants and organizers. Bib collection was relatively seamless. There were multiple mini race briefings for small groups by Anand, the race director and the team.
I got to meet some old friends from the trail running community while making new ones. Several members of All In Running and CapitalTrails were participating and we enjoyed being together in a new location and group photos followed.
I set-up my race gear, race supplies (gels, bars, energy drink mix etc.) around 9 PM the night before and went off to sleep with a wake-up time of 4 AM. The homestay was kind enough to prepare a mini breakfast for us, which many of us appreciated. Around 5:15 AM, our mini bus from the hotel left for the race start area.
The start area was a large ground with carpets and tents, with the start line a section above us. Thanks to Malnad Ultra team’s southern hospitality, breakfast was available for participants. I usually don’t like to eat too much before the race, so had a few small bites at our homestay and lay down for about half an hour in the medical area, waiting for the race start. The start time for the 100 KM race was 6:30 AM and about 60-70 of us lined up, ready for a great adventure on trails over the next 12 to 21 hours.
Race Route and Logistics
The race route is 50 kilometres (kms) and we were to complete two loops of the same course in order to finish the race. The route is very well marked with ribbons, placed every 500-800 metres and at key points / junctions. Off-route trails were also marked with “no entry” tape to avoid going off-route. Aid stations were placed strategically at key points, almost every 5 kms, most with water and Unived sports energy drink, while some had bananas, jaggery, biscuits and peanuts. One larger aid station mid-route, I think around mid-way into the loop, had a wider array of food options.
Race Start and Initial Strategy
The race started on time and all of us enthusiastically set-off. I paced up and passed majority of the crowd in the first kilometre, but the first few runners had already sped off in the distance. The initial 5 kms is a gradual climb where I ran or hiked based on the course gradient. In such races, it’s extremely important to remain conservative and not “blow out” early in the race and risk a DNF. By the end of the first climb, I was in the top 10 and happy with the pace. While we were running under tree cover, the body was certainly feeling the climb and things became wet with sweat. It’s race day after all!
A short steep (1 km) downhill, leads to a long gradual climb till the 15 km mark, the second highest point at around 1400 metres in elevation. From there, it’s 10 km downhill, but with a short climb in the middle just to make things a bit more “fun”. I shared some section of the race with a small pack of runners, chatted with one for a few kilometers before branching off. Since I run mostly self-sufficient, I end up gapping folks at aid stations where folks usually stop for refreshments. I think this is a key race strategy and offers a competitive advantage. I was now running in the top 3.
Around the 22 km mark, I had to take an unavoidable nature break and some of the runners passed me again. I had been exchanging positions with two other runners, who were moving well together. After some back and forth, again at the next aid station, I gapped them and ran solo from there till pretty much the end of the race – about 75 kms to running by myself.
Challenging Climbs
After the 25 km relatively bigger / more stocked aid station, there is a 5 km gradual climb, which leads to a short road section. From there, we head into another neighbouring section, passing through the local villages before leading up to the steepest section of the route, a 2 km steep and rugged jeep track with about 250 metres of climbing, leading to the highest point of the race i.e. around 1500 metres of elevation. I met Henry, a Singaporean runner, who was struggling with cramps mid-way into the climb. After taking some photos together and giving Henry a salt pill, I marched on, putting myself in 2nd place.
End of First Loop
It’s a nice decent over the 8 to 9 kilometers before we crossing our homestay gate (so tempting!) and only a couple of kilometers from the start / finish area. This (around 42 km mark) is where course “stretches” the route and take us on another section. Being so close to the finish line and then to move further away certainly plays some tricks in the head. The last section, about 8 kms, was a mix of road sections and easy jeep tracks. There were three mini climbs, which needed mental perseverance along with the physical effort. I completed the first loop in about 6 hours, about 15 minutes off the leader, Shashwat.
During the first loop, I did a great job of fueling at about 250-300 kcal/hr and drinking at a decent rate. This was slightly higher than my usual race efforts and made a huge difference in how I felt during the end of the first loop. An excellent learning and something to dial-in further.
Second Loop
After a quick refill of supplies from the drop bag (thanks to Keiren for the help here), I rushed back onto the second loop. Sadly, in the process of trying to catch-up, I missed a marker and went off trail, only to realize a kilometer or so into it. At this point, I could’ve taken a direct trail down to the race route, but decided to do the right thing and run all the way back to the point where I went off-course and follow the route the “right way”. Ethics in racing is important. I had lost another 15 minutes and now, I was about 30 mins behind the leader.
I maintained the 30-minute gap till about 65 km mark. Shashwat was running strong and slowly increasing the gap. In the meantime, I was unable to put down calories and this started a slow fade in performance. It was around this time that I decided to pull back my effort and secure 2nd spot rather than blowing up and ending up in another DNF situation.
Fuelling challenges
I was really hoping to get some solid food in me at this point or the (performance) fade would become worse. There was some khichdi / local meal prepared at the 75 km aid station, but it was so spicy that two spoons of it made my already dry mouth and partially chapped lips burn life crazy. I tried to eat 4-5 spoons but couldn’t think of putting more spice into the mouth and risk stomach issues later in the race. If there was one thing I would ask the organizers to change, it would be offer a couple of universally palatable solid food / meal choices to participants running the 100 KM race. It’s very hard to run such distances without cooked solid foods and this was one big shortcoming at the 2023 Malnad Ultra (and is also the case in most ultra trail races / ultra marathons in India).
The lack of calories and inability to eat gels / bars / sweet stuff took a toll. I tried to force gels but it made me nauseous. The last 25 kms were a struggle, willing a tired and sick version of me forward. I had a feeling that the gap to 3rd position would be sufficient that if I kept moving forward at a steady but slow pace, I would be able to maintain 2nd place, but one never really can predict this in a race.
Emotionally Challenging Climb
The steepest climb was back at around 82 kms of the race. It was hot and I felt miserable. This was also a stage where the race got emotionally very challenging. It has been a very difficult year, losing the dearest person in my life, my mother. I pushed on with a heavy heart, trying to maintain my position in the race.
Final Stages
After a few more off-route excursions, night fell. Out came the headlamp and the pace slowed down further. My goal was to move at around 8 mins/km on flatter / road sections and hike the trail sections at around 12 mins/km. I forced this effort out of me and it was just enough to cross the finish line in 2nd place, with the 3rd position runner finishing only a minute or so after me. It was close!
Overall, it was a very well managed race, probably my best ultra marathon effort so far. I fueled well, especially in the first loop. The lack of solid foods affected my race, but I never gave up, kept forward momentum going despite the darkest times.
As a side note, while spending so many kilomteres on coffee estate trails, we also crossed many groups of labourers employed at the estates. Seeing them work made the pain of my effort feel insignificant and we should not ever forget how privileged we are in life. Kudos to all the men and women who farm and help deliver food on our table or in someone’s coffee cup.
About a hundred metres away from the finish line, I had secured second position and was greeted joyfully by several volunteers and members of the Malnad Ultra team. Shashwat, who had finished over two hours earlier, was kind enough to be waiting for me and other finishers. Deepak, the second runner-up, was only a minute or so behind and super stoked about the race finish. There was a mini award giving ceremony, each of us receiving a finisher belt buckle. After a round of photos, I collected my drop bag, changed into a dry t-shirt and sought out food like a bear coming out of winter hibernation.
The food stalls at the finish area had a couple types of rice, dal / sambhar, rassam and a few other things that I can’t recall. My stomach was in need to some hot solid food and I was turly grateful of whatever was available. The race took a lot out of me, physically and emotionally. I was pretty spent and shortly after the mini dinner, I returned to our homestay.
My first Malnad Ultra in 2018 was also my first Did Not Finish (DNF). I had also not run 100 km distance since then. As a much more experienced and mature runner / amateur athlete (I hope!), a small part of me wanted redemption for the 2018 DNF; However, the main drivers to run this race again was to experience a new environment, to run on new trails (new route) and most importantly, to reconnect with the trail running community. Finishing 2nd was an unplanned bonus and I’m grateful to have an abled body that allows me to do these sorts of efforts. Overall, it was an extremely satisfying experience.
High marks to the Malnad Ultra core team and to all the volunteers for curating an excellent experience, one of the best trail running experiences in India. The fact that the race is volunteer driven and also has international associations, makes it a must-do for anyone who wants to try a trail running race experience or run through a beautiful green area of India. A bucket-list experience!
I would like to dedicate this race experience to my mother, Kusum, who we lost earlier this year and continues to be dearly missed. May she continue to inspire me, to help me realized how blessed we are and to spread goodness through our actions.
Nakul Butta is the founder & coach at All In Running. He is an accomplished Indian amateur long distance road and trail runner. He has won several long distance races (ultra marathons, half marathons, trail races) and is a regular top finisher in major races around the country.
Nakul is also passionate about the environment, nature and the outdoors. He pursues this passion by spending hours running on trails, some of which is in the Himalayas.