A trail runner's honest account of learning to let go of pace, embrace walking, and find a smarter way to go far in the mountains.

This simple mindset has changed not just the way I run, but also how I think about life. Accepting it, though, hasn’t come easy.

Last weekend I ran 30KM — starting from Yuksom to Chongrang at a pace of 8:07/KM, covering 710 metres of elevation, and spending five hours on my feet.

I’m not an elite runner, so when running in the mountains there are stretches where running simply isn’t possible, and you’re left with no choice but to walk. The goal is no longer about pace. The goal is to spend maximum time on foot, cover the distance, and come back without injury.

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Learning to Let Go of Pace

In 2019, I took my first step into trail running by participating in the 50KM Malnad Ultra.

For the first 30KM I somehow survived the jeep tracks — terrain I had never encountered before. But the last 20KM took my soul. The remaining stretch was relentless uphills and downhills filled with nothing but rocks.

I accepted that I wasn’t prepared for such a course, but what truly broke my spirit was not being able to run for any meaningful stretch.

And then, at my lowest, a tall lean gentleman — older than me — walked past at a faster pace than I was running, moved through the course smoothly, and eventually finished with a far better timing.

Coming from road running, letting go of speed wasn’t easy. The school I came from measured everything in pace.

My best marathon — 03:44:00 at the Bengaluru Marathon 2024 — was built on that logic.

Accepting that the world wouldn’t end if I started walking took time.

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Run When You Can, Walk When You Can’t

But that acceptance changed everything.

It helped me train and complete the Khardungla Ultra, Tata Ultra 50KM, Ooty Ultra 75KM, and the Malnad 100KM.

At Khardungla, grinding up that brutal climb in the cold, I kept telling myself one thing: just keep walking, and run wherever you can.

The moment I reached the top with a couple of hours to spare before the intermediate cutoff, I was pumped — but I calmed myself down and stuck to the same mantra on the 30KM descent.

Run when you can, walk when you can’t.

I finished in 12 hours, 20 minutes, and 50 seconds — 106th out of 208 finishers.

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Endurance Is Simplicity

The Malnad 100KM was a different kind of test.

When the going got tough and my calves were freezing, I kept the same loop running in my head.

After the first loop I told myself to keep it simple for the second: accelerate where the body allows, walk when the uphills bite.

The goal was just to finish before the cutoff.

I completed my first 100KM in 17 hours and 52 minutes — well ahead of it.

During the Solang Ultra, the same mindset got me to 26KM, before I had to pull out due to a lack of training on technical trails.

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Respect the Terrain

Today, when I run in Yuksom, I’m relaxed.

Where I can run, I run — at my own pace.

Where I can’t, I walk slightly faster.

And where even that isn’t possible, I walk at whatever pace my body allows.

The goal is simply to go far and be smart about accepting what the terrain asks of you. As they say in the mountains — respect the mountains, and they will accept you.