The Height Of Running

La Ultra – The High ultramarathon, held in Ladakh, is among the toughest (and least known) races in the world.

- Shyam G Menon

While the world looked towards Rio, endurance runners braved a start amid inclement weather conditions in Ladakh to complete the various distance categories of the seventh edition of La Ultra – The High, in record breaking time. Kieren D’Souza took the sting off the altitude’s scorn for plains dwellers, finishing the 111-kilometre segment of the ultra marathon in 15 hours and 30 minutes. That leg of the race took him from near Diskit in Nubra Valley, up and over the 17,582-feet-high Khardung La, and down to a finish point beyond Leh town. D’Souza bettered the time set in 2015 by Parvez Malik, a runner from Uttarakhand, who completed the same course in 17 hours and 57 minutes. In an earlier edition of the race, D’Souza, who now lives in Faridabad, had been unable to finish the distance. He subsequently trained for the event, spending much time running at altitude.

La Ultra – The High is an ultra marathon composed of three separate races on the same course — 111 km, 222 km and 333 km. As the distance increases, so do the difficulties. The average elevation of Ladakh is around 10,000 ft. The race is held on the road. Its highest elevations are mountain passes, with roads through them. In the 111-km segment, you get Khardung La; in the 222-km segment, you get Khardung La and Wari La (17,200 ft); and in the 333-km segment, you get both the aforementioned passes and Tanglang La (17,480 ft). Running this course, a runner will experience temperatures varying from 40 degrees centigrade to minus 10 degrees centigrade.