Ten days on a ship where the temperatures were not only freezing, but even a threat to one’s life, three women from Hyderabad braved it all as they competed the 42.2 km long Antarctica Marathon, one of the toughest runs in the world, in March. Here’s their story.
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The glaciers are vanishing and I fear our future generations might never get to see them - Sunita Tummalapalli
I have been into fitness since 1996 — I have got a Masters in Nutrition, but I started working out after the birth of my two sons — but you can never be prepared or train for the harsh conditions in Antarctica, especially if you are living in Hyderabad,” says 46-year-old Sunita. When her friends and fellow runners, Shilpa Reddy and Anuradha Raju, who are members of the Hyderabad Runners Club, came to know that she was competing in the marathon, they too got on board.
Sunita spent over '7 lakh on a trip that lasted 18 days, but it was a small price to pay for her “passion to travel and see new places,” she says.
Her first full marathon was in 2010 and till date she has completed 29 marathons including a multi-day marathon in the Himalayas where one runs for four days.
One might question what Antarctica has to offer from a tourists’ point of view. There is snow for miles and miles at stretch, weather conditions that threaten to knock people over and the marathon takes place in an area that is a research centre and imposes a lot of restrictions on the runners. “We had many short landings per day to sight-see, but we couldn’t just wander away; there were research activities going on, so we had to stay in a group and make sure to not disrupt the flora and fauna.
There were 200 runners competing, but the island where we docked, South Shetland Island, didn’t allow 200 people at once. So runners were divided in two ships and we boarded the ship at Ushuaia, which is called the end of the world as it is the Southernmost most point in South America, one-day apart and we took four days to reach our destination. We spent 10 days on the ship; the marathon was for one day, March 9. While reaching the location, we crossed the Drake Passage, the roughest sea in the world and located between South America and Antarctica, almost everybody fell since sick and it took us 48 hours to get out of there,” she says.
But it was the marathon that tested everybody’s endurance. “The marathon was 42.2 km long and the cut off time was not more than seven hours; which is quite an easy target on city roads, but Antarctica is a lot different,” says Sunita. There was knee-deep snow, boots made heavy through mud and slush, wind that made the cold even worse and the snow that suddenly started to fall towards the end of the marathon. “When you are running, it doesn’t feel cold, but you feel frozen when you are standing still. Organisers wanted us to quickly finish the marathon because of the weather,” says Sunita.
But it was all worth it as she completed the marathon. “Antarctica is stunning. The marathon was a humbling experience and my travel made me realise the effects of global warming. The glaciers are disappearing and I fear our future generations might never get to see them,” she says.
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Dr Shilpa Reddy, 36, works as a medical doctor with the Institute of Genetics and Hospital for Genetic Diseases, Hyderabad, and running is a hobby that she was introduced to by her husband’s friend. “My husband is a sports player and he completely understands and supports my love for running,” says Shilpa, who has completed nine full marathons and 12 half marathons, including one ultra marathon 50 km long.
“I have been running for four-and-a-half years; and waking up every day at 5 am, it’s the kind of discipline that I want to keep up with,” says the 36-year-old mother of two. Since her interest is in all things science, her trip to Antarctica was also one-of-a-kind. “No ship can land on the continent as it is not owned by any country. So you travel there in a ship and anchor a few kilometers away in the oceans and then you travel by small boats, called Zodiacs, tour the island, stay there for sometime and come back,” says Shilpa.
But it was the ship itself that Shilpa was so fascinated with. “We were traveling in a scientific research ship that belonged to Russia and there were runners and scientists on board. It was a fabulous experience interacting with them all,” says Shilpa. When it comes to the marathon, Shilpa admits that without prior training you can’t take part. “The day we ran, it was between -2 to -40C and we were running with gear that was approximately three kilos in weight. The route was not flat, there were four hills and the wind,
Antarctica is notorious for its wind, it’s like three people pushing you, that is how strong it is. Moreover, the organisers were insistent that we take no more than seven hours to complete the marathon or one could suffer from hypothermia. Also, our legs were cramped up after running for such a long distance, so when we had to get back to our Zodiacs, we depended on the volunteers like little kids to help us,” she says. Despite it all, Shilpa wouldn’t mind doing it all again. “The sense of achievement that you experience when you reach the finish line is priceless,” she says.
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Anuradha Raju, 47
When Anuradha Raju, along with Sunita, saw people taking part in marathons at the Everest base camp, they were inspired. “At the time, I had thought that I’ll do at least one half-marathon in my lifetime, but after doing that one, I just kept getting greedier,” says Anuradha, who started running in 2008. With children to take care of, she made sure to balance her schedule and in 2014 — within just one year — she completed 13 marathons. “Shilpa, Sunita and I started travelling together after joining the runners club and I am glad I could complete in the Antarctica marathon with them since we are such good friends,” she says.
Her family, too, has been one of the biggest reasons why she hasn’t quit running. “For Antarctica, we had to make prior reservations. But with my son’s wedding, I wasn’t so sure. But my husband told me to go ahead and if need be, he will even postpone the date of the wedding. Even my two sons are always more concerned that I eat and sleep on time. I stay in a joint family, so everybody has been a big support keeping in mind the unearthly hours and the many travels I have to go,” she says.
“I was actually relying on my training from last year because for Antarctica, I only got 20 days to train as my son was getting married,” says 47-year-old Anuradha who has been running for the past seven years. And the Antarctica marathon is one she will remember for a lifetime. “The surrounding was surreal, even though the weather was demanding. We had penguins crossing the tracks where we were running. It was amazing.”.
