How farming and a friendly racer helped this ultrarunner come first

livemint.com:

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In the 100km category of the 10th Solang Sky Ultra (SSU) trail race held on 5-6 October, ultrarunning ace Shashwat Rao started as favourite. At the starting line on day one, the 38-year-old had already stamped his authority on the ultra trail race in Himachal Pradesh, having won four of five previous editions of the race.

By the time he made the finish in a time of 20 hours 14 minutes 23 seconds, Rao added yet another win to his name. But given how things had panned out on the course, this victory was special for different reasons. But first, let’s rewind to 2017, when Rao, an engineer by qualification, decided to move to Solang near Manali from Bengaluru.

Just so he could chase his dream of running full-time. At the time, ultrarunning was still a nascent sport in India with a handful of races to choose from. Owing to lack of support, Rao would often have to dip into his savings to fund the national and international races he was competing in.

But he didn’t let his circumstances get in the way of pursuing his passion. And so, the last few years have seen Rao taking part in challenging races in Europe such as the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc that covers France, Switzerland and Italy, and the Tor des Geants in Aosta Valley in north Italy. This year, he ran the mammoth 450 km Tor des Glaciers that’s also held in Aosta Valley.

“Money and assistance to compete at the world level is still a challenge. I wish to see a day when there is a committee of athletes who plan and implement changes for the sport in the country," he says. Earlier this year, Rao moved base to Keylong in Lahaul where the inclines are steeper and the weather is more conducive to training.