Badass Beg does good at Badwater

(From L) Team Adil: Andrei, Pooja, Adil, Raj and Nikhil

You could have been tempted to croon: ‘Adil, hai mushkil running yahaan…' (to the tune of yeh dil hai mushkil) but the 29-year-old Mumbaikar Adil Beg triumphed completing the Badwater Ultramarathon in the United States (US) in a finish time of 41:18:11, seven hours inside the stipulated 48 hours cut off time. The Badwater Ultra was held on July 4.

The Badwater Ultramarathon describes itself as, ‘the world's toughest foot race'. The race has a 135-mile (217 km) course starting at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level in Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley. It ends at an elevation of 8,360 feet (2,550 m) at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in July when weather conditions are absolutely searing and temperatures can reach up to 54 degrees Celsius.

Beg, Chembur-based fitness and running coach said from the USA after running a scorcher literally as temperatures hovered around 50 degrees Celsius during his run, "I had been training hard for the event. More than that, I had read and researched extensively about this Ultra. There is a strict qualification and selection process for the race. Because of the insanely challenging conditions, very few are selected for participation. I have run numerous Ultramarathons (an Ultra is anything above the traditional marathon distance of 42.2 km) but never in these temperatures. It is rightly called the hottest place on earth." In short, you need to be a real badass to tame the Badwater.

Beg's training schedules are "running during the afternoons when the Mumbai mercury touches dizzying heights. Yet, the heat at the Badwater Ultra made Mumbai's peak May afternoons seem like a gentle breeze," laughed Beg who has an interesting backstory about how he found his he-is-not-running-too-fast-simply-flying-too-low feet. Originally from Bareilly, he arrived in Mumbai 12 years ago. He started working as an embroidery designer, and a crane operator, till he ran a 21- km (half marathon) in 1: 37 in 2014. The distance may not be daunting to many, but for Beg, the experience was sole stirring (pun and wrong spelling intended). It set him on the path of, "longer distances, training regularly and running several 100 km plus Ultras." He also changed his career path, and fitness became his work too.

He said of the Badwater race, "When I landed in Los Angeles a few days prior, I thought to myself that it may not be too hot as LA weather was bearable. I was so wrong as I learnt when I reached the Badwater Basin site," he recalled. The fitness coach acclimatised for a week running there, before the race. During the race he said, "I was going strong and did not sleep for two days, taking just a few breaks for refuelling. I recall the chilled water my support team was carrying for me it was so hot, that the cold water heated up too, as if it was put in a kettle."

Beg ran through pain and blisters, especially from 200th km to the finish line, which was all uphill. "There were several inclines on the course too," he said. In running parlance, these are dubbed as heartbreak hills. Beg, who had a team supporting him prior to the race for preparations like paperwork and sponsors, has a shoutout to the crew quartet with him in the USA, Raj Vadgama, Pooja Krishnamoorthy, Nikhil Shah and Andrei Gourji for their support throughout. Beg added, "they were cheering madly for me at the finish line, it was such an emotional moment for the team too, I could see tears glimmering in eyes. Through the final few km, I remembered that people are tracking this race back home, I am representing my country." The boy from Bareilly gave it his all, flying the tricolour as he smashed through the finish line, blazing home in a few hours inside two days. He said as a sign-off, "maintaining focus on your goals is crucial." Beg knows setbacks occur but he said it is vital we do not lose heart instead turning these, "into opportunities for growth." Looking at his running feats, not too many would ‘Beg' to differ.