Reg Link
THE FIRST ULTRA MARATHON
247 runners turned up at ONV in Hessaraghatta, to run distances ranging from 26kms to 100kms. One look at the beautiful Savannah-like landscape, and the thrill doubled. After much quoting of ultramarathon sayings like, “If you feel good at the beginning of an Ultra, don’t worry. That feeling will go away” followed by maniacal laughter, and to the tune of ‘We are the champions’ booming out, the runners set off on the historical course of India’s first Ultramarathon.
'A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their course can alter the course of history'
Mahatma Gandhi
In 2006, a bunch of running revolutionaries met at their weekly Sunday breakfast spot: Airlines Hotel. “Let’s do the first ever Indian Ultramarathon!” was the refrain. Between the experience and knowledge of running Ultras that Madhu Avasarala, that inveterate traveller and runner brought in, the spine and time of team RFL (then, Arvind Krishnan & Arvind Bharathi), the enthu of Nischal Pai, the medical and running background of Dr. Rajat Chauhan, the general and GPS awesomeness of Jugy, the ideation machines that were Ashok Nath, Partha Roy & Bhasker Sharma… we were set! Farah Mahmood was co-opted to make the Bangalore Ultra logo.
In the next 8 years, we hosted thousands of runners to their fastest/longest distances. A 12.5k distance was added for people who aren’t yet ready to do a 25k but want to experience the Bangalore Ultra. In 2012, we made the Bangalore Ultra a 2-day event and hosted India’s first 24-hour run. With over 1500 runners coming to the Ultra, this was our most attended Ultra. We quietly made another paradigm shift happen: we had catered food made by runners for runners. And boy, was that a success! In 2014, Dan Lawson ran 226 kms in 24-hours, setting a new ultra distance record on Indian soil. We intend to keep the glorious heritage of Bangalore Ultra going strong… with a little help from our running friends.
THE ORGANISERS
NEB Sports, organizes big banner events such as Apollo Tyres New Delhi Marathon, AFLI Mumbai Half Marathon, AFLI Hyderbad Half Marathon, Wipro Bengaluru Marathon and Mysamay Pune Marathon Focus of our events is to provide a good experience to participants and encourage people to adapt a fit and healthy lifestyle. Some of the flagship events, mentioned below.
