Orientation & QnA

We conducted two online orientation sessions to help our participants plan their logistics on September 24 and October 8th. If you could not attend these, you may refer to the presentation and a recording of one of these sessions below:

• • The Presentation (PDF)
  • Full Recording of Session (YouTube video)

Our Race Officials will also be available on Friday, November 25th at the bib pickup location to answer any questions.

Bib Pickup

Since our event starts early on Saturday, November 26th, we expect all participants to arrive at their homestays and other accommodation on Friday, November 25th. Bibs can be collected at HP Petrol Bunk (location) near Kaimara Check Post from 10:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m on Friday (pre-race day). This is a convenient location since all participants are likely to pass through this point on Friday.

We will send out a emailer in the last week of October with your Bib # and other important information for your reference.

All participants must show an original Government approved ID in order to collect their bibs in person. We will NOT allow you to pick up bibs on behalf of someone else.

Participants that have signed up for the Active Holiday Package can collect their bibs from the Active Holiday team at their homestay.

Participants that fail to collect the bib on Friday should plan on coming in an hour earlier on event day to pick up their bibs. We strongly recommend that participants pick up their bib on Friday, November 26th to avoid last-minute rush and the risk of a delayed start due to congestion before start of the event.

Reaching Race Location

All participants must organise their own transport by road to reach the Start Area. We expect most participants to have arrived in the Attigundi and surrounding area on Friday, November 25th. Please plan on arriving in the Start Area by 6:00 a.m on Race Day (November 26th) regardless of your registered category to ensure that you have plenty of time to eat breakfast and for your pre-race routine.

Our Start Area is located at Sipani Coffee Estate. Participants will only be allowed to enter the estate from 5:00 a.m on Race Day. The Start Area is approximately 14 kms from Attigundi.  All participants must travel by road via Attigundi to come to our Start Area. There is no other route to the Start Area! Please DO NOT FOLLOW GOOGLE MAPS and use these instructions instead.

1. 1. Reach Attigundi before 5:00 a.m. Please carpool!
   2. From Attigundi, follow our Malnad Ultra signs to the Start Area Parking location. This is a distance of 13 kms and you should plan for 60-75 minutes driving time due to the narrow road and expected congestion because of our event. We request all participants to drive in a single lane with extreme care and patience for the last 9 kms. As a courtesy to the vehicle in front, please do not use high beams or honk! Please do not try to overtake on this stretch under any circumstances.
   3. Park you vehicle in the area allotted for parking. 
   4. From the parking lot, you will have to walk about 1 km to the Start Area. Please plan another 15 minutes for this walk. We will not allow any vehicles past the parking area to avoid congestion. 
   5. Again, in order to reach the Start Area by 6:00 a.m, you should have passed through Attigundi by 5:00 a.m!

Kaimara Check Post: 

If you are planning to stay outside the immediate surrounding area of Attigundi, you might need to cross the Forest Check Post at Kaimara to get to Attigundi. This checkpost is normally closed from 6 p.m to 6 a.m. We expect to secure prior permission for participants who need to cross this checkpost before 6:00 a.m to get to the Start Area. We will provide more information on this closer to race day here.

Vehicle Restrictions:

Please note that vehicles larger than 30 seats are NOT allowed past Kaimara checkpost. As a result of this, and because of the narrow roads leading to the Start Area, runner groups must ensure that do not bring larger vehicles to our event. We recommend vehicles like Tempo Traveller or SML Isuzu 22 seaters for large groups.

Returning Post-Race

We will permit participants to drive back after the race after 2:00 p.m only. This is due to safety consideration for a few runners that could still be on the course since a small section of our course overlaps the driving route.

We request all 30K and 50K participants to depart by 5:30 p.m. Please drive back with care and look out for 100K runners until you get out of the area.

Start & Finish Times

All timings below will be tracked as per the official timer in the Start Area. Runners are requested to synchronise their watches with the official timer before starting their race. We also request runners to plan on arriving to the Start Area at least 1.5 hours before their event.

Cut-Offs

Cut-offs are for your safety because we cannot take the risk of leaving runners on their own! They allow us to ensure that we can organise pick up for participants that will not be able to finish the event in the time allotted. Please cooperate with our volunteers and do not argue when they pull you out of the event because you have missed a cut-off. We will not allow participants to continue on the course under any circumstances.

We take these cut-offs seriously and even a few seconds after the published cut-off times are deemed Did-Not-Finish.

All participants must LEAVE the Aid Station/Cut-off Marker highlighted below BEFORE the CLOCK TIME (not chip time) shown below.

Drop Bags

We will provide a Baggage Counter in the Start area. Since our Start and Finish points are the same, all participants will have access to their bags after they Finish. 100K runners will have access to their bags at the same point at the end of their first loop and must pick up their headlight before they go out on their second loop.

We will provide stickers that you can use to mark your bags with your Bib Number. Please avoid leaving expensive and important items like your passport in your bag. Hand these separately at our reception desk in the start area.

We request all participants to put all their belongings into ONE bag and ensure that it is closed completely and there is no chance of anything falling out.

Medical Support

We remind our participants that this is a remote area and most of the course is inaccessible to vehicles during the event. Our medical support team in the Finish area are instructed to cater to situations that need medical intervention only. We will also station ambulances at main junctions on the course.

Toilets

A few basic toilets are available in the Start Area and at the 27K mark. A few of these will be dedicated to ladies only. We request participants to use these with minimal expectations and go out in nature!

Recommended Equipment

The run will be conducted regardless of weather. Weather in this region can be unpredictable and you can prepare for light rain and sun.

Runners might run into stretches where their shoes and socks can get wet. Runners must make their own preparation and work out a strategy to get through these stretches of flowing or standing water.

The following list is provided as a reference:

• • A Government ID (mandatory for Indian runners) for Bib Pickup
  • Printed copy Passport showing Photo, Name, Date of Birth, Issue and Expiry dates (mandatory for international runners)
  • Running Shorts/Tracks
  • Running Tee/Top
  • Running Shoes
  • Running Socks
  • Headgear: Cap/Hat/Visor/Headband/Sweatband
  • Running Watch, HR Monitor, Personal Music
  • Basic First Aid (Band Aid, pain spray etc.)
  • Mobile Phone
  • Change of clothes post-run and Backpack
  • Headlight / Flashlight(mandatory for 100K runners)
  • Drop-bags
  • Running gels and other fuel that you use
  • Sunscreen and insect repellant
  • Extra footwear like sandals for post-run
  • Hydration pack/bottle (mandatory for all runners)
  • Chargers and batteries for all devices