The Merchant of marathons

It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” This quote by Edmund Hillary can surmise close to any human battle for survival, existentialist or real. And this particular battle involved climbing the highest mountain in the world, in minus temperatures, braving snow, biting winds, sleet and stark terrain. Bengaluru marathon runner Taher Merchant did it, and is ecstatic. And one can understand his passion as he enthuses, “My running icon is Spanish ultra marathoner, Killian Jornet. I can relate to his crazy sense of adventure. He is an incredible trail runner and currently holds the record for the fastest known time for the ascent and descent of the Everest.” There in we got the answer to what prompted Taher to aim for the stars!

It’s no mean feat — the Everest Base Camp Ultra Marathon is 60 km of physically defying challenges! In May 2018, Taher trudged the slippery slopes of this ultimate challenge for any runner. “The Everest Extreme Ultra Marathon was a personal mission.  It was a dream since 2016. It is the culmination of over a year of intense training, discipline and sacrifice, and every second of it was worth it. The journey consisted of two parts — The first challenge was to get to the start line which was the Everest Base camp (EBC) at 5,365 m. It took us 11 days to trek from Lukla to EBC, roughly 38 km. As we ascended, the temperatures dropped significantly and the terrain became very challenging.

Not possible to train for such a marathon in Bengaluru, Taher did speed walking twice a week, walking six to eight km at a speed of 10 minutes per km to help in upping his endurance levels.

“The second part was the actual race from the EBC to Namche Bazaar 3,440 m. I started the race at subzero temperatures on icy terrain. Twenty km into the race, I ran across several hills, altitudes of 3,800 to 4,900 metres. Eleven hours into the race I was at 42 km when the temperature deteriorated,” says Taher. He had to decide over continuing, or sleeping, and facing a penalty of four hours, Taher chose to sleep. “I started next day at 6 am and covered the rest 17 km in just over three hours to finish the Ultra event in 19 hours 15 minutes, and 10 seconds,” says the runner of Bengaluru group Jayanagar Jaguars who admits that though he trained for over a year, it was the last 12 weeks that were intense.

Marathons are a love affair for marathoners — a thrill of accomplishment and overcoming physical aches and pains is tantamount. With 30 countries participating in the Ultra, Merchant feels that the toughest marathons test the limits of human endurance in the most difficult terrains and climates — the Antarctica Marathon, Hardrock 100, UTMB, Tor Des Geants & Marathon Des Sables. Yet those pristine mountains are a special memory, and in the Everest Ultra, Taher recalls, “I was 30 km into the race and reached Phortse where I found water gushing. It was a fresh water spring. A godsend, clean, cool and refreshing. I took a few minutes to take in its pristine beauty, filled water and continued.”

The Everest Extreme Ultra Marathon is no mean feat

His group Jayanagar Jaguars, started by Suresh Pathi in 2007, has Coach Pramod Deshpande, are one of the largest running groups in Bengaluru, and Taher himself has finished the TCS10K, Bengaluru Marathon, Ladakh Marathon, Jawadu Hills Ultra & Tata Mumbai Marathon.

Interestingly, Taher started running with his wife, as the couple wanted to spend quality time and live healthy. “As parents and professionals, we weren’t always making time for self-care,” says the engineer by profession who is the director at a company founded by his grandfather in 1952, and the third generation.

The father of two girls thanks his parents, Quresh and Lulua, sisters Batul and Kehkashan, wife, Soraya, and two daughters, Aaliyah and Ameerah for being his evergreen support system. “My younger daughter, Ameerah loves sports and runs well. If her interest continues, I’d love to help her start training. My older one, Aaliyah, loves the piano. I always tell my children and wife that running has helped me become a more disciplined person and brought a lot of clarity in my thinking. Hopefully, they’ll choose to train with me,” hopes the running pro.

The homebody loves his time with family, and going for movies, travelling together, but in a first, this dad even likes doing homework with his daughters! And travel, quite in tandem with his running is what the Merchant family enjoy, “I was in Tanzania with my family. Travelling to wildlife parks, following the migration of the Wildebeest and watching the Big five was a treat. The girls favourites were the hippo, lion, black rhino, cheetah and of course the majestic African Elephants. We also went to Zanzibar for its beautiful coastline.”

For those aspiring to run, he advises on being dedicated and perseverant, “It can be scary to have a dream to run extreme marathons like the one I did on Mt. Everest but here’s the thing, if your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.” 

Tips from the Everest marathoner

• Amateur runners tend to rush into increasing race distance, and that’s risky and leads to injuries.
• Remember there is a huge difference between a 21 km, a 42 km or a 60 km, in terms of pacing, endurance and other factors.  
• Join a running group, develop an in-depth understanding of physical and mental training as well as nutrition.
• Nutrition plays an important role. Follow a high protein diet which includes a lot of eggs and lean meat.
• Avocados and nuts are also included in my meal.
• As runners with every foot strike we carry two to five times our body weight! Protein keeps the body healthy, helps muscle growth.