Bangalore based Upendra Tripathi is a relative newcomer to the world of running starting his running career only 2.5 years ago. An Engineer by profession, he had always been a regular “gym” person with a keen interest in fitness and got drawn into running by his friends. Being a certified wildlife photographer, he opted for his first run at a 10k event in Ranganthittu near Mysore, also home to a famous bird sanctuary.

Since then he has run numerous half & full marathon events across India and the Globe including 5 out of the 6 Majors !! He currently runs and trains with a running club in Bangalore and his coach inspired him to sign up for Comrades 2018

Upendra’s training regimen for Comrades includes a gruelling 80 km weekly mileage spread over four days with Strength training and/or Yoga on the other days. Nandi Hills and Kanakapura Road offer him enough of the “rolling hills” terrain to support his Comrades quest.

Needless to say, Upendra is very disciplined in following his training plan making sure never to miss out on the other essentials of a dynamic warmup, cool down and stretches. He is also very careful in monitoring his diet and nutritional intake. On his long run days when he runs anywhere from 25k-35k, he has been trying to simulate the Comrades race day fuel intake to make the best of his practice runs.

Upendra is excited to participate in the Ooty Ultra organized by Coach Kay. Upendra successfully completed his first Ultra in Yercaud this March and looks forward to the Ooty event as his final training run prior to Comrades. He believes the distance and elevation profile will provide an acid test of his endurance skills prior to Comrades.

We’d like to wish Upendra all the best for a successful debut at Comrades 2018.