I’m very proud and thrilled today to introduce the inspiring, Yamini Kothari, the first 90k endurance women runner to run the GavaTeaOotyultra 2020. Yamini is from Jaipur and works as a credit analyst living in Bombay. Yamini has excellent credentials as an ultramarathoner and has been a women podium finisher in many ultra races.

As announced before, the OOTYULTRA 2020 will feature a brand new 90k category (only by invitation) with ~3800 m elevation gain and ~3620 m elevation drop and comes with a 12 hr cut-off time.

How did you pick up interest in endurance running?

As a child, I was more an outdoor person and never played to compete. I loved sports and just for the joy of playing. I was regular in swimming for seven years, played tennis and basketball for a couple of years too. After completing my school, I started visiting gyms and short distance running to keep myself fit. My running journey began in 2012 with a 10-mile run, which I somehow managed to complete in 2 hours. The happiness of completing the distance was so much that I never stopped running after that. It took me five years to progress from a ten miler to run my first full marathon and I ran the SCMM in 4 hours 7 minutes 44 sec. I was so excited and I even went ahead and got a tattoo on my wrist to remember this achievement. I have been consistently progressing and recently ran 3 hours, 54 minutes best full marathon.

What brought you into Ultramarathons?

Running ultramarathons was never a plan for me, and I stumbled across Tuffman Mashobra 80k run while searching for some hill full marathon. I was surprised to know that there were runs longer than 42k. I realized that I might not be fast enough for full marathons, but I can go on for longer distances. It is not easy to explain why I run ultra marathons, probably because I never enjoyed anything more than running. Perhaps because there’s no feeling better than that of completing a challenging ultra because I like being identified as an ultra runner rather than a finance professional.

What are your notable ultramarathons?

I started my ultra-running journey with a short distance ultra

• BNP Ultra 50.0 in February 2018, finished in 4 hours 54 minutes, first in women category- Tuffman Shimla
• Mashobra 80k is what I consider my actual first proper ultra. I finished the race, which had ~4,500 meters elevation gain and loss in 12 hours 31 minutes and came as the only woman finisher.
• 12-hour Bangalore Stadium run (89.4k) and 12 hours Independence Day run in Mumbai (88K) in August 2018. 12-hour stadium run in Delhi in December 2018, where I completed my first 100k (102.8k) and was ranked first in women’s category
• Tuffman Goa 80k run in November 2018 (10 hours 32 minutes), first in women category
• Garhwal run in 2019 74k, completed in 9 hours 51 minutes first in women category
• Jaipur Hot Ultra in May 2019, 72K, in 8 hours 48 minutes and secured an overall first position
• Runners up in 110k Malnad trail run in November 2019 (20 hours 13 minutes)
• Winner in 100 miles in The Border Run in December 2019 (28 hours 18 minutes) in women’s category.

What made you decide to run the OOTYULTRA 90k, and how are you going to approach completing it within the 12 hrs cut off time?

I found about OOTYULTRA from the Indiarunning website when I was looking for an ultra that would have some new challenges. I have run many hills, but each time the cut off was sufficient enough to meet even if I walked a significant part of the run. If I want to complete that in the designated 12 hours cut off limit, I will have to take each minute seriously, and there will be no time to rest or relax.

Please join me in wishing Yamini Kothari a fabulous OOTYULTRA 90k finish.www.ootyultra.com#coachkay, Race Director, OOTYULTRA, KaysFITAcademy#ootyultra#ootyultra2020#gavateaootyultra#ootyultra202090krunner

Photo Credit: The Malnad Ultra