A heritage walk in the clouds

I have often wondered what separates the casual tourist from the serious traveller. My search for the elusive answer this time around brought me to Ooty, a place I had only seen and heard in the recollections of others, described as one of the easiest weekend getaways in south India and a family-friendly tourist destination. So, when a friend from New Delhi coaxed me into heading there, for a GoUnesco Heritage Run on May 28, a Sunday, of all things, my curiosity was piqued.  

Following an overnight train journey from Chennai to Coimbatore, spanning eight hours, and a five-hour bus ride to Ooty (minus one hour in non-peak, touristy seasons), I found myself at home in the Queen of the Hills, as the friendly signboard welcomed me to the lush, green and perpetually-pleasant, Ooty Municipality. I called in an early night, considering there was a chill in the air at this time of the year and I had to wake up before the crack of dawn for my very first run in the mountains. 

At about 6 am the next day, post a breezy auto drive, I arrived at the gates of the 158-year-old Lawrence School in Lovedale, way ahead of the reporting time for the runners. The school has a list of alumni that reads like a who’s who— writers Arundhati Roy and Amish Tripathi, as well as actors Prathap Pothen and Akshay Khanna have walked the corridors of this educational touchstone.  

The volunteers of GoUnesco, the driving force behind this event, were scurrying about the colossal, neatly-manicured campus, setting up start points, bib number, registration bays, pit stops, refreshment areas and more.  

Ajay Reddy, our point man for the day, is associated with GoUnesco, whose motto is making heritage fun through such runs that bring together communities, engaging them with the culture and history, while dishing out some much needed-workouts on the side. Having been active since 2014, the team has conducted an average of six runs every year and has a packed calendar for 2017 with 10 runs across the calendar year.  

Ajay informs me that close to 900 runners from nearby cities, like Coimbatore, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad and other parts of the country participated across three categories of runs— the 5k, 10k and 15k. The trails include the picturesque surroundings of the Lawrence School and the adjoining woods.  Another trail runs parallel to the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a Unesco World Heritage Site, which overlooks an infinite ocean of green dunes in the Ketti Valley, bathed in foliage that rightly earns its moniker as the Lungs of the World.  

The runners were as diverse and eclectic as the elements that made up this high-altitude and even higher on attitude, go-getter marathon. A pair of oncologists from Hyderabad, a group of Japanese corporate runners from Chennai, teams from Bengaluru and a 60-yearyoung couple, the Rishis, from New Delhi, who had previously participated in the 10 km trail during the Go Heritage Run in Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh—  these were some of the runners I ran into. Kicking off the proceedings in style was a Zumba workout, whose mantra, “Girl, I’m gonna make you sweat” sounded like a reggae hit from the 90s, belted out by Inner Circle. 

A trio of horsemen, from the Lawrence School took over the reins to show the runners the way, no cars or bikes please, as the campus prefers keeping it green. I had opted for the 5k run for starters, but a duo from Hyderabad was more than keen on pushing the envelope of what was humanely possible and endurable. So, I tagged along and did my 10k walk, at times, short of breath, thanks to elevated roads. 

But mostly, I walked briskly, with an ear-to-ear grin, breathing the most pristine, non-particulated, mountain air, that I could treat my lungs to. Every once in a while, my trio would pause for a selfie as the mountains beckoned us with one panoramic shot after the other. 

As runners cheered and egged each other on, I realised how strangers until now had gone on to forge a fraternity built on encouragement and goodwill, in a span of just two hours.  Having made it to the finish line, we were greeted with medals, artistically woven by women of the Toda tribe and a participation certificate, as everyone is a winner. As for the question of me being a serious traveller, there’s always the next Heritage Run that might have some answers.