Race started for 55k category at 05:45. The air had that thin, electric chill that makes you feel alive and small at once. I ate bananas, sandwiches, eggs and potatoes, filled my bottles with electrolytes, and set a simple nutrition plan: one gel every 45 minutes, salt caps every 30 minutes, and to eat freely at aid stations (13K, 30K, 45K).

2025 marked a year of meaningful expansion for CapitalTrails - in the breadth of its programming, the depth of its community engagement, and the scale of its contribution to outdoor access in the NCR region. What follows is a structured account of the year's activities, key learnings, and the organisation's ongoing commitment to people and the outdoors.

For me, Panikot 2025 was one of those special races where I told myself that I’d rather run anywhere but here. Why? We’ll get to that later - but Panikot 2026 was a wholly different story.

On 22 March 2026, I was ready for the long course at PANIKOT By CapitalTrails, with my wife who stood by me at the start line.

After Indrahar summit run, the next race I wanted to do was CapitalTrails Race Series - Sohna 50k, an ultramarathon with the self-navigation ethos.

I had already completed Solang Sky Ultra 30K with +1800m elevation gain in 2023, when my fitness and consistency was not this good. Signing up for 20K at Indrahar didn’t feel like much so I decided to push myself for 30K with 2700m elevation. It looked tough but what’s the adventure if it’s easy.