Race Report - Sinhagad Epic Trail 2025

“Gad aala pan Sinha gela” which roughly translates to “fort is captured but the lion is gone” - those ever so famous words which as the legend goes later led to the renaming of the mighty Kondhana fort to Sinhagad after Tanaji Malusare of the Maratha kingdom under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s leadership led the charge to recapture the strategic fort from the Mughals and laid down his life in the process for the purpose of Swaraj.

This is the rich history all the runners were going to walk into the day they decided to sign up for the Sinhagad Epic Trail 2025, a stellar trail race organised by the Western Ghats Running Foundation (WGRF) in the Sahyadri range of Maharashtra. I decided to sign up for the 30k category which posed a daunting 1,700 metres of elevation gain other than the extremely slushy and slippery trails which do not help your cause.

Sinhagad - The Trail and the Basics

Sinhagad is a little over an hour’s drive from Pune and I got there a couple of days before the race which was scheduled for 28th June 2025 to get a feel of the place and to soak in the beautiful weather and surroundings. You’re in the midst of low table-top mountains with clouds hovering around all the time and ready to pour down right throughout the day. If there was ever a picturesque postcard shot competition, this setting had just the right set of ingredients to take the top spot.

Fast forward to the bib distribution event which was preceded by a display of some fiery warrior stunts and movements, from the times of the Maratha kingdom, by a group of young kids that was like a shot in the arm with less than 12 hours before the race.

Race day – 900+ runners heading to a narrow walkway completely covered in slush was a sign of things to come. Flag off for the 4 categories was separated by a gap of 5 minutes each with the 30k being flagged off at 06:05.

The Start Line and the Route

Basic layout of the 30k route is an initial steep climb of 2.5k to the Sinhagad fort from the north side which immediately turns left to the paved road, right before you reach the fort, and off you go into a descent for the next couple of kilometres. It goes back up again into the trails and this time with continuous crests and troughs through till the 9-10k mark when you hit the road section again and onto the 15-16k mark aid station from where you head to the Mengjai Maata mandir climb which is an 8k out and back route after which you go up the fort again, this time from the south side and down to the start/finish point. While the description above can appear to be pretty straightforward, the route surely was not.

The Race

Start out and you face a gradual ascent with a broad route to climb up, though it is pretty rocky. It changes into a stiff uphill narrow climb after about 400 metres and from thereon it is more a hike that goes on for the next couple of kilometres. Incessant rains throughout the day meant the rocks and loose mud was slippery so one had to be careful of their footing. All through the route you keep wondering and marvel at the thought of how they managed to build something of this magnitude without a proper road leading right up to the fort and you’re left awestruck, for the lack of a more powerful word. As soon as you hit the downhill section on the road, you’re reminded of the tagline “Redbull gives you wings”. Only in this case there was no Redbull but you definitely feel like you’re gliding through. There are multiple such sections through the entire race which help you pick up pace and cover solid ground.

Further climb back onto the trails takes you up to the table top which is a scene straight out of the movies where you’re running on the top of a ridge with steep downward slopes on either side and clouds in your face. I had to remind myself this was a race and not one of those lost in the nature kind of moments where I wish to sit down to bask in the glory of nature.

With all the above lines you’d start to wonder what’s the fuss all about? Where is the hard bit when it’s all fun and beauty that surrounds you so let me not shy away from showing you the other side of the coin. As soon as you descend from that hill, you go into a section that has water flowing through heaps of mud and as your feet goes in it comes back out with a ton of slush. This goes on for a while and believe you me, this tires you out pretty quick.

You hit the road section after this once again and get to the aid station where the volunteers are ready to help you out. Did a quick refill of my hydration pouch along with popping in a couple of electrolyte tabs and I felt like I was totally on track to nail this one but little did I know that it was the upcoming hill which was waiting with its arms wide open ready to pin me down. Remind me, did someone ask me above about where the hard bits are? This out and back loop to the Mengjai Maata mandir starts gradually on the road but less than couple of kilometres later it turns into a treacherous climb, one that surely took my breath away. Oh no, not because of its beauty this time but the elevation gain every step of the way with a narrow slippery path all along. This was the first time I was crouching and bending over holding my knees to try and get some rest. So, never ever question the race organisers that a certain race has been easy, at least not until you’ve crossed the finish line. Huffing and puffing got me to the top of the temple and thereafter it was all about rushing down to make up time which I did but in the process I forgot to keep track of how much water I had left in my hydration bag and ran past the aid station towards the final climb to the fort from the south side without realising that I barely had any. That reality was going to hit me pretty soon. As I began the final climb to the fort and about a kilometre or so in, I realised the water stopped coming through and this is around the 21-22k mark. I was about to press the panic button but then decided to keep pushing forward hoping to ask for water from some good souls on the way and find one I did. Those couple of sips lasted me to the top of the fort which is when I saw a few race volunteers and I was literally begging in my head hoping they’d say there is an aid station right ahead. And voila! Aid station there was. In between admiring nature and pushing through the distance I forgot that there is supposed to be an aid station, the last one, at the top of the fort. Filled up my pouch quick and began the final push by when the local crowd of weekend visitors were on their way up. Now it was all about yelling for clear way and run like mad with the final 3k to go. This is the same stretch that you encounter at the beginning of the race and seemed like familiar territory. With about 600 metres to go to the finish line, the racer in me suddenly sprung its head up and decided to beat everyone in sight ahead till the finish line. Sanity did try taking over the driving seat telling me that the terrain is rocky and slippery but it was quickly shoved out. Ran that last stretch putting everything aside to make it to the finish line in 5 hours and 31 minutes.

Closing Thoughts

That feeling of crossing over the finish line without any injuries and pressure in the head to achieve a certain time is surely something that made me feel like a winner despite 20 odd runners finishing well ahead of me. But then who said we race other people, we’re only racing against our own mind and I think I won that day!