We’ve entered double digits. It’s episode 10 and it’s got - not one, but - two guests! We’re in conversation with two of Delhi's amazing athletes Micah Risher and Udayan Anand, and are sciencing out on continuous glucose monitoring - or CGM, as it is popularly known.

Originally a tool for managing type 1 diabetes, CGM has been steadily finding its way into athletes’ lives. And that’s where this conversation lives - at the intersection of these two different perspectives.

Micah has been using CGMs for over a decade to manage his type 1 diabetes. Micah recently completed a 21min 5k, a 42min 10k, a 92min half marathon and a 4:45 50k ultra with a top 10 finish which was just his second ultramarathon.

Udayan, on the other hand, is a triathlete and self-experimenter who solely got into the tech to understand more about his body. To finish his 9 month-long experimentation project, he ran a sub-3:30 marathon and topped up that effort with a half-iron distance triathlon 3 weeks later.

The conversation approaches CGM from two completely different perspectives and both Micah and Udayan speak from their experiences on a variety of topics, including but not limited to:

Important disclaimer - no one in this conversation is giving out any medical, dietary or nutrition advice. The conversation is simply a product of the guests’ own experiences, and a shared interest and curiosity on the topic of CGM between the guests and the host.

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Links to guests’ social profiles and other literature referenced in the conversation:

- Udayan’s Medium articles:

- Udayan on Strava - https://www.strava.com/athletes/26397820

- Micah on Strava - https://www.strava.com/athletes/90945654

- Glucose Revolution: The life-changing power of balancing your blood sugar (Jessie Inchauspé)

- Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars (Richard K. Bernstein, MD)

Talking Dirt is written, recorded and produced by the team at CapitalTrails.

- Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://capitaltrails.in⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/capitaltrailsrc⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Email: ⁠⁠talks(at)capitaltrails.in⁠⁠

- Kshitish on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Strava⁠⁠

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Music

- ⁠Analytic Show Logo⁠ by ⁠Serge Quadrado⁠

- ⁠The Perfect Corporate Podcast Intro⁠ by ⁠Lundstroem⁠

- Free Music Archive: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freemusicarchive.org/

Episode 9 of Tracking Dirt delved into the deep thoughts of Vishwas Sindhu, who is no stranger in the trail and ultrarunning community in India. Vishwas is the founder and Race Director of Hell Race, who organise 7 races (across 6 events) in India, each with its own cult following. With a mix of challenge and excitement baked in varying quantities, Vishwas is also notoriously called the 'creator of hell' in the Indian running scene. Or maybe it's just an aura that follows him around.

We caught up with Vishwas a week after Red Stone Ultra 2024 and covered a lot of ground in a rather unfiltered manner. While some of the F-bombs have been censored out, this conversation still borders on the two extremes of 'what the H' and 'what the F'.

This is also the first time an episode of Tracking Dirt has been recorded in Hindi. The full transcript of this episode is available on the CapitalTrails blog, to be able to give reach to the conversation for people who are not fluent in or familiar with Hindi. This is an important conversation!

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- Episode Transcript: https://capitaltrails.in/post/tracking-dirt-education-support-trail-running-vishwas-sindhu-complete-episode-transcript

- Vishwas on Instagram: https://instagram.com/fakkadkalam

- Hell Race website: https://thehellrace.com

- Hell Race on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thehellrace

- Hell Race Sports Foundation website: https://hellracesportsfoundation.org

- HRSF on Instagram: https://instagram.com/hellracesf

Talking Dirt is written, recorded and produced by the team at CapitalTrails (special mention to Sarthak Pandey for helping with the transcription)

- Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://capitaltrails.in⁠⁠⁠

- Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/capitaltrailsrc⁠⁠⁠

- Email: ⁠⁠talks(at)capitaltrails.in⁠⁠

- Kshitish on ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Strava⁠

--- Music

- Analytic Show Logo by Serge Quadrado

- The Perfect Corporate Podcast Intro by Lundstroem

- Free Music Archive: ⁠⁠⁠https://freemusicarchive.org/

Wishing you all a very happy new year 2024 - we're back after a #lifehappens break and all ready to set things in motion.

To kick things into gear, we have Dighvijay Jedhe, the Founder and President at Western Ghats Running Roundation (WGRF) which is the team that organises the prestigious 'fort running' races in the Sahyadri mountains - the Sinhagad Epic Trail (SET) and the Sinhagad-Rajgad-Torna Ultramarathon, popularly known as the SRT Ultra. Dighvijay, a farmer and entrepreneur, is also the founder at Canyon Sandals. Last but not the least, he's the Indian National Representative for organisers at ITRA.

Dighvijay takes us through chapters of Indian history and the origins of the Great Maratha Empire and how his family's deep-rooted connections with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has shaped the beginnings of WGRF. The conversation goes into how Shivaji's legacy is being carried forward by WGRF in the form of empowering the local communities via the two WGRF mountain trail races in the Sinhagad area.

Dighvijay also delves deep into how SRT Ultra and SET came into being, who the key people instrumental in setting up the races were, how the races grew in popularity, what challenges the team has faced, and what future plans he holds for the races.

[WE'RE BACK AFTER AN UNINTENDED-YET-EXTENDED BREAK]

Nakul Butta⁠ is back in conversation and we talk about CapitalTrails - how it started, what we do, where we're headed, and so on!

We've been working on building a trail running community in the NCR since 2019. Since then, we've taken more than 100 city runners on trails, got a really great bunch of ~40 regular active trail runners, contributed to various local and grassroots causes, educated people, started a podcast, explored and mapped trail routes - and we talk about all of that in this episode.

This episode was recorded around the end of May 2023 but could not get ready and published because of a lot of commitments at home and at work. As a result, while the conversation is a bit old, the perspectives and thoughts are as fresh as ever and we're firing on all cylinders. Enjoy as you learn more about CapitalTrails.

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CapitalTrails

Nakul

Kshitish

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Talking Dirt is written, recorded and produced by the team at CapitalTrails

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Music

In what is an honest-to-goodness conversation on how authenticity, honesty and environmental sensitivity are the key building blocks of trail running values, Neetu Singh strings together her experiences and thoughts on the moral considerations for when we're out on the trails or in the mountains.

Neetu started trail running seriously some time in 2020. From there, soon after, she did what everyone in an urban life only dreamt of - she left her comfortable corporate job to head out to the mountains, by herself in her car, just to explore, learn and see where life would take her. Drawing from her experiences as a speaker at the UN's Sustainable Development Goals Global Action Summit in 2019, to her journey from rock climbing to trail running to mountaineering to ultra running to life in general, Neetu is a true embodiment of the values of outdoor sports and activities.

In no particular order, we talk about:

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Neetu

Kshitish

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Talking Dirt is written, recorded and produced by the team at CapitalTrails

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Music

Runner and prosthodontist Dr. Manav Kalra joins us to science out some basic concepts behind oral health in endurance sports - more specifically, trail and ultra-distance running. Dr. Manav is a certified Digital Smile Designer, which simply means that he's an artist with teeth. Dr. Manav gives a clinician's perspective and draws from his experience both in the field of dentistry and as a runner to share some real knowledge and wisdom on the topic. And while this is not training advice, Dr. Manav's insights can be built into any training plan for any type or length of activity.

In no particular order, we talk about:

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These resources and articles were referenced as secondary research:

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Dr. Manav

Kshitish

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Talking Dirt is written, recorded and produced by the team at CapitalTrails

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Music

Kaustav Saha joins us as we list down 10 trail runner archetypes in the Indian running and racing scene. You'll find them on Whatsapp groups, trail running communities, and on the trail itself. And what's more - not only do we see them everywhere, we've all also BEEN these characters at some point in our running journey. Listen along for a showdown and your virtual encounters with 10 most commonly found species of trail runners in Indian events.

Kaustav is an up and coming trail runner from Delhi/NCR who has been shining at some really tough mountain races. From Buddha Trails 30k to Solang SkyUltra 30k (both in 2022) to Red Stone Ultra 50k and the recently held Buddha Trails 65k, the only thing that can beat his race timings is probably his talking - which comes as a perk with his profession as a lawyer AND a teacher of law.

In no particular order, we talk about:

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Kaustav

Kshitish

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Talking Dirt is written, recorded and produced by the team at CapitalTrails

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Music

Nakul Butta talks about what it means to be a self-sufficient trail runner and how a culture of self-sufficiency can be built in the sport of trail running.

Nakul has been a part of the Indian running scene for over a decade and a half and has been a top finisher in many road, cross-country, trail and mountain races in the country. Along with being a co-founder at CapitalTrails, Nakul is the founder and head coach at All In Running - which is one of India’s only holistic and community-driven training organisations with a focus on strength, nutrition, physiological health AND mental health for running, trail and mountain sports. Nakul is also a champion for the running community and organises a lot of awareness and contribution initiatives for rural and underprivileged runners, towards environmental impact organisations, and for local sports in general. As a trail runner, outdoors athlete and coach, Nakul has been spreading awareness and building a practice of self-sufficient running, racing and lifestyle in the outdoor circles.

In no particular order, we talk about:

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All In Running

Nakul

Kshitish

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Talking Dirt is written, recorded and produced by the team at CapitalTrails

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Music

We're joined by Chetan Sehgal as he brings perspectives from both sides of the table when it comes to events in high altitudes. Whether you're a participant, an athlete or an organiser, Chetan has it all covered.

Chetan has been exploring routes and organising events in the high Himalayas for over 12 years. He was one of the core team members behind the infamous and gruelling La Ultra, which is a race that passes through some of the highest motorable mountain passes in the Ladakh region of India. Chetan is also a part of Boots & Crampons, who organise expeditions to peaks that are over 6000m high - that’s over 20000ft - and is the brain behind the Summit Run mountain race series.

We talk about (in no particular order):

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All In Running

Boots and Crampons

Summit Run Series

Chetan

Kshitish

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Talking Dirt is written, recorded and produced by the team at CapitalTrails

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Music

In our very first episode, Dr. Juby George shares her thoughts and views on how things are for women in the Indian road and trail running scene, what needs to improve, and how a dialogue can be started with fellow athletes, event organisers, local brands and within communities to make running a safe and accessible sport for women.

Dr. Juby is one of the most experienced and respected runners in the Indian running scene. She holds a Doctorate in Theoretical Physics, is a lifelong fan of Manchester United, is a Comrades finisher, has run more halfs and marathons than can be counted, always trains fiercely and with purpose, and is a champion for women in the running scene.

We talk about (in no particular order):

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Dr. Juby

Kshitish

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Talking Dirt is written, recorded and produced by the team at CapitalTrails

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Music