OOTYULTRA

OOTYULTRA is organised by KaysFIT Academy, founded by Kannan Sundararajan, a.k.a. Coach Kay. The 90k, 60k, 30k, and 15k race distances allow every type of runner to experience the stunning course and test their limits. The challenging route is designed to take you through the streets of Ooty, including its key landmarks, green wooded forests and hidden village roads, usually considered as the hidden treasures of OOTY. With a detour through the second-highest peak in South India – Doddabetta Peak – the course lets you discover and enjoy each part of the town and its surrounding mountainous beauty.

Coach Kay’s KaysFIT Academy organises OOTYULTRA. It was initially founded as a private event for KaysFIT Academy clients to train for the Comrades Marathon, a similarly gruelling marathon in South Africa. Still, it was later expanded to the greater public in limited numbers.

OOTYULTRA is a tough ROAD running event, with steep up/down gradients, for the regular amateur runners to the serious recreational Ultramarathon lovers. The race will have three distance categories, i.e 15k, 30k & 60k. The Ultramarathon will be run through the important streets of Ooty, key Ooty landmarks, green wooded forests and innocent village roads. As you run, you will quickly escape into the mountains reaching the second highest peak in south India and also view breathtaking scenery.

The 60k OOTYULRA will be run on mountain roads (~2000 m elevation gain) with close to 50 km non-repeating sections. The first 5 km is run on flat roads and the ascent to the Dodabetta Peak starts from 6k onwards. From there till about 10k its an uphill which will take you to the second highest peak in South India.

Most runners will reach at the time the daylight has already broken and you can have a breathtaking view of the blue mountains from that height. Some early runners can even witness the sun rising from the plains and on a clear day one can even see the Ooty town, the lake and the race course clearly.

After 10 km, you will run down and reach the 4 roads junction and run towards Kothagiri. At the 15 km, you will reach the Tea Garden, this is the finish point for all categories. After the fuel reloads, you will get out of the Tea Park and get to the 15km section. Follow the route markers on the roads/road intersections carefully.

From 15k to 30k is a loop of 15k with steep downhill sections and an uphill section to get back to the Tea Park where you will find adequately stocked fuel station to recharge before heading out to finish the longest 30 km section, which will be a non-repeating section.

Why should you run the OOTYULTRA?
– Visit South India’s highest peak 2637 m, all by running
– Provides opportunity for a variety of runners including the experienced recreational runners (60k), intermediate runners (30k) and beginners (15k)
– 90+% non-repeating tough road run through blissful blue mountain running
– Exciting pre-race day events
– Souvenir T-Shirt & unique custom medal
– Make it a perfect summer family vacation in OOTY
– Opportunity to be titled the #ULTRAmalaivasi (the Ultra Mountain dweller, Malaivasi is in Tamil)
– Dedicated volunteers, passionate organizing team & sponsoring partners to provide a “WOW” experience to runners
– Safety of the runners are given utmost priority (only experienced runners allowed to enter the 30k & 60k under strict qualification guidelines), first-aid & CPR trained volunteers, medical team support with AED kit