When Indian ultra-marathon runner Sufiya Sufi, who holds an incredible five Guinness world-records, targets an expedition, a large number of things need to be planned meticulously. After all, it’s not easy to run between 50-100 kilometres a day. So many things have to go absolutely right. And for that she and her team need to break everything – from diet, to clothing to gear to potential weather hazards etc.
A chat with someone like Sufiya reveals just how much planning and effort goes into every run. And then there are the unforeseen circumstances. When she
ran from Kashmir to Kanniyakumari in 2019 she encountered a huge Army movement, because of the Pulwama terror attack. The result was a collapsed lung and a five-day hospital stay.
It’s easy to be discouraged by something like that. But athletes like Sufiya continue to inspire us, precisely because of their never-say-die attitude. Looking at everything through a positive prism is her mantra. In the new year she will be representing India in the 24-hour stadium run – the world championship in France, for which she qualified this year.
But her biggest target right now is an
incredibly challenging run around the globe in 740 days. So as this 37-year-old, who gave up her steady job in the aviation industry to pursue her passion for running, prepares for these upcoming runs, we spoke to her about the overall logistics of distance running – from diet and hydration, to clothing and gear, to help along the way, to training and more.
Sufiya, who holds the world record for being the fastest athlete (across men’s and women’s categories) to complete the Manali to Leh trail, also spoke about what running really means to her and what her advice would be for budding athletes.
This is part 2 of an exclusive interview with Sufiya Sufi:
Let’s talk about diet and training. Fair to say that both depend on what your next run or expedition is going to be?
Yes, that’s right. Whatever the next run is, the entire training plan changes according to that. For example, if we are planning a run in the mountains we train a certain way, if we are going for a road run where we need to cover 100 kilometres a day, the training and practice for that is different. And depending on what the training regime is like we need to fix the diet plan accordingly.
In ultra-running you can’t really measure your food intake, as such. Whatever you eat you will digest almost instantly. The body just gets so used to that. You might be surprised to hear that while running I eat ‘aloo ka parathas’ also, I eat burgers also. In ultra-running you lose a lot of calories very fast. And it’s not like you can consume all the calories you need after the run is over. The strategy here has to be very different.
When I am running a marathon, I need to focus more on a liquid diet. But when I am running an ultra-marathon and covering 50-60 kilometres a day, I need to have solid food, while running. I am burning so many calories so fast that I need to do this. My aim always is to intake calories while I am running. I eat a lot of dates and fruit while running. I need to also focus on hydration, so that I don’t start cramping up and feel fatigued.
Now, after so many years, my perspective towards running is very different from what it used to be when I first started running. I know how important diet is, how important a tailored training programme is. So, there are a lot of things that go into a successful run.
Also, for those who are not well versed with distance-running, can you explain how all the food items, water, other drinks etc is carried on your runs…
There is always a support vehicle behind me. Some athletes have full caravans behind them, which also have washrooms. I started my journey from zero and we didn’t have so many resources. A well-wisher of ours gave us a car and we took that with us for my first run. My partner Vikas drives the support vehicle for all my expeditions, driving behind me at the speed at which I am running. So right now, I have a team of one.
So, how will you handle these logistics when say you set-off on your circumnavigation of the globe, in 2026?
For that I will need a core team of 10-12 members. This team will be with me throughout. I have to run 50 kilometres a day for 740 days. So, we need a large team for this. We will have a separate team in the background for this. I will be covering 32 countries and in case anything is missed at any stage, that will mean that whatever distance I haven’t been able to run in one day will get added to the next day’s target distance.
Honestly, running 50 kilometres a day is not a very big challenge for me. But to do that every day, without any breaks, for 740 days in a row, that is a huge challenge. Mentally I am prepared for this run. If someone asks me to start right now, I can do that (laughs), but everything boils down to resources and support and we are working towards that right now.
Do you break down a run, going by the total distance and terrain, and train for that in a simulated manner?
When you have to run so many kilometres a day, every day, then the challenge is not just the run itself. You have to fight with the weather, the terrain and you don’t know what you will encounter at the next step. So, for these kinds of runs, the preparation is more mental. So, that I am prepared for the worst of the worst situations. For runs like these you can’t do exact training. During my training I focus most of workouts. Strength workouts, core workouts. If you only run, then the muscles break down and become weaker. Workouts make the muscles stronger. So, strength and core workouts, breathing exercises, meditation – this is what I mostly focus on in my training. Apart from this there are one or two long runs that I go for every week.
Let’s talk about the overall benefits of running. Apart from the obvious cardio/physical ones, mentally and also emotionally how much can running recharge an individual? I have heard many people say that running is like meditation for them. Do you also feel the same?
Yes. That’s a good question. When I started running and ran the first 3 kilometres it released a lot of my frustration and negativity and gave me a lot of relief. Any sport will change you – not just physically but also mentally. In ultra-running, when you start your run, at first the thoughts are like – who did I fight with? Who said what? We think of things like these. But then, after some time you enter a zone where you have no thoughts at all. Where your mind will not want to think of anything. You will just feel the things around you. I call it the ‘sufi’ zone.
When I enter that zone, I feel like there is some divine power that is pushing you. You know that you are tired, you are really fatigued and your body is exhausted, but there’s a power that is pushing you towards your goal. When you are in the ‘sufi’ zone you don’t want to think about anything, you just want to keep your mind empty.
You are an incredibly inspirational figure. What would your advice be for budding athletes?
I want to say this first – the person I was when I used to work at the airport and who I am now – they are two different people. I feel like I learnt the real meaning of life only after I started running. The achievements cannot be restricted to my runs and accolades. For me my biggest achievement is to be able to inspire people to change their lives. Initially there is that craze – I hold these records and have these prizes etc.
But now, I feel truly happy when people approach me and are happy to meet me and tell me that I have done a little something to change their lives. When you become a catalyst for change – that makes me very happy. I have learnt a lot from life. I have never had a role model or someone who inspired me. When I look back at my life so far, I try and remember my experiences and my challenges to assess what I have faced and overcome and where I have reached. When new challenges crop up I feel like I have faced and overcome far greater challenges in the past, so these are not daunting. I have learnt a lot from my own journey, from other people.
When you run on the roads you learn a lot from the environments around you. It makes me happy and I am grateful to God for giving me such a nice life. When I run, I see people travelling hundreds of kilometres to fill water. Others are putting in a lot of manual labour so that they can make ends meet and have two square meals a day. I have always observed these things, learnt from them and been thankful and grateful. One must have patience – it teaches you a lot.
My message for people – if you have a goal in life, doesn’t have to be in sports, whatever it might be, the first thing you need is the right mindset. That is a must. For example, I work out daily, I have built muscles and my body is fit. But if I don’t have a strong mindset to take on the challenges, then being physically fit is useless. Everything is in the mind. You should have the belief and the patience to tell yourself that whatever journey you have embarked upon, you will be able to complete it successfully. These days a lot of people, if they are not successful in one field, change their field. You see this a lot. Patience is paramount. Most people want to achieve a lot in a very short span of time.
In sports, it’s like doing tapasyaa (spiritual discipline/meditation). You have to forge yourself in the fire and after a long time of doing that and maintaining that discipline, you will start seeing the results. Stay patient, stay positive and remember that your biggest competition is you yourself. I feel when you are competitive towards others, it brings in a certain negativity and makes you lose energy. We see this a lot when say people are running marathons – that I have to leave this person behind me and overtake this person etc. You shouldn’t focus on that. Your focus should be – whatever performance you put in yesterday, you have to do better than that today. It’s very important to compete with yourself. Try to improve yourself every day.