Durshet Forest Marathon brings us back to the place where we started with Velotales as a regular feature one year back. One year and dozens of marathons and other events later, it remains one of our most favorite events to cover. It’s not the toughest out of the Run Buddies Club’s arsenal of marathons (they have ensured that the routes get as tough as they get exotic), but is definitely the most alluring. Monsoon soaked Shayadris, river Amba running parallel to the route, waterfalls formed on almost every mountain face, a tribal village with an ancient lifestyle to make your first world problems like no internet connectivity seem ludicrous, the experiences are in every step of the 32 kilometers route to savor.
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Tucked in quietly at river Amba’s bank, about 7 kilometers mark from the start is the tribal village, Chavani, where the life is much simpler, days are a bit longer and the routines almost ancient. The Adivasi community lives in pure co-existence with the nature that surrounds them, huts made from cow-dung, bricks & trees, taking the rain in their usual stride & the river as their ally, they are mountains’ own.
They are fast, strong and sweaty!
There are volunteers, friends, spectators and fellow runners cheering you up, but it eventually is a battle to be fought alone. Challenge is relative, to each their own.
Hamara Bajaj - BAJAJ M80, a 1986 model, 74cc and 4.7 bhp in all, still serving it’s purpose and more.
The route in itself didn’t seem as difficult as it did last year, thanks to the other routes that The Run Buddies have presented us. For most of it’s part it’s a laid out road, including some rough patches and severe inclines and the last couple of kilometers being all rock and mud, compared to the route in Matheran, it’s foam.
Rain accompanied the runners through out the marathon. It wasn’t a thrashing like Matheran, but was consistent. Whenever it did stop, the valley got extremely humid. Quick fix - splash some more water.
The participants were 5 times more than the past year and their faces said that the numbers will get higher come the 2017 version.
The most popular venue out of the 4 absolutely drool worthy courses selected for hosting the monsoon marathon madness, Durshet marathon goes from strength to strength. It’s a journey through the vastness of the mountains and the valley, a meeting with simpler joys of life,a tough 32 kilometers of running in unusual weather conditions and terrains and above all,witnessing first hand and may be realizing that the minimum required to live, may be enough.
© 2026 Veloscope
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