Kids conquer the tough terrains of Mashobra to become Tuffkids – Tuffman Shimla Ultra and Half Marathon Mashobra run  

Tuffman Mashobra run is rated as one of India’s toughest hill runs. Rough terrains, elevation gain ranging from 600m to 4450m and temperature varies from 10 °C to 30 °C, adding a degree of difficulty for the runners, especially those who are coming from the planes and have little exposure to running in the hills. 

Apart from the professional runners, the kids too had conquered the Mashobra terrains during the recently held 6th edition of the Tuffman Shimla Ultra & Half Marathon Mashobra Run. 

The organisers had included the kids’ category, along with the usual run for the seniors, ranging from 10km to 80km ultra run. 

For the kids, above 8 years, the run was for 4 km – a loop of 2km with an elevation gain of around 2000 feet.

Haryana’s 13-year-old Vandana Kanojia won the top honours in the Tuffkids girls’ category. Thakarshi Kirola won the second position, while Nimrat Malik finished third.

In the boy’s section of the Tuffkids, Amrit Malik came first.  

“It’s for the first time that I participated in the Tuffman hill run. I really enjoyed the run and the exposure that I got here, especially running on the rough terrain and uphill part, will help me in my future running competitions,” says state-level athlete Vandana. “I am pursuing running seriously and want to carve out my career in athletics.”

In Tuffkids category run, the girls participation outnumbered the boys.  

“Good to see more number of girls participating in the Tuffkids run. We included the kids’ category to promote running and fitness among the children. In Mashobra, many of the parents and their kids had taken part in the running. For them it’s a family-run,” says Sanjay Mangla, a founder of Tuffman and himself an ultra runner. “Our motto is to make everyone in a family to run – A family that runs together, stays together.”