Swonding Molong first started running because it made him feel good. Later, he realised that it even helped him work better. Yet, for the longest time, Molong — a 55-year-old ginger farmer from Meghalaya — kept it a secret. “It started in 2015,” he says, “I would be up by 4am, when it was still dark.” A little before 4.30am, Molong would put on his gumboots — the same ones he used in the fields — and set out into the dark. Also read | The World's Wettest Run Over the next hour, the farmer would run up and down the undulating roads of his village, only stopping to catch his breath, or quench his thirst at the little creek he would come by. “It was too early for anyone to see me,” he says, “if they did, they would laugh at me.” In Molong’s village, Shngimawlein, in the South West Khasi Hills District’s Makyrwat area — running, something that came naturally to most of its residents, was always considered a means to do a chore. You ran to the market to buy something. You ran home from school at the end of the day. When other people in the world walked, in Mawkyrwat, you ran. But you never ran for no reason. “And that was what I was doing,” says Molong. But things changed for Molong, when in 2015, he participated in his first “professional” run. He had heard about the “Run for Democracy” organised by the Meghalaya Athletics Association in Shillong from a friend. “I didn’t tell many people about it. It was a 10km run. I do not remember my timing but I won,” he recalls. Post the victorious race, running was no longer a secret Molong had to stealthily indulge in at the crack of dawn. Later, he went on to participate in several marathons across the country: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Manali and most recently, the Mawkyrwat Ultra 2018 — a high endurance marathon across the dense forest of the Mawkyrwat region — which began and ended in Molong’s village, Shngimawlein, itself. “Seeing me, many youngsters in the village started running too,” he says. For Molong, the best bit was that his wife and kids started running too. On many mornings, Ephenida, a mother of 12, can often be seen trailing her husband, in her traditional jainkyrshah and rubber slippers. “I am not as fast as him. Often I just end up walking. But it still makes me feel good about myself,” she says. "IT FIXED ME" In the sierras and canyons of Mexico, the indigenous Tarahumara tribe are gifted natural long distance runners, and for years have been a subject of journalistic and ethnographic study. The Khasis of Meghalaya’s Mawkyrwat too, some believe, have similar characteristics. “When I did a couple of local races, I noticed a group of runners always winning and they all happened to be from Mawkyrwat!” says Shillong-based architect Gerald Pde, 44, who along with his wife, Habari Warjri, 38, started Run Meghalaya in 2013 — an initiative to promote running in the state. Pde, who had just returned from New York then, thought his hometown had amazing potential for runners. “But running was never a thing back then. For example, kids would run only during school sports’ day,” he says. Over the years, as the influence of Run Meghalaya spread, the couple organised three editions of the Sohra Marathon (2014, 2015 and 2016) around Cherrapunjee. It was then that they noticed the runners — even though they were only a few at the time — from Mawkyrwat. The headquarters of the South West Khasi Hill district of Meghalaya, Mawkyrwat has close to 200 villages — remote hamlets that subsist on agriculture, betel nut cultivation and charcoal production. “We soon realised that the villagers from Mawkyrwat were similar to the Tarahumaras in many ways. The terrain in which they live is rugged and hilly. Their lives revolve around growing and foraging their own food like they have been doing for generations. They have a strong sense of community,” says Warjri. That led them to organise the first edition of the Mawkyrwat Ultra — a marathon that had trails across thirty forested villages in the region. In October 2017, the first Mawkyrwat Ultra took place, with three runs (30k, 45k and 72k) and 85 participants. “The whole region is pretty backward — but the villagers agreed to host the runners in their own homes. So in a way, the run was also a big plus for Mawkyrwat tourism,” says Pde. For that weekend, the — especially Shngimawlein — turned into a hub of activity: along the trail, villagers set up jadoh (or rice and meat) stalls for the runners to halt at. While in 2017, the marathon had runners from across the country (and one from Australia), it was the local Mawkyrwat runners who stole the show. This year, out of the 185 participants, 64 were villagers — cutting through age and gender. Among them was 71-year-old grandmother of 22, Kmoin Wahlang, who participated in the 45k in her category. In 2001, after the birth of her twelfth child, Wahlang, suffered from severe stomach issues. “So I began walking. Then slowly I started running,” giggles the septuagenarian, “I didn’t even have shoes then.” On October 27, right after crossing the finish line at the Mawkyrwat Ultra, she wears sneakers and shorts, a medal around her chest and a wide grin. “When I first started — many told me, ‘Are you mad. You will ruin your old body!’ But running did to me what no doctor could. It fixed me.” RUNNING FOR JOY On a sunny Mawkyrwat morning, by the side of the field, Dateibankynmaw Marviem, 25, and Jomsingstar Ramsiej, 33, sit — winners of the 45 km run at the Mawkyrwat Ultra. As villagers come to congratulate them (Datei, who works as a domestic help in Shillong, completed the 30k in 2 hours 40 minutes in the womens’ category and Jomsingstar, who has represented Meghalaya nationally, in 2 hours 2 minutes in the mens’ category), both agree that getting money for kit, gear and shoes is “the main challenge for poor farmer families like them”. “But when we see people like Bining Star Lyngkhoi — we get inspired,” says Ramsiej. In all these years, Mawkyrwat has produced one professional runner of international caliber. Bining Star Lyngkhoi used to be cow grazer, until he started running. In 2000, he joined the Sports Authority of India to train. Later, he joined the army and participated in the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Today, the 33-year-old is training to be a coach in Pune. He feels that that Mawkyrwat is the best place to train for long distance running. “The air is fresh, the water is pure, the altitude is high — recovery takes 4 hours here, while in the plains it takes 12,” says Lyngkhoi, who is considered a local hero in the region. While Lyngkhoi laments that not many steps have been taken by the government to really tap into the Mawkyrwat talent (and thus, there aren’t many runners from the region representing the state nationally), the authorities claim they have been trying their best. “The District Sports Promotion Society has an athletics component that organises several runs. We want to help identify talented youth and guide them,” says Kum Isawanda Laloo, Deputy Commissioner of South West Khasi Hills district, who was present at Mawkyrwat Ultra. During the bypoll in August earlier this year, the Meghalaya government hired runners from the district to act as messengers between polling stations in inaccessible areas and the main polling offices. Among them was 39-year-old Tlanding Wahlang. The father of four, who subsists on a diet of red rice, potatoes, and wild herbs (only occasions call for chicken, pork and fish), is one of the most talented runners of the region. In the Mawkyrwat Ultra 2018, Wahlang came first in the 72k race with a timing of 5 hours 39 minutes. As he runs in marathons across the country, he almost always achieves a podium finish. A few weeks before Mawkyrwat, the farmer blazed to a record finish at the Hell Race 60km Ultra marathon in Manali. Races like these, which offer prize money, have become an additional source of income for Wahlang. “And that is why I decided to pursue running. Because it’s given me and my family a better life. We eat better. We live better,” he says. “And I later realised it made me happy, too. Now I have started running for joy.”
