OOTYULTRA is an Ultramarathon organized by KaysFIT Academy, founded by Kannan Sundararajan, a.k.a Coach Kay, also the Race Director.

OOTYULTRA is a tough ROAD running event, with steep up/down gradients, for the regular amateur runners to the serious ultramarathon lovers. With four distance categories 90k, 60k, 30k & 15k, OOTYULTRA offers an opportunity for everyone to experience this beautiful ultramarathon.

The challenging OOTYULTRA route is designed to take you through the streets of Ooty town, key 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 enjoy the breathtaking views.

OOTYULTRA is for everyone

OOTYULTRA loves the Comrades Marathon

For the runners training for the Comrades Marathon (or similar road ultra races), OOTYULTRA acts as a perfect long training timed to align with mountain training needed for these races in April.

Some of the Comrades runners who ran OOTYULTRA are featured in the INSPIRATION page

Distance categories

90k

The most challenging race category with a 2642 m elevation gain & 2416 m drop with a 12 hr cut-off for the elite ultra runners offered only by invitation.

60k

1947 m elevation gain & 1779 m drop, with a 10.30 hrs cut-off, this category is best suited for the recreational and first-time ultrarunners and some serious ultrarunners who like the challenge this route has to offer.

Also used as a training run for many other Indian/International ultramarathons. Sub 5:40 hr marathon finish, mandatory for qualification

30k

For the regular half marathon runners planning to start ultramarathons, experience ultra-difficult terrain. Sub 3 hrs half marathon mandatory for qualification. Still, a challenging course with 1053m elevation gain and 889 m drop.

15k

For 10k runners planning to understand what it is to run in an ultra-difficult terrain and enjoy the wholesome experience of being part of an ultramarathon. 488 m elevation gain and 317 m drop.

The perfect connection

OOTYULTRA is a perfect way to connect with the local tradition, history, natural beauty, culture, and the people of Ooty and the Blue Mountains. Running in such a beautiful mountain will also provide a unique opportunity for the runners to experience the gift of nature.

Every year, OOTYULTRA attracts many local runners and runners from across India/abroad along with their family members to the Nilgiris district.

Why should you run the OOTYULTRA?

OOTYULTRA provides an opportunity for runners across the world to come and experience many unique things such as,

• Visit South India’s highest peak, Doddabetta located 2637 m above mean sea level , all by running
• designed for the experienced fast & professional athletes to run the 90k, serious & recreational ultramarathoners runners to run the 60k, intermediate distance runners to run the 30k and the beginners to run 15k.
• 90% route is non-repeating tough terrains through blissful blue mountains
• exciting pre-race day events
• Free souvenir T-Shirt & sponsor goodies
• First time in the history of marathon events – a 4-inch diameter, unique laser-cut custom medal with the runner’s name cut on it for all successful finishers within the cut off (read the cut off rules)
• timed to help you plan a perfect summer family vacation in OOTY
• become the #ULTRAmalaivasi (the Ultra Mountain dweller, Malaivasi – மலைவாசி in Tamil)
• supported by dedicated volunteers, passionate organizing team & sponsoring partners to provide a “WOW” experience to runners
• focuses on the safety of the runners as a topmost priority. Only experienced runners allowed to enter the 90k, 60k & 30k under strict qualification guidelines, first-aid & CPR trained volunteers, medical team support with AED kit, bike marshals, and HAM volunteers.

History

The first edition was conducted on the 29-Apr-2018 with few international and 278 runners across ten states in India and 2nd edition on the 7-Apr-2019 with 717 runners. The third edition was canceled and the fourth edition was conducted virtually in 2021. The fifth edition is scheduled for 3-Apr-2022.

Coach Kay is a back to back Comrades Marathon (in South Africa) finisher and provides ultramarathon coaching for their preparations to run the Comrades Marathon. Interestingly, a 60k long training planned in Ooty for the KaysFIT Academy Comrades runners, Balaji Thulasiraman, Ajay Verma & Satyashil Pradhan, who was training for the Comrades Marathon down run in 2018, had instantly evolved as the OOTYULTRA.

Behind the Logo

We are proudly unveiling the OOTYULTRA logo, which signifies the local culture, flora & few iconic places in Ooty.