Globeracers
Globeracers was born out of my imagination as I envisioned myself running through the world’s most remote interiors and rugged landscapes. It’s impossible to describe the energy that runs through my veins every time I hit the trails or take my cycle out for a grueling ride. Only those who do such extreme activities can understand the satisfaction one feels after those long runs and rides. “Race the world,” I tell myself, on foot and on wheels, one mile at a time.
Though 2011 is a year, in which we haven’t done much in terms of organizing races due to my commitment to Samim for RAAM 2011, and Arun for Badwater 2011, it is an year which is worth a thousand experiences. We take the year forward with two races, Bhati Lakes 2011 and Ultra BOB 626, and commit to putting on a full calendar of races in 2012, crewing for our favorite runners and riders, and supporting charity events such as Strides of Hope and Asha runs, while we diligently work with all our endurance athletes to raise fund for our cause, water, supporting Blue Planet India’s water projects.
Globeracers’ focus is endurance running and cycling. It intends to expand on its multi-day races, 24/48 series and a major long distance cycling event covering over 5000kms. It also aims to introduce minimal to considerate price purse in each of its races. Through this is intends to support struggling athletes the best it can given that individual sponsorships are rare in India.
Globeracers will also focus on nurturing athletes through training, crewing and offering deserving sponsorships through its network of individual and corporate sponsors to encourage athletes and endurance sport.
- Kavitha Kanaparthi
The Team
Kavitha Kanaparthi
An electrical engineer by profession, I spent my childhood in India and then went to Washington University in St. Louis. Career choices kept me indoors for a few years while I slugged it out as a consultant in New Jersey. I knew I wouldn’t last long putting together anything remotely resembling a circuit, unless it is the trail circuit! I kept circling back to one thing, a restlessness, which wouldn’t go away. I wanted to bring ultra marathon running to India.
Nearly six years have passed since I came to India to begin putting together this dream. I am still restless, but now it is to be riding the next trial or running the next mountain in this beautiful country. While I got back to running, and built on my miles, I crewed for my fellow runner and trainer, Santosh during his attempt to break his own record of 156km in 24 hours, while I had my own 25km to run that morning! Participating in events to maintain focus on my own training while I worked on Globeracers events has been a challenging yet satisfying experience. Thar Run 2009 began our journey in to the Ultra Running world. With the same quest, Globeracers came together with other running organizations in Bangalore to hold its first ever 48-hour run, giving runners a taste of Ultra-running as a sport. Sharing my experiences, and passion for running with every runner, and would-be runners has been very encouraging.
With time, I have come to enjoy crewing and took up the challenge of being the crew chief for the only rider from India, Samim Rizvi, to have qualified for RAAM in 2011. It is an experience, which is surreal and one which has solidified my love for the sport and commitment to athletes who seek me out to train, ride or run. Crewing at Badwater came right after RAAM in July 2011, where again the first Indian runner to qualify and complete the run was Arun Bharadwaj.
Navita Shyam
I am a woman of varied interests. Benefitting from convent education, I have spent all my growing years in the city of Bangalore, India. I have been an acknowledged sports-woman and athlete all through my teenage years and aced in many a sport. I consider myself very fortunate to have been introduced to the great Outdoors very early in life, as early as 7th grade in school There has been no looking back since then. Deeply drawn to the hills and surrounding wilderness, what started off as weekend getaways, soon turned into a strong abiding passion for Life!
Even while I pursued an Engineering degree, I would often find myself in the abode of Majestic Himalayas. My passion finds me engaged in activities or experiences that call for a high degree of mental and physical challenge, one of the reasons why I took up mountaineering in addition to the element of risk involved. The state of ‘being on the edge’ is my driving force. I am a professional mountaineer & a rock climber. Besides climbing natural rock, I have also participated in artificial wall climbing competitions, and won many an accolade. To cap it, I am an “Outdoor Educator”
I have walked the Himalayan valleys ever so often in the last 15 years. It is a place where I seek inner peace and feel most at home. My ventures into newer heights have taken me to an elevation of 23,000 ft, I have crossed many passes, and scaled a few peaks, and seeking the heights I long for. These journeys have brought me in touch with many places, outside and within myself. I have been in spaces filled with light and seen dark, dingy places, in a very symbolic reminder of life. I have been fortunate to spend time with some of the most giving, intelligent, and hearty people in some stark and awe-inspiring landscapes, learning from them and many more, a valuable lesson. A lesson that stands apart is of embracing what the moment brings with a smile!
I have worked for the past 15 years in the field of experiential education with various organizations across the globe – Ozone Experiential Learning Technologies Pvt Ltd., Bangalore, Play for Peace, India, Where there be Dragons, U.S.A, National Outdoor Leadership School, U.S.A and a few other organizations. I’ve also had extensive training as a Wilderness EMT/first responder. Currently I am pursuing a degree in Sociology.
My operating principal is to allow students / individuals to have discoveries of their own. I learned that resources in the hands of individuals with a desire for self-discovery can truly change them and the world around them.
With a sense of humor that never dies, patience that never gives in, a mind open to all possibilities, and a ‘strength to stick with it’ attitude, I venture to find something exciting with my running shoes on. As a Globeracer Counselor, I seek to travel the world as I am reminded of Rabindranath Tagore’s words:
And when old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart; and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders.
