How a 39-YO Bengaluru Woman Trained Herself to Finish Japan’s Toughest 173 Km Ultra Race

(Featured image courtesy Times Now)

At kilometre 130, Ashwini Ganapathi’s legs were shaking. She had been running for nearly 36 hours. No sleep, barely any real food, and still 43 km of steep, rocky mountain trail left.

She thought of quitting. Anyone would.

But then she remembered the nap room at the last checkpoint, where she tried to lie down for five minutes, hoping to rest. “I didn’t sleep for two nights. I tried resting for five minutes in a nap room but just couldn’t drift off,” she said.

So she stood up, adjusted her eight-kg backpack, and kept going. That moment, somewhere in the forests of Japan, would go on to define her life.

In June 2025, Ashwini — a 39-year-old endurance coach and former IT professional from Bengaluru — became the only non-Japanese runner to complete the Deep Japan Ultra 100, one of Asia’s hardest ultramarathon.

It wasn’t just a race. It was 173 kilometres of unforgiving mountain terrain, 9,000 metres of climbing, sharp weather swings, and isolation. She ran through the day. She ran through the night. Then ran through another.

And she finished in 45 hours and 42 minutes, just minutes before the 46-hour cutoff.

Out of 135 runners who started, only 63 finished. Ashwini was among them.

(Image courtesy: Times Now)

She wasn’t born into this life; she chose it

Ashwini didn’t grow up dreaming of mountains or finish lines. She grew up like most of us — studying, working, trying to find her place in the world. She worked in tech for nine years. Got married. Followed the path she thought she was supposed to.

But there was always a voice at the back of her mind, nudging her toward movement.

“I was always athletic — I played field hockey at school — but realised I was better at endurance than speed,” she said.

In 2019, she ran her first ultramarathon — the 110 km Malnad Ultra in Karnataka. At the end of it, she still felt like she had more in her. “I still had energy after running 100 km — that’s when I started dreaming about a 100-miler,” she said.

Getting there wasn’t easy. Ashwini quit her job and began coaching and training full-time. She started running 70 to 90 km every week, added strength training, and worked on her mindset.

(Image courtesy: Times of India)

She chose races that tested her mentally, like the Backyard Ultra, where she ran 187.8 km in 28 hours, loop after loop, without knowing when it would end.

She pushed her limits so she could one day survive a race like Japan.

This race was different. It was unforgiving.

But even with all that prep, the Deep Japan Ultra 100 was unlike anything she’d faced.

“You climb one mountain, and they make you climb it again. And again. You run through forests with barely any aid stations, sometimes 28 km apart. It’s brutal,” she said.

The weather didn’t help. Hot. Humid. Then 33°C on Day 2. Some runners collapsed. Others gave up. Seventy-two dropped out. Ashwini didn’t. “The dropout rate was huge — 72 runners didn’t finish, which shows just how brutal the course was,” she said.

But it wasn’t just grit that got her through. It was the people behind her. “My husband and in-laws supported me throughout. My mother-in-law manages things at home when I’m away,” she shared. The race itself was funded by the CSR wing of an automotive tech company, Tekion for Good.

Ashwini packed everything she needed — vegetarian food, water, safety gear — into her backpack, knowing she couldn’t depend on the aid stations. She carried over 8 kg of weight. And still, she moved.

(Image courtesy: Times of India)

‘I hope to inspire women to believe in themselves’

By the time she reached the finish line, Ashwini was exhausted. But not broken.

In fact, she was smiling. “Women are born with endless endurance… I hope more women will step onto the trails and believe in their strength,” she said.

Ashwini Ganapathi’s story isn’t just about crossing a finish line in Japan.
It’s about listening to that small voice inside you that says, “You can go further.”
And then taking one step. And another. And another.
Until one day, you look up and realise…
You’ve run 173 kilometres.

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