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Cinderella man at 71
At a stage when most of the people from his age-group would enjoy the company of grandchildren, Rex Whittle is busy trekking for close to a whopping 24 miles in a day. Saloni Bhatia talks to him to find out the secret behind this old man’s spirit Seventy one-year-old Rex Whittle could have easily sat in his garden and watched his grandchildren play. But, the man who hails from Hong Kong prefers to come to India to be a part of the challenging Himalayan Race and Trek International Event. What's more interesting is the fact that he loves the difficulties which come with the race. “I guess the most challenging part of the event is the first day climbing of 24 miles from Manebhanjang to Sandakphu. Getting older means this gets more and more difficult. Still, next day at Sandakphu is well worth it,” he tells you.
But doesn’t his age act as a deterrent? “Health has never been an issue. This year I was a little tired when I came for the race. That was because I overdid some trekking in Nepal. Next time around, I will come better prepared,” he says.
Whittle's love affair with adventure sports began a little late. Till the age of 50, he was deeply engrossed in his work. A need to imbibe fitness in his regime and get back to shape prompted him to take up running. “Up to the age of 50 the only thing that mattered was work. After 50 I was able to remove myself from management, stop smoking and then start running to get the resulting weight gain under control. Then came local marathons and trail races. Trail running easily translates to trekking as you look around and enjoy your environment,” he recalls.
Whittle's first tryst with the Himalayan event was in 1999. He had lost his job and was looking for an outlet to come out of those years he had spent in management. Though the termination lasted only for two-three weeks, he got an opportunity to make a foray into adventure running. And as the cliche goes, the rest is history. “The first event was sufficiently memorable in terms of the people I met and the locale. I told myself I had to come back and I did several times. I have another interest and that is photography, particularly of animals, that I share with my brother-in-law. We have met for many years in Kenya in the September-October time frame. So to keep this arrangement I have been meeting my brother-in-law in Nairobi in even years and coming back to India in odd years,” he says.
Ever since he got the bug of adventure racing, he has participated in MDS (Marathon des Sables) in Morocco and Racing the Planet's Gobi Desert in north China. “Since I treat all these events as holidays as much as challenges, I am not too upset if I can't complete one of them,” he adds.
Though his family is worried about his fascination, he has turned a deaf ear to their constant pleas to stop participating in the event. “I am slightly crazy. My wife worries. So far, I have avoided a really big problem that would lead to my wife grounding me. I don't push myself beyond my capacity. I try to play sensibly, a quality which I have learnt with age,” he tells you.
In order to keep himself fit for the race, Whittle does year round running. A week or so before the event he usually goes to Nepal to do trekking and get acclimatised to the altitude.
With the passage of time, Whittle has built memories of the event. “I remember the image of an Argentine who tripped on the giant cobblestones and broke his nose. Our doctor fixed him up and he went on to complete the race which demanded a lot of courage. The people, interactions with the staff, the cobbles, the hills and the scenic view forces me to keep coming back,” he says.
CS Pandey, the race director seconds Whittle: “While running one can enjoy the beautiful view of world's four out of five highest peaks: Mt Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, and Makalu. Also, getting acclimatised to the altitude, surviving for five days and the cobblestones add to the challenging part.” he believes.
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