The Mawkyrwat Ultra

The Mawkyrwat Ultra venue is Shngimawlein village. Deep in the interiors of Meghalaya, it is perched on top of a hill in Mawkyrwat, South West Khasi Hills District. The four hour bus ride from Shillong to Shngimawlein will take you from the chaos of Shillong city to a tranquil village. You will be rewarded by amazing views, clean fresh air and smiling faces. The village will be your home for two days. You will witness simple village life. Vegetable patches, pigsties and chicken coops surround small houses on plots of land separated by short wooden fences. Children are always running around and animals tend to wander as well.Technological gadgets like television and smartphones which urban children take for granted have not breached this young audience so kids still play football and other games in the field and play rudimentary games with rocks and sometimes marbles. Most houses will have smoke emanating from chimneys reavealing the location of the kitchen – the main hub where wood is burned to cook meals of rice and potato soup to feed large families. Some houses on the slopes overlook undulating hills and perfect v-shaped valleys. It is on these slopes and in these valleys where the villagers own fields where they sweat and toil to grow enough for themselves and their families.

There are no guesthouses or hotels in this village. You will be hosted by a local family. All the meals prepared during this event will be cooked by the villagers themselves using locally procured ingredients. As per the testimonies from the last year, the Mawkyrwat Ultra is a unique event. Not only because of it’s rural venue and warm people but because it is home to very fast and strong runners of all ages.

We hope that you have a wonderful run and a more memorable experience. See you in October!