The Buddha Trails Training Plan: Run the Singalila Ridge to Sandakphu

The Buddha Trails training plan is built for a race that climbs out of a forest hamlet in West Bengal, threads the India-Nepal border along the Singalila ridge, and finishes under a horizon where Kanchenjunga, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu line up in a single sweep. TBT, organised by The Hell Race, takes runners up to Sandakphu at 3,636 metres, the highest point in West Bengal and the vantage of the famous Sleeping Buddha silhouette. STRIDD gives you the 16-week build, the trail-hill methodology, the rhododendron-season pacing, and the altitude protocols you need to start TBT prepared and finish it standing.

What The Buddha Trails is: a Sandakphu trail race under the Sleeping Buddha

The Buddha Trails, run as TBT in shorthand, is a trail-running event organised by The Hell Race in the village of Rimbick in North Bengal, near Darjeeling. It opens The Hell Race calendar each year and is described in their own marketing as the first trap to hell, a polite warning that the series gets harder from here. The 2026 edition is scheduled for early April, with a mandatory bib expo and race briefing the day before, and start times staggered from 04:00 for the long course down to 07:00 for the short course.

Three distances are on offer. The 65 km long course climbs 3,310 metres of vertical gain, carries a 15-hour cutoff, and earns 3 ITRA points. The 30 km middle course climbs 1,780 metres with a 7-hour cutoff and 2 ITRA points. The 12 km short course climbs 640 metres with a 2-hour cutoff. The numbers are honest. Even the 12 km has more vertical per kilometre than most road runners ever train for. The 65 km, with its 3,310 metres of gain spread across mountain trail, dense forest, and high-altitude ridge, is a serious mountain ultra by any standard.

The headline reason runners come to TBT is the view. From the Sandakphu summit at 3,636 metres, four of the five highest peaks on earth, Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu, are visible in clear weather. The arrangement of Kanchenjunga and its surrounding ridgeline forms the silhouette of a giant figure lying on its back, head, hands and feet outlined against the sky. Locals call it the Sleeping Buddha. There is no other race in India where the start line and the finish line bracket a view like this.

TBT course profile: Rimbick start, Singalila ridge, Sandakphu summit at 3,636m

The race village sits in Rimbick, a hamlet at roughly 2,300 metres on the western edge of Singalila National Park. The course climbs out of the village onto the Singalila ridge, the long razor of high country that forms the India-Nepal border, and traces the same trekking corridor that has carried walkers between Manebhanjan, Tonglu, Tumling, Meghma, Gairibas, Kalapokhri and Sandakphu for decades. The 65 km route extends along the Sandakphu-Phalut ridge, with Phalut sitting at 3,600 metres roughly 21 km north of Sandakphu.

The Sandakphu summit at 3,636 metres is the highest point in West Bengal and the highest point on the course. The climb to it is not a single sustained ascent. It is a sequence of stepped pitches separated by short forest sections, with steep cobbled stretches that are notoriously hard on the quads going up and the knees coming down. The trail surface alternates between forest singletrack, exposed ridge path, and sections of broken cobbled jeep track laid down decades ago for the high-altitude jeep tours. Footing is technical in patches and runnable in others. There is no part of the course you can switch off your ankles.

Elevation gain on the 65 km adds up to 3,310 metres. Most of it sits between 2,300 and 3,636 metres, which puts the upper sections of the course in genuine altitude territory. Daytime temperatures during the early-April race window typically sit at 10-25 degrees Celsius, dropping to 0-10 degrees overnight, with twelve hours of daylight to work with. The Hell Race notes Bagdogra as the nearest airport. From there, runners drive several hours up through Darjeeling and into the Singalila country to reach Rimbick.

The three TBT distances and what each one demands of your training

The 12 km TBT short course is a steep introduction. With 640 metres of vertical gain across 12 km and a 2-hour cutoff, it averages a climb of more than 50 metres per kilometre. There are no flat trails in this race. To finish inside cutoff you need a strong aerobic base of at least 30-40 km per week for 12 weeks, regular stair or hill repeats, and one weekly long run of 12-18 km on undulating terrain. Most runners walk the steep climbs and run the descents, which means downhill control on broken trail is more important than top-end speed.

The 30 km TBT middle course is where the race becomes a real ultra-style trail event. The 1,780 metres of vertical gain across 30 km, with a 7-hour cutoff, demands serious time on feet. A 16-week build is the right length, with peak weekly volume of 50-65 km, regular 25-30 km long runs on hilly terrain, and weekly hill or stair sessions of 8-12 efforts. You will spend several hours above 2,800 metres, which means at least one weekend of altitude exposure during the build is helpful, even if it is a long weekend trek rather than a running camp.

The 65 km TBT long course is a genuine Himalayan trail ultra. The 3,310 metres of vertical gain, the 15-hour cutoff, and the 3 ITRA points place it firmly in the category of mountain races where time on feet, fuelling, and night running all matter. A 20-24 week build is sensible, with peak weeks of 70-90 km, back-to-back long runs of 25 km plus 35 km on consecutive days, and at least two trips to terrain above 3,000 metres in the final twelve weeks. Your training should include night-running sessions, headlamp practice, and a full dress rehearsal of your race-day fuelling and hydration strategy on a long mountain run.

STRIDD methodology fit: Lydiard base, trail hill reps, and a small altitude block

STRIDD lets you build under three coaching philosophies: Lydiard, Daniels, and Maffetone. For TBT, the right answer is a Lydiard base with a trail-specific hill block, sharpened by Daniels-style tempo work in the middle of the build, and finished with a Maffetone heart-rate cap once you arrive in Rimbick.

Lydiard is the foundation because mountain trail ultras are aerobic events first and last. Arthur Lydiard's marathon-base philosophy of high-volume easy aerobic running, hill resistance work, and a long progression of easy-to-steady distance is exactly the engine you need for a 65 km day with 3,310 metres of climbing. Twelve to sixteen weeks of Lydiard base building is the most useful single block of training you can do for any TBT distance. STRIDD's Lydiard plan structure runs five to six runs per week, almost all aerobic, with one weekly hill session of 6-10 short steep efforts on a 6-8% gradient. For TBT, swap the road hill for stair repeats or any local trail with sustained climbing.

Daniels enters in weeks 8-12 of the build, when the aerobic base is in place and you can absorb sharper work. Use Daniels-style tempo runs of 25-40 minutes at threshold, once weekly, to lift your sustainable pace before you taper. Drop them entirely in the final three weeks before TBT.

Maffetone is your race-week and on-the-mountain governor. Phil Maffetone's MAF method caps training heart rate at roughly 180-minus-your-age, and at altitude this cap becomes a survival tool. In Rimbick at 2,300 metres and on the climbs above 3,000 metres, your heart rate runs 10-15 beats higher than usual for the same effort. If you race by perceived pace you will overcook the first climb and walk the last 30 km. If you race by heart rate using a strict MAF cap for the first half of the course, you will hold something back for the long descent into the finish. STRIDD's Maffetone plan setting auto-applies the cap. Trust it more than your legs.

16-week TBT training plan with altitude prep and Singalila-specific blocks

A 16-week training plan for The Buddha Trails 30 km splits into four blocks of four weeks each. The 65 km adds an extra eight weeks at the front. STRIDD's plan generator builds the calendar around your selected distance, your start fitness, and your race date.

Weeks 1-4, base introduction. Five runs per week, all easy aerobic, building from 30 km per week to 45 km. Long run starts at 90 minutes and progresses to two hours. One weekly hill session of 6-8 efforts on a 6-8% gradient. Two strength sessions per week focused on posterior chain, single-leg work, and core. The aim of this block is consistency, not speed.

Weeks 5-8, base development. Volume reaches 50-60 km per week. Long runs progress to 24-28 km on hilly terrain wherever you can find it. Hill sessions extend to 8-10 efforts and add a longer 90-second to 2-minute hill rep variation. Add one weekly run on broken or technical surface, even if it is a park loop on uneven grass. Begin to fuel your long runs the way you will fuel TBT, with a real-food and gel rotation, and start using a hydration vest if you do not already own one.

Weeks 9-12, race-specific build. This is the block where TBT-specific training appears. Add one weekly stair-climbing or sustained-grade session of 800-1,200 vertical metres. Include one Daniels-style tempo run of 25-40 minutes per week. Push the long run out to 30-32 km on the hilliest terrain you can access. If you can travel for a long weekend, find altitude. A 48-hour visit to a hill station above 2,500 metres, with one long run and one easy run on local trails, is worth more than any number of treadmill incline sessions. The aim of this block is specificity.

Weeks 13-16, sharpening and taper. Hold weekly volume around 55-65 km for the first two weeks, then drop sharply. Long runs taper from 30 km to 20 km to 14 km in the final three weekends. Replace tempo work with shorter cruise intervals at threshold, 4-5 efforts of 5-6 minutes. The final week is rest, hydration, and easy 30-40 minute jogs at strict MAF heart rate. Arrive in Rimbick at least 48 hours before the race. If you can reach Darjeeling or Tonglu three to four days early and sleep above 2,000 metres, do it. The altitude exposure is short but useful. For the 65 km, extend the pre-race window to four to five nights at altitude if work allows.

Gear, Sandakphu accommodation, rhododendron season, and race-day logistics

TBT requires the standard mountain-trail kit list plus a few items specific to the Singalila country. Trail running shoes with aggressive lugs are essential; the cobbled sections and forest mud both demand grip. Most runners pick a shoe in the 4-6 mm lug range with a rock plate, such as a Salomon Speedcross, Hoka Speedgoat, La Sportiva Bushido, or Saucony Peregrine. Bring two pairs of socks for the longer distances and change at the drop bag if you are running the 65 km. A hydration vest with at least 1.5 litre capacity, two soft flasks, and pockets for fuel is non-negotiable. A windproof shell is mandatory; the ridge above 3,000 metres can drop to single digits within an hour of a clear morning. A peaked cap, sunglasses, lip balm with SPF, and SPF 50 sunscreen all matter. A headlamp is required for the 65 km early start at 04:00.

Accommodation in and around Rimbick is built for trekkers. Trekking lodges, family-run guesthouses, and a handful of slightly more comfortable stays handle the bulk of pre-race lodging. Higher up the ridge, Sandakphu itself has a small cluster of trekking lodges run by local families and the GTA, with simple shared rooms, hot dal-bhat, and bucket water. None of this is luxury. All of it is functional. Book early. The race weekend, combined with the rhododendron-bloom tourist season, means rooms in Rimbick, Manebhanjan, Tonglu and Tumling go fast. The Hell Race typically helps with accommodation logistics; check the official event page or contact the organisers on info@thehellrace.com.

The early-April race window sits at the front edge of the rhododendron-bloom season. From mid-April through the first week of June, the Singalila ridge erupts in pink, red, scarlet and white, with primulas and other alpine flowers carpeting the meadows. Some years the bloom arrives early, some years late. Either way, the spring window is greener and warmer than the alternative. The drier, clearer alternative is the post-monsoon window of October-November, which delivers the cleanest mountain views of Kanchenjunga and Everest but a colder, browner trail. TBT is held in spring; if you visit again as a trekker, October offers the best photographs.

Running East Himalaya vs West Himalaya: different climate, flora, and culture

Most Indian runners encounter the western Himalaya first. Manali, Spiti, Leh, Hampta, Ladakh Marathon. The eastern Himalaya, where TBT sits, is a different mountain range in everything but name.

The climate is wetter. The eastern Himalaya catches the bulk of the southwest monsoon, which means more cloud, more rain, more humidity, and a much shorter dry-trail window than the rain-shadowed western ranges. The vegetation is denser. Where Ladakh is high desert above the treeline, Singalila is forest almost all the way to Sandakphu, with bamboo, oak, magnolia, fir and rhododendron between 2,000 and 3,600 metres. The park holds eighteen species of rhododendrons and more than 600 varieties of orchids. The wildlife is different too. The red panda lives in these bamboo forests, along with Himalayan black bear, leopard cat, barking deer, yellow-throated marten, and over 350 species of bird.

The culture is different. The Singalila country is Lepcha, Bhutia, Gorkha and Nepali, with hill villages that share more in language, food and architecture with Nepal and Sikkim than with the plains of Bengal. Tea, momos, thukpa, churpi, sel-roti and dal-bhat dominate the table. Conversations move between Nepali, Hindi and English, often inside a single sentence. The trail villages of Tumling, Gairibas and Kalapokhri are quiet, polite, and used to trekkers. Race day brings more energy than the villages usually see.

Training-wise, the eastern Himalaya rewards runners who have built durability on slick, steep, broken ground. Tarmac fitness will not transfer cleanly. Spend your final twelve weeks on real trail wherever you can, even if your local hill is a park staircase or a corporate-park loop with elevation. Your ankles, your downhill control, and your fuel-and-hydration discipline are what carry you to the Sandakphu summit. Your VO2max gets you there a little faster.

TBT as a first Himalayan trail race: the bridge to GHRF, SSU and bigger ultras

The Buddha Trails is one of the better first-Himalayan-trail-race choices on the Indian calendar. The 12 km is a genuine introduction to mountain running without committing you to a 15-hour day. The 30 km is a bridge from sea-level half marathons and 10K trail events to real mountain ultras. The 65 km is a stepping stone, not a final destination, with 3,310 metres of climbing serving as a credible audition for harder Himalayan ultras.

If TBT is your first Himalayan trail race, treat it as the start of a progression rather than a one-off challenge. After a successful TBT 30 km, the natural next steps include the Garhwal Himalayan Run and Festival (GHRF) in Uttarakhand, which offers technical mid-distance trail races in the western Himalaya, and the Solang Sky Ultra (SSU) and similar Himachal-based mountain ultras with steeper, rockier, higher-altitude profiles. After a successful TBT 65 km, runners often progress to the longer Hell Race events, the Hell Race La Ultra series, the Khardung La Challenge inside the Ladakh Marathon weekend, or international destination ultras in Nepal and Bhutan.

The other reason TBT is a smart first race is the organiser. The Hell Race team has been running mountain events in India for over a decade. The course markings, aid stations, medical support, and bib expo are the work of people who have done this before. As a first-time mountain ultra runner, that matters more than course difficulty. You want to learn what a real trail race looks like in the hands of competent organisers before you commit to anything more remote.

To build a TBT-specific training plan that fits your distance, your fitness, your race date and your access to hilly terrain, run your numbers through STRIDD's plan generator and follow the methodology-aligned weekly schedule the engine produces. The plan auto-adjusts for your background, your weekly hours, and your goal finish, and stitches in the trail-hill, altitude-prep, and Maffetone heart-rate-cap blocks at the right moments in the build.

Race dates, routes, and cut-offs change year to year — always verify details on the official event site before registering. STRIDD is not affiliated with the event organisers.