On August 14th, 2014, I unknowingly took the first step of a long ascent. Nearly eleven years later, sharply 1089 runs later, I’ve reached an elevation gain of 84,448 metres — almost ten Everests. This isn’t the story of a single mountain climbed, but of a slow, deliberate series of efforts, some before dawn, raining cats and dogs, snowing, escaping from dogs, freezing like hell, others after long days, all contributing to a quiet accumulation of altitude and, more importantly, confidence.