Kona Land of the Yeti Duathlon
Its Tough at the Top. Day One - Gorak Shep to Namche Bazaar
Press Release / 30.10.2008
Everyone knows that mountain races are tough but this one took its toll before the race had even started. On the first morning in Gorak Shep, Ian Jones was diagnosed with early signs of AMS and had to descend to a lower altitude and thus miss the first stage of the race. Dipak Raj Rai had fallen off his bike on the way up to Lukla and had a nasty hip injury, while Chandra Chhetri slipped on the icy floor of the toilet in Gorak Shep and hurt his back. Luckily both he and Dipak made the start line.The first day of this 5 day duathlon involved running 30km from close to Everest base camp to the largest town in the area, Namche bazaar. Along the way the competitors would drop over 2500m but would also climb a cumulative total of over 800m.
The safe money was always going to be on Dipak Raj Rai; with 3 straight Tenzing Hilary Everest Marathon victories under his belt, he was the one to beat. The international competitors were able to keep with him for at least 20 metres, before the altitude took effect leaving them gasping for air, and Dipak, Jabir and Chandra disappearing into the distance.
However, ultra runner Ian Sharman was able to use his mountain running skills to catch Chandra after about 3 miles and never looked back to finish in 3rd place.
Dipak and Jabir extended their leads throughout the race, both to finish well under four hours.
The final 2 international athletes, Joel Watson and Phil Evans found the going particularly hard at this altitude but both managed to complete the stage relatively unscathed and looking forward to tomorrows easy 20km leg!
Ian Jones, although fully recovered from his altitude sickness, is carrying a heavy cold but hopes to start competing from tomorrow.
Results for Day 1
1. Dipak Raj Rai 3hr 2 min
2. Jabir Raj Rai 3hr 34min
3. Ian Sharman 4hr 14min
4. Chandra Chhetri 5hr 56min
5. Phil Evans 5hr 59min
6. Joel Watson 6hr 37minSee All Event Posts
