Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race

International arrivals in India

Anne-Marie Dunhill / 07.11.2012

The Himalayan Run and Trek 100 mile stage race has been organized for the past twenty-one years by Mr. C.S. Pandey and his dedicated staff. Runners from around the world arrived in New Delhi and took a two hour plane ride to Bagdogra in North-East India. Four mini-buses were waiting to pick up the racers and this was the first time we met the race organization. On the internal flight several signs gave racers away, be it the water bottle, racers back pack or trail shoes and timid questions were asked, “Are you part of this crazy race?”

The transfer from Bagdogra to Mirik Resort in the Darjeeling area was a jolting one as the mini-bus drivers weaved their way in and out of traffic, relying heavily on the horn as they dodged all sorts of sentient beings. One bus was delayed as they waited in the airport parking lot for an American racer named Burt who had flown in early to acclimatize, and having decided that the Everest base camp would be the best place to do it, took the route up to Lukla (9,500 feet) and ran 75 miles “by accident.”  A loud cheer went up when his taxi dropped him off at the bus as he apologized profusely proclaiming that the roads were worse then the trails and promised a round of drinks for all.

Once all of the participants and luggage had been safely dropped off at the Mirik Lodge Mr. C.S. Pandey began the race briefing. There are 66 runners in total who will be running or walking the race route along with 5 international journalists. The youngest racer is Theo Gates Fleming, aged 20 from the U.K. and the oldest is Vittorio De Benedetti from Italy who is 73 years old. There is also an almost fifty-fifty split of men and women racing.

During the race briefing which lasted over an hour, Mr. Pandey emphatically stated that there was no “s” on Himalaya, they are simply the Himalaya which means House of Snow. He went on to make important points about the different aid stations, bags to be packed and implored the racers not to make the mistake of one Australian who went left when she should have gone right end ended up in Nepal. Throughout the race India will be on the racers right and Nepal on the left and Mr. Pandey concluded by saying that over the years he’s decided that, “Adventure sports are for intelligent people, not idiots” so racers should use their heads as they follow the marked race route.