Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race

Day 1 On the road to Sandakphu

Anne-Marie Dunhill / 08.11.2012

Racers were up before sunrise to prepare for the first day of the stage race. A hurried breakfast was gulped down and participants and luggage were packed into the four mini-buses for a 05:30 departure. The mini-buses headed out, direction Maneybhanjang for the race start, an hour and a half drive away.

A collective cheer went up when the mountains that had previously beenclouded over came into view and the air buzzed with excitement: racersweren’t exactly sure what was ahead of them but they were anxious to start. Only one racer seemed unfazed; in the back of the bus he was engrossed in a book, quite a feat considering the bumpy road, but it was Stieg Larsson’s Millennium so everyone understood.

In Maneybhanjang villagers lined the road to encourage the racers, an out of tune band played instruments including a bagpipe and the scene was chaotic. Speaking to a local authority before the race start, he said that he felt races such as this were extremely important for cultural exchanges and in the future he hoped to see more racers from India participating.

The race director herded the group behind the starting line banner and a brief Tibetan ceremony was held to bless the racers with each receiving a white scarf from a pupil in the local school. A rooster strutted in front of the group as a coconut was smashed open on the ground as part of the ceremony and then they were off.

The cobblestone road leading up to Sandakphu was an almost continuous ascent. The views were soul stirring as racers passed the first land mark on the side of the road, a large stupa with prayer flags fluttering in the breeze. (A stupa is a religious building for Buddhists.) Mt. Everest came in to view as did Kanchenjunga. However racers had little time to appreciate their surroundings as they battled with the altitude and the uneven terrain. The switchbacks were so extreme and frequent that by the time it takes to say switch…back, another one had to be negociated.

The ride up in the press jeep was an unrelenting, bone re-arranging experience.  Aid stations were present and racers had a choice between biscuits, bananas or local organic potatoes, served by race assistants wearing gloves and distributing the food using tongs. The group of runners and walkers were soon spread out along the route which is a border with Nepal on the left and India on the right. As such they were several military outposts along the way and the soldiers gave vociferous encouragement.