Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race

Day 3, The Everest Challenge Marathon

Anne-Marie Dunhill / 09.11.2012

Racers and walkers were up at the crack of dawn once again for one of the most difficult stages of the course: a 26.4 mile marathon.

In previous editions runners had been joined by newcomers who had come out to participate in the Mt. Everest Challenge Marathon (ECM). In the food tent the night before there had been nervous chatter about who these intruders might be, with runners worried about their effect on the group dynamic, coming in as they would be with a fresh pair of legs and smelling clean.

There was no need to worry as Manci Pandey, the race’s co-director, announced in the morning that there were no new additions this year and the ECM was just another stage on the five-day race route. It was, however, a stage that kicked runners in the teeth.

After a 06:30 start runners headed out along the same cobble stone road that they had taken the day before to Molle and after Molle they began a serious descent that would lead them to Rimbik.

During the race briefing Mr. Pandey asked that the slowest runners back warm clothes and a headlamp in their race backpack as they would be expected in after sunset.

After Molle runners dropped down in to a lush forest with deep treacherous trenches on the race route. The group of walkers took a short jeep ride back down the track towards Maneybhajang and were dropped off at the beginning of a short cut to Rimbik that the porters transporting the finish line bags to Rimbik would also be using.

The logistics behind the scenes on this race have been incredible with the transport of different bags to the finish line or delivered directly to racers’ rooms. Today this transport meant that jeeps had to descend to Maneybhajang and then across to Rimbik, an approximately 13 hour journey over “bone breaking” roads as Mr. Pandey described it when he explained why the journalists would also be walking the short cut with the group of walkers.