Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race & The Mount Everest Challenge Marathon

Darjeeling, Soot and Schlett

Adam Rose / 17.10.2014

People are sooty. Sooty but not sweaty, which is fortunate because soot sticks to sweat seriously.

We went to Darjeeling today. We saw tigers. We saw cloud leopards and snow leopards and other furtive denizens of the Indian jungle. Even a red panda or three. Also the Himalayan Mountain Museum, featuring Tenzing Norgay, the ‘first person to summit Everest, with the help of Sir Edmund Hillary’. We also went on the toy train, declared ‘the most outstanding example of a hill passenger railway” by Unesco.

That’s where the soot comes in. If you pass through Darjeeling, grab a ride. It’s insane how it misses cars by a mere 3 inches. Yes, that distance was measured today. Why the travel brochure?

Mr Pandey organised for all the runners and walkers to visit Darjeeling on our pre-race rest day, after the previous day’s ordeal in getting to the town of Mirik. Perched at 5,500ft, amid thousands of acres of tea plantations, with stupendous views of the mountains, it’s not a bad place to chill. We arrived in dribs and drabs, most flying in from New Delhi to Bogdogra, then transiting by bus to a spacious mountain lodge. With good food, tea, and many detailed and exact instructions from Mr Pandey, preparations have taken shape.

There are 32 participants, 30 being runners. The number is lower than normal, but that is due to bureaucratic factors outside the control of the race organisers. The upside is that it makes for a more intimate race atmosphere, a facet not unappreciated by the competitors. In addition to the aforementioned countries, there are also people from New Zealand, Germany, Canada, Spain, and even India.

The latter is not common, and this time, there is hope for Rukmini Dahanukar to be the first female Indian entrant to cross the finish line. Saahil Sehgal is the sole male Indian competitor, and as this is his first ultra, he’s going long on the positive attitude approach.

Uber athlete and deca-Ironman Stefan Schlett, of Germany, is here for his fifth appearance, after previous visits in 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2010. He knows more about the course than any other competitor, and is constantly mined for information. He’s not aiming to set any records, though, and is running in his capacity as a journalist.

The first stage tomorrow is 24 miles, rising from 6,600ft to 11,858ft, with 2,750m of ascent. It’s expected to be the most challenging stage, due to the combination of climb and altitude. Already many runners are anxious, not that they won’t finish it but that the whole five days might prove a bit too much at altitude. There’s even talk of media people being encouraged to tow the tardy - hush hush, now!

The weather is amazing, promising to be bright and clear in the mornings, especially as runners ascend to the Singalilla ridge, and the clouds that roll in daily are only expected to be encountered on the third day, as runners descend through them to the town of Rimbik. All are now champing at the bit, we have a 6am drive to the start, and all memories of Darjeeling and its crazy traffic, tigers and trains are forgotten as focus tightens.

A strangely non-competitive affair, the Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race is nonetheless taken quite seriously by those lucky enough to be on the starting line.

You can find out more about the Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race at http://www.himalayan.com/