Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race & Mount Everest Challenge Marathon

Day 1 Takes Its Toll (As We Knew It Would)

Jackie Windh / 31.10.2016

I remembered this part of India as such a cold and dreary place - but that was clearly only because we had such disagreeable weather for the first two days when I ran here three years ago. But the first morning of the 26th edition of the Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Run dawned warm and sunny, even slightly muggy.

A nearly 2-hour bus ride brought us up to our start line in the village of Maneybhenjang. This town is right on India’s border with Nepal, as would be our race route for the next two and a half days: a cobblestone road that follows the ridgeline that is the international boundary.

Before I go on, I need to explain about Indian cobblestone. This is not the pretty, rounded, uniform, and geometrically laid-down European stuff. It’s basically just rough boulders and cobbles laid down in a strip wide enough for a jeep to bounce along over. It was tough selecting shoes for this race: you definitely want trail runners with a sturdy enough sole and sufficient cushioning to keep from bruising the soles of your feet on such an uneven and unforgiving surface. I ultimately decided to go with La Sportiva’s Ultra Raptor (and they proved to serve me very well!)

The start line in Manybhenjang was totally fun! A small band with a dancer cranked out music on local instruments including a peculiar Indian bagpipe. All the locals lined up to watch us, from small children to armed border guards to grannies. When I sat on a curb to strip off my warm overclothes and pack them up in a drop-bag for the finish line, a gang of little boys swarmed over me practicing their English, then lined up behind me for a selfie.

Although this year’s field seemed more about enjoying than competing, one competitor seemed different: France’s David Fontaine, who I had not yet met. David was dressed in sleek red running tights, and he looked focussed: bouncing around and stretching, clearly warming up for a fast start. I wondered who amongst our crowd would be the frontrunners this year.

At a few minutes past eight, Mr. Pandey counted us down, and we were off. Several hundred metres of flat road… then the rest of the day would be steep up (most of it) or steep down (two sections where we lose a total of nearly 1 km of that hard-earned gain).

Dave and I started out at a good fast hiking pace. I soon passed the Australian Anna Petrakos, an experienced Ironman triathlete, and she seemed to be puffing pretty hard. We were rising fast, and Dave's and my previous week trekking at altitudes higher even than this race’s high point clearly were helping. However, a kilometre or so later, Anna suddenly turned on the jets and cruised past me. I never saw her again!

The day had started warm and humid, but it soon got chilly as we rose. I had chosen to use two poles just for today - my first time doing that in a race, but with nearly all of today’s route being a steep uphill, it seemed a good option. And it did indeed work well. By planting them hard, I gained a bit of speed while transferring a portion of the work to my upper body, saving something of my legs for the four days that would follow.

Dave had a bit of an “issue” that required a stop in the bushes. We both thought he would catch me quickly, but his "issue" was a bit more time-consuming than he’d expected. I hit the long downhill, and he still hadn’t caught me.

I remembered how tricky running down on the cobblestones had been last time, but was surprised to see that this section of the road has been paved. I wasn’t sure if my knee was up to a long downhill run, but I gave it a go and it actually seemed to be doing fine - I just kept to a very conservative pace, focusing on keeping my steps short and light. I’m old and wise enough now that finishing this race at all (and hopefully without facing months of rehab!) was far more important than finishing it fast.

Our total route today was nominally 39k (although other racers’ GPS tracking put it at closer to 32k). By the end of the long downhill, Dave still hadn’t caught me, so I stopped to wait. The three South Africans, Fiona McIntosh, Shaen Adey and Theresa Horn, arrived while I was waiting for him. Fiona had passed me several times on the downhill - a really strong runner - but had stopped to wait for her mates, who were slower on the uphills. Dave showed up about ten minutes later, not feeling very well after his little surprise-in-the bushes. We continued together, back into the uphill again.

From here it was just a long hard slog up the mountain. Dave was hurting and moving slowly. It took a long time, but we eventually caught and passed the South Africans. Shaen was also moving slowly, and Fiona was helping her. By now it was very chilly. At one point Dave said to me “I thought my vision was getting cloudy. But it’s a real cloud.” Yes, we were rising along a ridgeline into the clouds, the pale green slopes of Nepal fading down into the mist to our left, and the darker green slopes of India down on our right.

We hit the second and final downhill section, and Fiona shuffled past us - now leaving her mates for the final stretch. I had checked out the elevation profile, and knew that these last 3 km would be even steeper than everything we had so far come up. And they were.

Dave and I were cold and more than ready to be done when we finally rounded a curve to see the finish ribbon ahead of us. (No, we didn’t win. The Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race raises the finish line ribbon for every racer, every day!)

The race organization really shone here - Mansi welcomed us, and a staff member immediately appeared with our room key and drop bags, pointing out the kitchen hut where hot soup awaited as he escorted us to our own hut, where our big bags awaited. The level of organization here for such complex logistics would be stunning anywhere - but it is especially amazing in a country with such infrastructure challenges as India.

Dave and I finished with a time of 7:10, in 10th/11th position of the 30 runners who set out today. David Fontaine’s (France) warm-up exercises served him well: he finished the gruelling route in first place in 4:43, 15 minutes ahead of Jas Singhera (UK). Jas took a bad fall early on, arriving up top with a gash beside his right eye. Stu Cox (Australia) came in 3rd, in 5:23, and his partner Anna Petrakos was first female and 5th overall in 6:22.

And I heard a great story later from Angela Scott (USA). She was a few km from the top, and she was just done. One of the organizers’ jeeps stopped by to check in on her, and she told them she was finished: she was getting on the jeep. They said no. Somehow, someone zipped up to the top and brought her some tea, then sat with her on the course while she drank it. And then they walked her in, right to the finish - preventing her from a DNF that she surely would have regretted later!

The final racer in arrived in 9:40 - a very challenging start to this race for all. The only DNF was Patricia Anconetani of Argentina - she struggled with stomach issues and had to be transported up and then receive an IV. Then early to bed for all (Dave and I did our best to stay up until 8pm) to get ready for Day 2.