Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race & Mount Everest Challenge Marathon

Day 4: A Change of Pace (and Terrain)

Jackie Windh / 05.11.2016

Dave and I were lodged in the Trekkers Hut with all of the Argentinian racers. This was a great chance for us to get to know the Spinelli family better. The parents, Carlos and Patricia, completed the full Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race last year. This year they were back with their three kids: Joaquin (23), Beli (21) and Bianca (14), all accompanying as walkers. What a nice and inspiring bunch!

Today’s route would be our first day all on pavement: a half-marathon distance run, starting with a 425 m/1400’ drop along scenic switchbacks down to the bottom of the river valley, then a few km of flat before we cross the bridge and ascend 500 m/1600’ on the other side to our finish line - all on road.

The scenery was quite a change too. While we now had only rare glimpses of the distant snow-capped peaks, the countryside we were running through was beautiful in a completely different way: lush and colourful. Leaving Rimbick village, we descended along seemingly endless switchbacks through jungle-fringed agricultural terraces. The locals seem to be pretty much self-sufficient for food here, working small-scale farms for their own family use. We saw beans, corn, squash, and red amaranth, among other crops.

And the flowers all around are stunning, both those that just grow wild along the roadside (from orchids to giant poinsettia trees) as well as the rows of potted flowers - marigolds, dahlias, roses and more - lined up in front of every house and along every balcony edge. The houses are really pretty, too, and well taken care of: painted brilliant colours like bright pink, turquoise, lime green and orange, and with very interestingly shaped wood-framed windows.

There was no shortage of things to look at!

I had started out uncertain about how my knee would manage this big downhill pavement run. Somehow, I managed to hold on to second place for the first minute of the race (a new experience for me: being at the front of the pack) because Mr. Pandey had lined up his “short friends” at the front of the start line for a photo shoot, then suddenly sent us off. Stu Cox (Australia) charged ahead and I followed him. My knee seemed alright!

Other runners soon passed me, but that start meant that I could now count my position in the field. And suddenly I realized that I actually had to race after all - not race against the other people, but a race for the first bus! Because today we were being bussed back to Rimbick from the finish line in two busses, and in the morning we had been joking that finishing in 15th would be the prime spot today: last one in to catch the first bus, no waiting around. I realized that my finish today would likely be somewhere around there: either right on the prime spot, or else next in (which is, unfortunately, the WORST spot, first one in for the second bus!) So I was highly motivated not to be 16th!

On the descent, I passed many locals on the way and greeted them with “Namaste.” The women smiled shyly and said “Namaste” back, the kids waved and often tried to practice their English with a “Well come!” or “Bye bye!” But for some reason, the old men who I said “Namaste” to would call something back and then crack up laughing. One old guy laughed so hard he dropped hiswalking stick!

I counted positions as we descended, and I seemed to have settled around 17th by the time we hit the flat along the river. I was OK with that: as long as I didn’t lose any more places on the flat, I was confident that I would pass at least a few people once we hit the uphill, and gain my place on the first bus.

And my plan worked. After I crossed the bridge, I worked hard on the climb, jogging every not-too-steep section that I could. I ended up passing seven people on that ascent! I arrived at the finish in 9th place of full-course racers and 2nd female (possibly my best race result ever).

Stu Cox maintained his lead to take his first stage win here, finishing in 1:43, with David Fontaine (France) and Jas Sanghera (UK) finishing second and third. Anna Petrakos (Australia) was first female, maintaining her winning streak.

And yes, I made the first bus! We were taken back to Rimbick for the night, for an afternoon of “homework” from Mansi: Every participant had to prepare a song or skit or something representative of their country for a cultural exchange around the fire. It was a bit of pressure to come up with ideas, but it ended up being a fun evening, and a great  way to learn more about one another and also about our host country, India.

And then to bed! Our final stage, Day 5 of the 26th annual Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race was only hours away!