Himalayan 100 mile stage race

Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race 2007

At the end of October I took part in this 100 mile race to celebrate my 50th birthday. There were 71 competitors which included 5 journalists, so rather than me trying to explain the magic of this race I will leave it to the experts, and have added two links to sites that will do the race the justice it deserves.

My Race

I have added my race section, which will be best read after you look at the two race reports above.

Day 1 (24 miles)

We started the race at Manybhanjang (6600ft) and finished at Sandakphu (11,900ft). This is the first race I have started that I would be forced to resort to a power walk after only 10 minutes. The steepness of the climb meant that there would not be much more than 8 miles of this stage being run, the paths were made up of large cobblestones making every step have the potential of being an ankle breaker. This was a tough day, over 10,000 ft of climbing, that's like climbing Ben Nevis from sea level two and a half times! And with the last 2-3 hours being at altitude making every breath an effort, I was more than pleased to reach the finish in 6:31.

Day 2 (20 miles)

Up at 5am, to see the sunrise and the stunning views of Mt Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Kanchenjunga, four of the five highest mountains in the world. The race today was an out and back along a ridge. The paths where more runable today being a mixture of cobblestones and dry earth tracks. I ran well on the out section only having to walk two of the steepest climbs. The return leg was more up than down and some 10 minutes slower. I had a good day and felt OK and finished in 3:55 just making the top 20 finishers.

Day 3 (26.4 miles) (but closer to 30)

A 6am start for this, the longest stage of the race. The thought of having to run on legs that had already covered 44 miles was not a pleasant one, but after the first mile they started to loosen up. The first 2 hours went by quickly as I was feeling ok, in fact I was feeling so good that I forgot to keep up the regime of eating and drinking at the aid stations which would have its pay back later in the day. The first 19 miles were all at altitude on a hilly undulating ridge but then you started the descent, 11 miles all down hill on very rough mountain tracks losing 6,000 ft. Half way down this descent with about 6 miles to go to the finish the pay back came. I bonked BIG TIME!! I found myself between aid stations with no food or water and with absolutely zero in my tank. I sat on a rock staring out at the fantastic views down to the bottom of the valley, wondering just how the hell I would make it to the finish! But then in the distance, a fellow runner appeared she stopped; I think she was happy to have the excuse to have a sit down! And with her supply of two gels and a slab of chocolate washed down with a good slug of water, got me going again. First at a walk and then back in to a jog which got me to the next aid station and finally to the finish at Rimbik in 6 hours 6min 15th overall and first in the 50+.

Day 4 (13 Miles)

I had a very bad night's sleep as the efforts of the last three days were catching up with me. I had picked up a chest infection on Day 1 and was on a course of antibiotics from the trip doctor, but they had done little to stop my constant coughing. I was glad of the later, 9am start for this stage, which was now on rough but tarmac roads and it felt good to slip on road shoes rather than the trail shoes of the last 3 days.

If this race was in the UK it would be hailed as a classic half marathon. The first 6 miles are all down hill (Gas hill steep) losing 1,500ft on zigzag mountain roads, this was a killer on the knees and by the time I reached the bottom my right knee was screaming out in pain every time I pushed off to run. There was a 1 mile level section at the bottom were you cross several rivers and then, yes, you guessed it, 6 miles up hill gaining all of the 1,500 ft. I was reduced to a mixture of power walking and jogging as my knee was killing me. I finished in 2:13, not a good time for a half marathon but this was no ordinary half!

Day 5 (17 miles)

We started this stage where we finished on day 4, and the road continued its way up. The first 8 miles were all up hill, gaining another 2,000ft. I had a strapping put on my knee to help support it and as I did not want to jeopardise finishing the stage I had decided to walk the first 8 miles, then, try to run from the top to the finish. The views today were stunning which helped take my mind of the pain in my knee. At the top I popped some strong pain killers and started the hop, skip style of running that would get me to the finish. I linked up with three other runners and we stuck together keeping each other going. We all celebrated together as we crossed the finish line in 3:33 and were met with the cheers and applauds of the whole village, including the school children as the school had been closed for the day.

What a feeling, 100 miles in 5 days! This is not sold as a race, and should not be treated as one; every person that finished, whether it was the first, in 15 hours 39min or the last, in 40 hours still came away with a feeling of elation on completing this fantastic run in some of the most beautiful mountains of the world.

Russell Clarke 22hours 19minutes