The 14h Edition of Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon concluded on May 29, with marathon runners reaching Namche Bazaar. The gruelling marathon, which had 171 foreign participants, started from Everest Base Camp and passed through Thukla, Somare, Pangboche and Phortse before ending at Namche Bazaar.
1.
The 43km stretch of the marathon consists one of the most extreme landscape that ranges from slippery glaciers and rocky cliffs, to grasslands that forms between rolling hills.
2.
The marathon started at the Everest Base Camp (5364m). The base camp is a massive heap of glaciers and rocks all year long. Apart from the challenging landscape, the runners also had to face challenges brought by the high altitude.
3.
The marathon was divided into four categories: Full Marathon Open, Full Marathon Open Foreigner, Full Marathon Open Female and Half Marathon.
4.
Bed Bahadur Sunuwar from Nepal Army completed the 42.195 km stretch of the marathon in 4 hrs 10 secs and was declared the winner in the Full Marathon Open category. “Coming from Terai, running in the world’s highest marathon for the first time and winning it is a great experience,” Sunuwar said.
5.
In the 60km Ultra Marathon Open category, Nepal Army’s Tirtha Bahadur Tamang was declared the winner. Tamang, who completed the marathon in 6 hrs 36 mins 13 secs was elated to win the marathon.“The feeling of running in the world’s highest marathon and finishing first on the Ultra Category tops any other medals I’ve ever achieved,” Tamang said.
6.
Purnimaya Rai was declared the winner in the Full Marathon Open Female category. Likewise, Tenzing Dolmas from Netherlands and Robert Celinski from Poland won the Half Marathon Open and Full Marathon Open Foreigners categories respectively.
7.
This year’s marathon also marked the completion of 200 years of Nepal-Britain relationship.
***
Also read
