Everest Marathon | |
---|---|
Date | May 29 |
Location | Everest Base Camp, ending in Namche Bazar |
Event type | Trail |
Distance | Marathon, Half-Marathon and Ultramarathon |
Established | 1985 |
Official site | www.everestmarathon.com |
Everest Marathon is an annual marathon event, held in the district of Solukhumbu, Nepal, around the vicinity of Mount Everest in May. With its starting point at 5401m Meter (Higher Everest Base Camp Height) from where the Climbing of Mount Everest Peak starts through the Ice Fall, the marathon is considered to be one of the highest and toughest races in the world. The marathon starts at the Mt. Everest Base Camp, and moves through the traditionally used high Sherpa trails of Khumbu Valley.
The event is officially approved and recognized by the Government of Nepal [1] as part of its annual tourism calendar. In recognition of the first successful ascent of the highest peak in the world by the duo of Late Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary on 29 May 1953, this event was officially named the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon.
The marathon includes three different categories for its participants, which include a 60 km extreme ultramarathon race, a 42 km full marathon race and a 21 km Half Marathon race.
The event was originally pioneered by [(Jan Turner)] and Tony Hunt in 1985. It was the organised in conjunction with Bufo Ventures with Jan Turner as Race Director in 1987 and 1989. It was organised biannually until 2003 when a rival event was organised under the management of Himalayan Expeditions and was promoted by the Nepal Tourism Board. The first edition of their marathon was held on 19 May 2003 organised on the occasion of 50th anniversary of climbing of Everest by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary by the Ministry of Tourism of Nepal under the management of a Nepal-based travel company Himalayan Expeditions [2] headed by tourism professional Bikram Pandey. The first Event Director of this event was Sarad Pradhan, a tourism and media professional. Since then, the event has been organized annually by the company, with the official approval from the Nepal Government and the Nepal Tourism Board. First it was organised as Golden Jubilee Everest Marathon and from 2004 onward it has been organised as Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon. On 27 November 1987, the Nepal Government officially released a stamp in recognition of the marathon and repeated this accolade again in 2014. [3]
Everest Marathon [4] is world highest running race organized in Khumbu region of Nepal every year. It was first organized in 1987. The destinations to cover during this race are: Everest Base Camp, Gorekh Shep, Lobuche, Tengboche and Namche Bazaar. As it ends at Namche Bazaar starting from Everest Base Camp, it covers total distance of 42km (26.2 mile).
The first version of this event continued under the title, The Original Everest Marathon [5] is also held in the same region. This event is organized by a British charity group with Gorakhshep (5212m) as the starting point. This marathon is usually organized around the Autumn months of October or November.
The Everest Marathon is open to runners aged 18 or above from all over the world, as long as they fulfill a certain set of criteria. A medical checkup certificate from authorized health professionals that certifies the runner's ability to withstand high altitude conditions is mandatory while submitting the application form. Considering the high altitude conditions of the race, runners are also advised by the organizers to take a minimum of 1–5 days for acclimatization. All runners are also compulsorily required to have valid health insurance before participation. The marathon has a participation limit of around 250 runners across all categories.
The race is traditionally held on 29 May every year since its inception. However, in 2015, the race was postponed to early October after the devastating Nepal Earthquake. [6]
The start timing for the marathon differ according to each category. The ultramarathon starts at 5:00AM, while the full marathon starts at 7:00AM and finally the half marathon starts at 8:00AM.
Depending upon the category, the race has different starting points. The starting point for the full marathon and the extreme ultra-marathon category is the Khumbu Icefall, which lies at an altitude 5356m above sea level. The half-marathon starts from Dingboche which lies at an altitude of 4359m. [7]
The longest route in the event is the extreme ultra marathon, which moves through the following route:
Khumbu Icefall (0km-5356m) → Gorakhshep (4.6km-5170m) → Lobuche (9.6km-4940m) → Thukla (12.3km-4612m) → Dingboche (17.3km-4395m) → Pangboche (23.3km-4012m) → Phortse (29.3km-3904m) → Nha la (39.3km-4381m) → Machhermo (41.4km-4413m) → Phortse Tenga (45.9km-4059m) → Mongla (50.4km-3980) → Kyanjuma (55.4km-3650m) → Namche (60km-3550m)
The most popular category in the event is the full marathon, which moves through the following route
Khumbu Icefall (0km-5356m) → Gorakhshep (4.6km-5170m) → Lobuche (9.6km-4940m) → Thukla (12.3km-4612m) → Dingboche (17.3km-4395m) → Bibre Loop(21.5km-4349m) → Pangboche (27.5km-4012m) → Tengboche (32.6km-3868m) → Laubisasa (36.1km-3439m) → Kyanjuma (37.6km-3650m) → Namche (42.195km-3550m)
The half-marathon even is an event exclusive only for non-Nepali nationals, which moves through the following route
Dingboche (0km-4395m) → Pangboche (7km-4012m) → Tengboche (11.5km-3868m) → Laubisasa (15km-3439m) → Kyanjuma (16.5km-3650m) → Namche (21-km-3550m)
The Everest Marathon is a high-altitude race held in a region with low atmospheric pressure and oxygen levels, with some parts covered by snow all year round. Thus, to avoid health risks like altitude sickness, snow blindness and cold allergy, runners often require some days for acclimatization in the race. Usually, participants are advised by the event organizers to stay around the region for a few days or even hike towards the starting point from Lukla. Some agencies even prefer the participants spending up to 7 days for preparation of the trip.
To protect the fragile natural ecosystem around the Everest region lying within the borders of the Sagarmatha National Park, the number of participants are capped so as to prevent environmental problems arising from overcrowding. Typically, organizers cap the numbers at around 250 every year. The organizers also have integrated a concept making Everest Marathon a Green Event by applying waste minimization, as well as implementing clean waste disposal practices.
The Everest Marathon route consists entirely of off-road non-tarmac surfaces. Runners will need to navigate through natural trails, stone trails, and steps, and sometimes even snowy and muddy trails. Thus, the route requires special clothing gears, and equipment for navigating the trails.
The total elevation drop between the start and finish points can be as high as 1620m. The lowest point in the route is at Laubisasa, which is located 3439m above sea level.
Mount Everest is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation of 8,848.86 m was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.
The Sherpas are one of the Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal and Tibetan Autonomous Region. The term sherpa derives from the Tibetan-language words shar and pa, which refer to their geographical origin in eastern Tibet.
Tengboche is a village in Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality in the Khumbu subregion of Province No. 1 in Nepal, located at 3,867 metres (12,687 ft). Within the village is an important Buddhist monastery, Tengboche Monastery, which is the largest gompa in the Khumbu region. The structure was built in 1923. In 1934, it was destroyed by an earthquake but subsequently rebuilt. It was destroyed again by a fire in 1989, and again rebuilt with the help of volunteers and the provision of foreign aid. Tengboche has a panoramic view of the Himalayan mountains, including the well-known peaks of Tawache, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Thamserku. Tenzing Norgay, the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary, was born in the area in the village of Thani and was once sent to Tengboche Monastery to be a monk.
Khumbu is a region of northeastern Nepal on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest. It is part of the Solukhumbu District, which in turn is part of Koshi Pradesh. Khumbu is one of three subregions of the main Kirat Kulung and Sherpa settlement of the Himalaya, the other two being Solu and Pharak. It includes the town of Namche Bazaar as well as the villages of Thame, Khumjung, Pangboche, Pheriche and Kunde. The famous Buddhist monastery at Tengboche is also located in Khumbu.
Khumjung is a village in Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality of Solukhumbu District in Province No. 1 of north-eastern Nepal. It is located in the Khumbu sub-region inside Sagarmatha National Park, a world heritage site. The village lies at an elevation of 3,790 metres above sea level, near Mount Khumbila.
Gorak Shep, also spelled Gorakshep, is a settlement nestled on the periphery of a frozen lakebed blanketed with sand in Nepal, sharing its name with the locale. Situated at an elevation of 5,164 meters near Mount Everest, it remains uninhabited for most of the year, reopening only for the Mount Everest trekking season.
Solukhumbu District (Nepali: सोलुखुम्बु जिल्ला, Sherpa: ཤར་ཁུམ་བུ་རྫོང་།, Wylie: shar khum bu dzong) is one of 14 districts of Koshi Province of eastern Nepal. As the name suggests, it consists of the sub-regions Solu and Khumbu. The closest post office to Solukhumbu with a postal code assigned to it is the Sindhuli D.P.O., which has the postal code 56000.
Thame and its neighbouring Thameteng are small Sherpa villages in Namche VDC of the Solukhumbu District in Nepal. These were the last year-round villages on the salt trading route that existed between Tibet, Nepal and India. Thame is home to many famous Sherpa mountaineers, including Apa Sherpa.
There are two base camps on Mount Everest, on opposite sides of the mountains: South Base Camp is in Nepal at an altitude of 5,364 metres (17,598 ft), while North Base Camp is in Tibet at 5,150 metres (16,900 ft).
Tengboche Monastery, also known as Dawa Choling Gompa, in the Tengboche village in Khumjung in the Khumbu region of eastern Nepal is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Sherpa community. Situated at 3,867 metres (12,687 ft), the monastery is the largest gompa in the Khumbu region of Nepal. It was built in 1916 by Lama Gulu with strong links to its mother monastery known as the Rongbuk Monastery in Tibet. In 1934, it was destroyed by an earthquake and was subsequently rebuilt. In 1989, it was destroyed for a second time by a fire and then rebuilt with the help of volunteers and international assistance.
The Imja Khola is a tributary of the Dudh Kosi river in eastern Nepal. It drains the slopes of Mount Everest. The Khumbu Glacier melts into the Lobujya (Lobuche) River, which flows southward as the Imja Khola to its confluence with the Dudh Kosi at Tengboche.
The 1952 Swiss Mount Everest expedition was an attempt to summit Mount Everest. Led by, Edouard Wyss-Dunant, the expedition, which included Tenzing Norgay, reached a height of 8,595 metres (28,199 ft) on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record and opening up a new route to Mount Everest and paving the way for further successes by other expeditions. Norgay successfully summited the mountain the following year with Sir Edmund Hillary, the first successful expedition.
Phakding is a small village in the Khumbu region of Nepal. It lies in the Dudh Kosi river valley just north of Lukla and south of Monjo, at an altitude of 2,610 m, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Phakding has a population of 550 locals, mostly Sherpa and Tamang. All of these people belong to Tibetian Buddhism and pray in a small Gompa at the centre of the village.
Jorsale is a small village in the Khumbu region of Nepal. It lies in the west side of the Dudh Kosi river, just north of Monjo and south of Namche Bazaar, at an altitude of 2,740 m,
The 1953 British Mount Everest expedition was the ninth mountaineering expedition to attempt the first ascent of Mount Everest, and the first confirmed to have succeeded when Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit on 29 May 1953. Led by Colonel John Hunt, it was organised and financed by the Joint Himalayan Committee. News of the expedition's success reached London in time to be released on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, on 2 June that year.
The Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal is awarded every one or two years to an individual "for remarkable service in the conservation of culture and nature in mountainous regions." The medal both recognizes the service of Sir Edmund Hillary on behalf of mountain people and their environment and also encourages the continuing emulation of his example. The Hillary Medal is a project of Mountain Legacy, a Nepalese non-governmental organization ; the president is biologist Kumar P. Mainali. The Hillary Medal was personally authorized by Sir Edmund in 2002, and ratified by the Namche Consensus, the declaration resulting from the 2003 Namche Conference: "People, Park, and Mountain Ecotourism."
After World War II, with Tibet closing its borders and Nepal becoming considerably more open, Mount Everest reconnaissance from Nepal became possible for the first time culminating in the successful ascent of 1953. In 1950 there was a highly informal trek to what was to become Everest Base Camp and photographs were taken of a possible route ahead. Next year the 1951 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition reconnoitred various possible routes to Mount Everest from the south and the only one they considered feasible was the one via the Khumbu Icefall, Western Cwm and South Col. In 1952, while the Swiss were making an attempt on the summit that nearly succeeded; the 1952 British Cho Oyu expedition practised high-altitude Himalayan techniques on Cho Oyu, nearby to the west.
The 1951 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition ran between 27 August 1951 and 21 November 1951 with Eric Shipton as leader.
Khumbu Pasanglhamu is one of 7 rural municipalities (Gaunpalika) in Solukhumbu district of Province No. 1 of Nepal. Khumjung, Namche & Jubing and Chaurikharka were incorporated while creating it. It has the total population of 9,133 according to the 2011 Nepal census and area of 1,539.11 square kilometres (594.25 sq mi). The admin centre of this gaunpalika is that of the Chaurikharka.
Siddhi Mishra is the youngest girl in the world and the youngest person from India to have climbed the Everest Base Camp (EBC) in Nepal, which is situated at an altitude of 5364 meters above sea level. Expedition Himalaya awarded her a certificate, and her name was featured in the 2024 India Book of Records.