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Everest Marathon is an annual marathon event, held in the district of
Solukhumbu Solukhumbu District ( , Sherpa: , 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 co ...
, Nepal, around the vicinity of
Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...
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 Khumbu (also known as the Everest Region) 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.Bradley, Mayhew; "Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya"; ...
Valley. The event is officially approved and recognized by the
Government of Nepal The Government of Nepal () is the central executive authority of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The government is led by the Prime Minister of Nepal, prime minister (K. P. Sharma Oli, K.P. Oli since 15 July 2024) who selects all the o ...
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 Tenzing Norgay (; ''tendzin norgyé''; May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. On 29 May 1953, he and Edmund Hillary were the first confirmed to ...
Sherpa and Sir
Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the Timeline of M ...
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 An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the ...
race, a 42 km full marathon race and a 21 km
Half Marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...
race.


History

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 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. Everest Marathon 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 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.


Race

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.


Race day

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.


Starting times

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.


Course

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 The Khumbu Icefall is located at the head of the Khumbu Glacier and the foot of the Western Cwm. It lies at an elevation of on the Nepali slopes of Mount Everest, not far above Base Camp and southwest of the summit. The icefall is regarded as o ...
, which lies at an altitude 5356m above sea level. The half-marathon starts from
Dingboche Dingboche is a Sherpa village at an elevation of in the Khumbu region of northeastern Nepal. Its population was estimated at approximately 200 in 2011. Transport Coming from Namche Bazaar or Tengboche, Dingboche is the better alternative tha ...
which lies at an altitude of 4359m.{{Cite web, url=http://everestmarathon.com/extreme-ultra-60km/everest-marathon-ultramarathon-elevation-chart-2/, title=everest-marathon-ultramarathon-elevation-chart-2, website=Everest Marathon, access-date=2019-09-23


Extreme ultra marathon

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)''


Full marathon

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)''


Half marathon

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)''


Notable features


Acclimatization

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 Altitude sickness, the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is a harmful effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. People's bodies can respond to high altitude in different wa ...
,
snow blindness Photokeratitis or ultraviolet keratitis is a painful eye condition caused by exposure of insufficiently protected Human eye, eyes to the ultraviolet (UV) rays from either natural (e.g. intense direct or reflected sunlight) or artificial (e.g. t ...
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.


Participation number limits and ecologically conscious practices

To protect the fragile natural ecosystem around the Everest region lying within the borders of the
Sagarmatha National Park Sagarmāthā National Park is a national park in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal that was established in 1976 and encompasses an area of in the Solukhumbu District. It ranges in elevation from and includes Mount Everest. In the north, it shares ...
, 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 Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
Event by applying waste minimization, as well as implementing clean waste disposal practices.


Off-Road Trail

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.


Elevation drop

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.


References

Marathons in Nepal Recurring sporting events established in 1987 1985 establishments in Nepal