The Everest Marathon?

It seemed like a good idea.

Running a marathon in the Himalayas? How the heck did I get into this?

I've been a runner for 33 years: 50+ marathons (and 1 ultra) in the eastern and midwest United States, Bermuda and Ireland. Flat races, mountain races, races in blizzards, trail races -- I've done all kinds. As I've gotten older and my road racing times have gotten progressively slower (ah, the effects of aging), I've gravitated toward racing in unusual locales (Connemara Ireland) or venues (trail races). The challenge is to make an adventure out of a race and not worry about the (slower) times.

Since a boy, I've always been fascinated by the Himalayas and the expeditions to climb Mt. Everest. I'd read the National Geographic reports about the attempts to climb the world's highest peak -- the month-long trek to base camp, establishing Camps I through IV by climbing through the Khumbu Icefall, up the Western Cwm to the South Col and then the summit attempt. I've read some of the popular books about climbing Everest and K2 -- Krakauer's "Into Thin Air", "K2" by Ed Viesturs and "Everest The Hard Way" by Chris Bonington. I figured that I'd never get into the expedition climbing thing -- it takes too long -- but that part of the world has always intrigued me. Would I ever get to see Everest?

Hmmm. How about combining the two? An adventure run and a Nepal trek? There's got to be something like that. In fact, there are a couple. But one in particular caught my attention: the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon held each year on May 29th, the anniversary of the first summit of Mt. Everest by Norgay Tenzing and Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953.

The race starts at Everest Base Camp (ooh, there's one item checked off the bucket list) at 17,500 feet, traverses the Khumba Valley below the Hamalaya giants, and finished at the famous Sherpa village of Namche Bazaar at 11,300 feet. It's all downhill! What more could I ask for?

Although I planned to do this race by myself (my wife, Therese, could not take the long flights, three weeks of camping, few showers or clean clothes), I had one friend who would really be pissed if I didn't let him in on it: Gerry Kealy of Grangegeeth, County Meath, Ireland. Also known as the terror of Richmond, Virginia in the late 1990s and 2000s. Gerry has some legendary tales and running adventures and loves to travel. Of course, he'd be up for it. He was.

OK, so we've got the destination, the event and the participants. Can we do the logistics to pull this off? Actually, it was quite easy. The race, as well as the trek, is handled by Himalaya Expeditions, a treking and mountaineering company in Kathmandu, Nepal. They manage all of the logistics (accommodations, meals, transportation, porters, cooks, support) from the time you arrive in Nepal on May 14 until you leave on June 4. All we have to do is get ourselves to Kathmandu by May 14. No problem.

Stay tuned.