Waking up at 4am, 69 runners from all over the world put on running cloths and jumped in a bus to begin our journey. After a 1 1/2 hour bus ride, we finally arrived in a little town in Mirik, India. All of the locals were in the street cheering for us as well as local musicians. Before the blow of the whistle, each runner was given a white cloth to symbolize "good Luck & safe journey". At roughly 6,000 ft we were off! Boy was I crazy for signing up for this race! Only after running less than 1 mile of the monster hills began. For the remainder of the run, we climbed a total of 10,000ft! Now I usually average 24 miles every Saturday however climbing 10,000 ft in 1 day is a new challenge for me. To ensure I complete before sun down, I forced myself to run any rolling hills as well as speed walk up hills. Throughout the day I made sure to appreciate my surroundings and take pictures of Mt. Kachachunga and Mt. Everest. The Himalayans are absolutely breathe taking and even though today was the most difficult run I have EVER faced, I did have an amazing experience. After 6 hours and 8 minutes later, I came to the finish line. I know that sound like a long time, however I took 16th place overall and 6th female. Woohoo! Not bad for an American :)
Greetings From the Himalayans!!!
After 20 hours of traveling and 4 plane rides later, I am finally in the Himalayans! The best part so far?... I would say flying past Mt. Everest! Last night I met a couple of the participants of the 100 Mile Himalayan Stage Race which begins on October 25th. We are currently at 6,000 ft and the altitude has not affected me as much as I thought it would (cross your fingers when I will be running at 12,000 ft come Monday!). After having my first bit of sleep in 2 days, I finally feel fresh and revived this morning. I enjoyed coffee with my new friends followed by breakfast (eggs, toast, baked beans?..Lol). During breakfast we could hear dinner being prepared...a chicken screaming in the kitchen. I think I can officially say that I am now a proud vegetarian... Lol. After breakfast I went on my first run with 2 new friends. We ran past the Lake, monastery, main village and enjoyed views of the peaks from a far off distance. The weather is very tropical and quite humid which I did not expect. I'm really looking forward to meeting all of the runners today as well as maybe visiting the local monastery. Tomorrow we will be traveling to Darjeeling to ride the toy train as well as visit tea huts. Well that's all I got for now... I'm just relaxing before the race begins!!!
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