The Everest Trail Race 2016 is underway in the remote Solukhumbu region of the Himalayas in Nepal.
The Everest Trail Race (ETR) is an annual multi-stage footrace, with a brutal range in altitude.
The stages are 21.5, 23.9, 37.4, 27.5, 20 and 22 km respectively. The daily difference in altitude goes from a heart-pounding 3,000 meters up to 5,950. The route passes several of the world’s tallest mountains, Everest, Lothse, Ama Dablam, Tamseku, Kangtega, Makalu and Kanchenjunga.
The race kicked off early on Thursday 10 November from Jiri in the Dolakha District. 45 runners of whom 10 were women lined up at the start. The race follows the route used by Tenzing Norge Sherpa and Edmund Hillary while making the first ascent to the Mt Everest in 1953.
This year, the three favourites are Casey Morgan (GBR), Miquel Capó (ESP) and local Pasang Lama.
In 2015, Nepal’s Bhim Gurung (Adeaventura-Annapurna Treks) won the race in the men’s category covering all six stages in 20 hours and 24 minutes while Catalan Anna Comet won the women’s race in 25 hours and 44 minutes.
Started in 2011 by Spanish extreme ultra-runner, Jordi Abad, the Everest Trail Race is staged at the beginning of the dry season when the air is clean after the monsoon, so that there is good visibility and weather conditions.
Partial results:
Stage one (21.5km): Pasang Lama (NEP) in 2h 40min and Jennifer Hill (GBR) in 3h 48min.
Stage two (23.9km): Miquel Capó (ESP) in 4h 36min and Jennifer Hill (GBR) in 6h 17min.
Stage three (37.4km): Pasang Lama (NEP) in 4h 13 min and Andreja Sterle Podobnik (SLO) in 6h 18 min.
Stage four (27.5km): Pasang Lama (NEP) in 3h 45min and Andreja Sterle Podobnik (SLO) in 5h 10min.
Follow the race on Facebook for results.
