The Race Starts Here

Tuesday 18^th Day 1 – 24 miles
 

The day I had been dreading was finally here.  An abrupt start by the alarm clock at 0430 saw me jump into action.  A cold shower woke me up quite quickly and then it was down the stairs for breakfast by 5am.  Breakfast consisted of cornflakes with warm goat’s milk – that was an interesting taste- followed by porridge and an omelette.  We were soon loaded onto the bus to take us to the start point, a small village called Maneybhanjang at 6600ft.  We arrived at 0730 and we were greeted by the locals who performed a Tibetan ritual to bless all the participants.  We were each presented with a cloth scarf by the local children, which was said to bring us good luck.  Although this village is in India, the people are more Tibetan, as this area is right on the border where we will be running. This presentation was followed by a local dignitary offering a few words of encouragement.

The start line was in the middle of the village high street and from the line you could see the huge obstacle in front of us, it just went straight up.  This was not a good sight.  We were all lined up and ready to go and after a few PR shots, we were off.  A steady pace was kept for about half a mile until we were out of the village and then the hill started.  There was no way that you could possibly run up this hill, it was just too steep.  Everyone started to walk at this point as there was a long way to go.  For a mile and a half the switchback road just went up with no breaks in the steepness of this hill.  When I say hill – I probably mean mountain, but when you compare them to the surrounding mountains, they seem more like hills – even though this hill was 11800ft tall.  I initially started running with my headphones in, but after 10 minutes I realised I was missing the majestic scenery with my blaring music ruining the tranquillity of the place.  From here on in the only noise I could here was the animals and my heavy breathing.  After a 40 minute climb we reached the first check point.  Check points were every 2 miles or so, each with water supplies and every second or third station had bananas, potatoes and biscuits to boost our energy.

After several hours of walking up hill and running downhill and on the occasional flat, we were at 9500ft, only 2300ft to go I thought.  Unfortunately I wasn’t that lucky.  Before I knew it I was running downhill, I was looking at my GPS watch and I could see that I was descending fast.  I was now at 9000ft and still dropping.  How long would this descent go on for?  All the work I had put it gaining altitude was going to waste.  This was demoralising.  Things didn’t get much better from here. 

The trail that we were running on was occasionally compacted gravel, but most of the time it was on cobble stones.  These were not the cobble stones as you and I know it, no, these were jagged boulders lined up at various angles – almost designed to injure an unsuspecting runner.  It was at the 8 mile mark, on these cobble stones that I went over my left ankle, again.  Argh!  This was not a good start; at least I didn’t have 92 miles to go!  After another mile of running the pain off, I was back at my normal pace.  Not long after, I had to stop to sort a hot spot I could feel developing on my foot.  It was better to stop and lose time rather than to run with blisters for the next 5 days, as that would slow my time down anyway.  This was the lesser of the two evils.  After my stop I was no longer in a running group and for the next 6 miles I was running on my own.

The next 6 miles were relatively simple, compared to the first 6 or 7, as I was still descending.  I was no longer running on top of a hill but instead I was in the heart of a jungle, with one lonely track to run on.  It was at this point that I remembered about the Bengal Tigers, it was not comforting to be on my own in a jungle; there could be numerous deadly creatures out there.  Sure enough I managed to stumble across one!  I was blissfully running along a track taking in the scenery and looking at where I would place my next step, when before I knew it, I was 1 meter away from a huge snake to my right.  The snake was at least 10ft long and was a brown/red colour, lying on the ground.  The snake was as surprised as I was when we encountered each other, out of know where.  In a dash I did a funny side jump to the left and he took a sharp slither to the right and down the hill.  Yikes!  In the few seconds that we had come across each other, it was all over in the blink of an eye.  This encounter gave me the hebejebes for the next mile or so.

At the 15 mile point I was now down to 8000ft and the next check point was up ahead.  Before I could reach it though, the altitude sickness started to affect me and I was sick.  Could this day get any worse?  Probably.  I continued onto the check point and I had managed to catch up with the group I was running with.  After a quick water stop and a banana, we started the steep climb once again.  It was only uphill from here.  This is where my problems started.  I no longer had the energy to keep up with the group and I was falling behind. 

The fact that I had thrown up all the energy gels, food and water I had taken on board previously, didn’t help.  I slowly continued on up this mammoth hill, with endless steep switch back roads.  I was now at 10000ft with another 6 miles to go.  It was at this point I just wanted to give up.  The air was so thin that I had to stop every 30 meters to catch my breath.  After 20 seconds or more recovering, I would start again and head to the end of each switch back.  I could no longer go on.  I was tired. I had no energy. I had 6 miles and 1800ft to go and I had been on the go for 6 hours.  This was an extremely bad time I was having.  I found a suitable rock and sat down.  I was thinking that if I’m struggling at 10000ft, how am I going to manage to run another 40 miles over the next two days at 11800ft?  I was hoping a jeep would soon pass by and pick me up.

So far I had stopped for 5 minutes, which is an eternity when you are in a race.  I decided I needed to have words with myself.  I remembered why I was doing the run, I thought of the charity I would be letting down and of the humiliation of not completing the challenge.  I would be ridiculed at work.  These thoughts were the motivation I needed to carry on.  I knew that I had a long way to go, but it isn’t called a challenge if it’s easy.  I also knew that if I didn’t get any energy on board that I wouldn’t be able to reach the top.  I pulled out two energy gels and got them down my neck.  I opened up my emergency pack of jelly babies and eat a few.  10 minutes had now passed and I had to get up and make a move.  Standing up took a lot of effort and slowly I started walking up the hill with jelly babies in hand.  I was so tired that just eating one jelly baby took a lot of effort, it took around 1 minute to eat each one.  The energy gels and jelly babies eventually kicked in and I was able to walk slightly faster than the previous mile.  Walking 30 meters, stopping for 20 seconds, Walking 30 meters, stopping for 20 seconds, this was the routine I would be doing for the next 6 miles.  This was sheer hell.

Eventually I had reached the last checkpoint.  Only a mile and a half to go.  The end was in sight and I could see the Sandakphu lodge perched on top of the hill. Could I reach this lodge?  Not any time soon it would seem.  The hill just went on and on and on, then I remembered that this was the highest mountain range in the world.  That might explain it.  My legs were starting to seize up close to the end and I knew I had to keep going.  Finally I turned the corner and I could see a marshal who started shouting to the other marshals at the finish line, who were behind another corner that I could not see.  I started to get excited at this point, I had done it.  But disaster struck again, I was 100 meters from the finish line and cramp had set in on my left leg.  I couldn’t move.  I stretched it off and proceeded to hobble on but I could still feel the pain from the cramp.  I turned the last corner and I could see the finish line, I wanted this to be over so I started to run towards it.  I had crossed the line and had finished.  No sooner had I finished then the cramp returned with vengeance.  I had cramp in both of my calves and both of my thighs.  I was in agony.  Four men had to grab hold of me, as I could no longer stand.  The doctor, who was at the finish line, was quickly attending to me and was trying to straighten my legs and warm up the muscles.  It was cold at 11800ft.  I was still in pain.  Five minutes had passed and the cramp was still there, by this time I had been placed on a chair.  I was covered with my jacket to warm me up, all the time the doctor continued to work on my legs.  I was fed potatoes and salt for the next five minutes before the cramp eventually disappeared.  After 10 minutes of crossing the line I was eventually out of pain.  This wasn’t the most glamorous finish I was hoping for, but I had finished in a time of 8 hours and 32 minutes.

 

The Indian doctor was a great help but no one knew his name, he was only referred to as ‘the doctor’, except he didn’t wear a bow tie, have a Tardis or a sidekick.  After being escorted to my accommodation for the next two nights, it was off to the kitchen for some soup to warm me up.  It was in the kitchen that I met up with some of the other participants to discuss the monstrous climb we had all just completed.  There were still some people tackling this climb and the last person came in just over 12 hours.  It was reassuring to hear that I was not the only one that had to stop to catch their breath.  Everyone said that they had to stop at each switch back to catch their breath.  This filled me with confidence for the next day.

After some soup and a chat, I had to sort my race kit out for tomorrow.  Somehow this took 30 – 45 minutes each night.  The accommodation we were in was basic.  There were 4 people in my room, but some people had 10 in a room.  We had a bed and lights but no bathroom or hot water.  The toilet consisted of a hole in the ground.  This was not a pleasant experience, as the smell was terrible.  14 people sharing the same toilet with no running water, it made you boke.  Bad times.

Dinner was at 5pm and we all congregated in the small room that was the dining facility.  Unfortunately for me, the altitude was affecting my appetite, which is a common side effect.  Much like the jelly babies, it took me a long time to eat a piece of food. This was not ideal as I needed all the energy I could get for tomorrows 20 miles run at 11800ft. I retired back to my room, where upon Aaron entered with a fruit ration pack that contained hundreds of calories and sugar.  For some reason I was able to eat this, maybe because it was dessert, but either way it helped boost my energy.  Cheers Aaron.  By 6.30pm I was tucked up in my sleeping bag and ready for tomorrows run.

Wednesday 19^th Day 2 – 20 miles

The day started at 0430, an early rise in order to watch the sun rise over 4 of the world’s 5 highest peaks, including Everest.  But before the sun rise, I had to get some breakfast inside to increase the energy levels.  The only thing I could stomach was the porridge, even though there were cornflakes and omelettes available.  I had still not shaken off the altitude sickness.  After a quick bite it was off outside to watch the spectacle of the sun rise, but before this happened, I was sick.  This was not an ideal start to the day.  I made my way back to my room and force fed myself some rice crispy marshmallow bars.  I needed to have at least some food in me.  At 0515 the sun slowly raised itself from behind the mountains and illuminated the sides of the snow covered peaks to create some amazing scenery.  The colours of the mountains changed as the sun rose higher and higher causing a trigger finger to develop on the camera.  It was an amazing site.

Everest, Lhotse and Makal

The race started at 0630.  The profile of the race was 10 miles out to a place called Molle and then back again to Sandakphu.  I would descend 1500ft, climb back up 1500ft, descend 1500ft and climb again 1500ft to the finish.  The first part of the race was simply amazing, I was running downhill and I was able to see Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Kangchenjenga (4 of the world’s 5 highest peaks) in front of me.  Some points I just had to stop to appreciate the views – and to catch my breath, but mainly for the views.  I ran the first 10 miles on my own before I caught up with Pete and Bob, two retired police men.  In a group of 3 the experience is so much better.  You can share the sights you are seeing, they can take your picture and you can see that they are as tired as you are.  It all adds up to give you a morale boost and you can have a laugh and a joke on the way.  The final 10 miles passed quickly and after the last climb, the three of us crossed the line together in a time of 6 hours 1 minute.

The days run was relatively straight forward and it was a lot easier than the first day.  The only question on our minds now was whether the marathon tomorrow would be harder than the first day.  I was hoping that it wouldn’t be.  After discussing this over some soup at lunch time I convinced myself that it couldn’t possibly be as bad, as we would be going downhill for 8 miles. After lunch I hopped into bed for a 2 hour kip as I was shattered, running at altitude really takes it out of you.

Kangchenjenga

At 3pm we were gathered together for a race brief from the race director regarding tomorrow’s marathon.  Once again timing and baggage information was read out.  Mr Pandey then went on to discuss the Himalayan environment and the meaning of the Himalaya.  The Himalaya means house of snow.  It is not called the Himalayas but the Himalaya – there is no translation for Himalayas – it was western journalism that introduced this word apparently.  Mr Pandey also discussed the plants around the area and the animals that roam the land.  It was at this point that he decided to tell us that he saw a Bengal Tiger yesterday beside the lake we ran past.  This was the first time he had seen one in 10 years close to the trail.  I don’t know why he didn’t keep this information to himself until the end of the 5 days, as tomorrow we would once again be running through the jungle.  Thanks for the reassurance. 

Dinner time was another non-event for me as I couldn’t eat properly.  Aaron later told me that Mark and he were considering holding me down and force feeding me, as I was in such a bad way.  Thankfully they didn’t and instead Aaron and Claire came to the rescue with a bar of chocolate and a bottle of coke to boost my sugar levels.  These sugary snacks would almost certainly help me through the next day.  Tomorrow we would start running at 6am so again I was in bed by 6.30pm.

Thursday 20^th Day 3 – 26 miles

Another 0430 start and the first hour and a half went exactly the same way as yesterday.  I woke up, had breakfast, threw up, had a cereal bar and started the race.  Today’s marathon would take me out along the same track as yesterday to Molle and then onwards 4 miles to Phalut before heading back to Molle.  From Molle I would descend from 11500ft to 6300ft in less than 8 miles before reaching the finish line in Rimbik.

The first 18 miles went ok for me as I knew the track and I stayed at altitude for most of the time.  I was even managing to overtake people on the uphill, despite being ill in the morning.  The scenery was not as great today though, as the clouds had rolled in and obscured the great views.  Just as well I took all my photos yesterday.  Once I reached Molle for the last time I stopped to apply knee braces, as I knew I had dodgy knees when running downhill.  I also took my walking poles to relieve stress on the knees caused by going downhill on steep descents.  The descent was a nightmare for me.  I was descending down a make shift path which also looked like a water runaway.  Occasionally there were logs used as steps and at other times there was nothing except mud and boulders.  The constant pounding of my knees took its toll on me and I had to slow down.  I could no longer run down this hill.  I would have to walk to the bottom.  The only benefit of walking was that I could take in the sounds, sights and the atmosphere as I entered deeper and deeper into the jungle.  The noise of the jungle is superb, it just doesn’t stop – it is constant.  Half way down the hill, there was a small clearing in which a huge rock jutted out from the edge.  I took the time to climb this rock and I’m glad I did.  Once on top, the whole valley opened up and I could see for miles around; steep valleys surrounded me with a huge waterfall that fell into the river below.  It was quite a moment and I appreciated how lucky I was to be here, to experience this view.

The rest of the downhill took another few hours, in which the people I had overtaken previously on the uphill had now overtaken me on the downhill.  Downhill was definitely my weak point.  As I got lower and lower I started to pass through small settlements.  I was literally running through peoples back gardens.  They grew their own corn and bred their own chickens – this was a different way of life I was experiencing.  They were totally reliant upon themselves for food and water.  Coming down the track I had to stop to let donkeys carrying goods pass me by.  There were no motor vehicles here; it was just too remote and inaccessible.  It was a privilege to experience such sights.  After a long slog down, I eventually reached the river and the last few miles would be relatively flat.  I had to run down a stream at one point before coming to a road which was being repaired by the locals.  Half of the road had collapsed and had disappeared below, due to earthquakes which took place a few weeks before I arrived.  There were men and boys breaking boulder and smaller stones using only hand tools.

In the last few miles I was able to pick up pace, even though I now had to limp due to my dodgy left knee.  I could soon see a competitor who had overtaken me before and I set my sights on him.  I soon caught up with him and overtook.  I then saw another one.  I knew it was close to the end so I thought that I might as well overtake him, and I did.  Within the next half a mile I had entered the town of Mirik and I knew the end was near, but I couldn’t see it due to the narrow winding roads.  It was only when I heard a police man blow his whistle that I knew he must be directing traffic to get out of my way.  With a spring in my right leg and a limp in the left I pushed on to see the finish line.  What a feeling it was to cross the finish line and to have completed my first marathon.  My total time was 9 hours 36 minutes.  I might have to do another marathon to improve my time now; as when people ask what time I completed my first marathon in, they may be a little underwhelmed by my 9 hours 36 minutes.

After the race I was transferred to my accommodation for the next two nights.  It had a comfy bed, electricity and most important of all – hot showers and a proper toilet.  I soon freshened up, applied an ice pack to my knee and took some pain killers. My knee wasn’t in a good way and it needed rest.  I soon had dinner and headed to my room to sort out tomorrow’s kit before heading to bed at 8pm.
Friday 21^st Day 4 – 13 miles

Today was a nice leisurely start at 0730.  We didn’t have to race until 9pm.  This was bliss.  I was able to have breakfast this morning and hold it down; I seemed to have my appetite back.  Now that we were only at 6300ft I no longer suffered from the altitude sickness.  I could also feel the difference in breathing.  There would be no need to stop to catch my breath every 30 meters or so.  Today’s race would be a short 13 mile run downhill to 4900ft and then back up to 6600ft for the finish and then transferred back to Rimbik by bus.  Unfortunately it was raining today.  The monsoon season was meant to have finished 2 weeks ago but it seemed like it was back.  There was thunder and lightning and the downpour was relentless.  I would be getting wet today.

The race started off where it finished yesterday and I took my poles again today, as my knee still wasn’t right. I ran for the first 100 meters before the pain became unbearable.  I had to start walking for 30 meters.  I tried running again but it was just too painful.  I knew from that moment that I had to walk the next 13 miles and probably the 17 miles the next day.  Within the first half mile everyone had over taken me and I was last.  I had never come last before in my life.  This was demoralising.  What should only be a 2 and a half hour run was probably going to take me 4 hours.  I wasn’t going to stand for this.  I started experimenting with different runs.  My knee was only sore when I bent it, so I had to come up with a way I could run with it straight.  After several attempts I developed a hop skip type run which I could use going downhill, but I could only use this for 50 meters or so as my right leg would get sore and tired.  For the flats I found that I couldn’t use the hop skip run, so I had to develop a different run.  If I ran with both my legs straight, with my left leg rotating clockwise and my right leg rotating anti-clockwise, I found that I could run successfully for another 50 meters.  If the Ministry of funny runs had seen me, I think they would have been impressed.  After several hundreds of meters using my newly styled running techniques I managed to overtake some people and I caught up with Martin, who was also injured.  For the next 10 miles, Martin and I limped together to the finish line overtaking more people along the way.  I managed to ‘speed’ past 7 people in total, not bad for a cripple I thought.  I finished in 3 hours 19 minutes.

Due to the excessive time it took for me to finish today, the first bus had already left.  Instead of the comfort of a bus, 4 of us were stuffed into the back of a jeep with no leg room.  This was not particularly comfortable as my knee was in bits and it was cramped.  The roads were full of potholes and I could feel every bump.  It was only 30 minutes into the drive when we eventually reached the bottom on the hill, less than half way.  Had I really limped this far, there was still another 8 miles to drive?  13 miles is a long way when you are in the back of a jeep; you don’t appreciate how far you have run (limped) until you retrace your steps. 

The jeep arrived back in time for lunch and I again freshened up and packed for the following day.  I had a whole afternoon of rest but there was a culture evening that night and I had not prepared anything.  Thankfully I had bought an Indian sim card for my phone and I was able to access the internet.  I know what you’re thinking – they use donkeys to transport goods but they have a 3G signal in the middle of nowhere.  Strange, but true.   A quick search of the internet found me something truly unique to Scotland.  Robert Burns.  I chose a short poem from his collection and would perform it in front of the 12 other nations.  The evening kicked off and I was about the 8^th performer.  I stood up in front of the crowd of 60 – 70 people and recited ‘Twa wives’ by Robert Burns in my broadest Scottish accent.  It read something like this:

There was twa wives, and twa witty wives,
As e'er play'd houghmagandie,
And they coost oot, upon a time,
Out o'er a drink o brandy;
Up Maggie rose, and forth she goes,
And she leaves auld Mary flytin,
And she farted by the byre-en'
For she was gaun a shiten.

She farted by the byre-en',
She farted by the stable;
And thick and nimble were her steps
As fast as she was able:
Till at yon dyke-back the hurly brak,
But raxin for some dockins,
The beans and pease cam down her thighs,
And she cackit a' her stockins.

The evening concluded with some singing and dancing before some dinner and bed.

Saturday 22^nd Day 5 – 17 mile

Today was to be another early morning with breakfast at 0530 and the race starting at 0730.  We started where we finished yesterday and would climb up to 8500ft for 6 miles before descending 11 miles down to the initial starting point of day 1 at Maneybhanjang.  I would still be using the Ministry of funny runs to complete today’s event and I found going uphill easier than going downhill. The first 6 miles didn’t cause me a problem apart from a small hot spot I could feel on my right foot.  At the top of the hill at the checkpoint, I stopped in a village to apply a blister patch.  As soon as I sat down and started to tend to my foot, there were about 10 children surrounding me, interested in what I was doing.  They were also probably a bit disgusted at the state my feet were in. 

I quickly taped my foot up and carried on down through the jungle.  The knee was still hurting, despite my new running techniques, but I had the sound of the jungle to take my mind of things.  At one point I thought I could hear a girl screaming every 10 seconds.  I thought that this was a bit strange, as a girl probably wouldn’t be out in the jungle on her own.  I then realised that it was probably a monkey I was hearing and it was pretty close by.  I looked up through the trees to see if I could find it, but I had no luck.  I limped on for a bit until I heard the screaming again and I looked round to where I thought the noise was coming from – luckily I saw a branch move violently and I had pin pointed the location.  After a minute or two waiting, I saw the monkeys jump from tree to tree.  It was a sight to behold and brought a smile to my face.

Throughout the race I had been using the check points as markers to give me a goal to aim for.  If I had thought about the total distance I was due to run every day, I think it would have killed me.  Breaking the distance down into manageable chunks definitely helped the race go by quicker – except for today.  For some reason the check points seemed to take ages to get too, especially the last 3 or 4.  I knew I was close to the finish but I didn’t seem to be any closer.  This could have been the slowest 2 hours of my life.  I reached the last check point and I knew that the finish line should only be a mile and a half away, but this was the longest mile and a half of my life.  I was getting excited thinking it would be round the next corner, but it wasn’t to be.  Corner after corner came and went until I finally entered the village – I must be close now.  No.  Another half a mile passed until I could see the finish line for the first time, round the bend.   I started using my hop skip run for the longest period ever; it must have been 300 meters.  I could see and hear the people and school children clapping as I approached.  The children were lined down each side of the finish line entrance and I knew I was there.  I could feel the emotions building up as I approached the finish line and I must have had the biggest smile on my face as I hopped across the finish line in a time of 4 hours 55 minutes.  I was greeted with handshakes galore and presented with a white cloth from a local child for completing the race. 

After the customary photos I entered the hall where the rest of the participants were waiting, and I was greeted with a round of applause.  It was at this point that I was overwhelmed with emotions and I had to fight back the tears of joy.  It was an unbelievable feeling with everyone congratulating me on completing the race.  I have to thank everyone there for making it a truly memorable finish.

Once everyone had completed the race we were transported back to Mirik Lake Resort for dinner and the prize giving.  The winner of the race – Deon Braun from South Africa - completed the race in 18 hours 16 minutes.  Aaron was the dark horse and came 6^th overall with a time of 21 hours 42 minute.  I manage to come 27^th with a time of 32 hours 23 minutes.  Every participant was presented with a certificate and trophy and prizes were given to the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd male and female winners of the stage race and the marathon. There was also another award that was presented.

It was the award for ‘The most beautifully smiled participant’ and I won it! I couldn’t believe it; I think I just started laughing.  The trophy was the biggest of them all.  Apparently it is awarded to the participant who can still manage to smile even through tough times – or words to those effects.  When presented with the trophy, ‘the doctor’ said that “there was a very fine line between a grimace and a smile.”  The evening ended on a high and a well-earned couple of beers were enjoyed.

The 100 Mile Stage Race is a truly unique event and the competitors and race officials made it that extra special with the camaraderie of the group.  It was a real team event with everyone looking out and helping one another.  Without this support I am not sure whether I would have been able to complete the race or not; whether it was from the food given to me by Aaron and Claire, ‘the doctors’ help with my leg crippling cramp or from the words of encouragement from the rest of the competitors.  This race is certainly an experience I will never forget, along with the people I met along the way, who made it truly memorable.