This year the Peace Run in Nepal will involve a Peace Run team trekking to Everest Base Camp, visiting schools and sharing the peace torch with other trekkers along the way. We will then participate in the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon, which takes place on May 29th, the 70th anniversary of the momentous first summit climb. The marathon runs 26 miles from Everest Base Camp to Namche Bazaar.
The day before we set off from Kathmandu we met with two incredibly inspiring Nepalese women who we are very grateful to have joining us on the trek.
Mira Rai is a pioneering Nepalese trail runner, winning races around the world before turning her attention to nurturing the next generation of female Nepali runners through her Mira Rai Initaitive.
Laxmi Magar is a mountain bike racer who won a gold medal at the 2019 South Asian Games and competes in races around the world. She also helped set up the Nepal Cycling School, which trains children, amateurs and professionals, to help them reach their potential and especially encourage more women into cycling.
We then had a meeting with Paamila, the marathon secretary who has been helping Sweta, our Nepalese co-ordinator with all the details of the trip. She handed out our race t-shirts and numbers. We are all very excited!
Mira Rai is off to Everest Base Camp!!
We also met with Bikram Pandey Kaaji, also known as the concept man, who is the marathon director who dreamt up the idea to organise the highest marathon in the world. He is also the Consul General of Greece.
This is the plane that was due to take us from Kathmandu to Lukla this morning.
However, this is as far as we got- a bus on the runway. Lukla airport has the worlds shortest runway and therefore needs clear skies to fly there, which we didn't have so we were taken back to the terminal before the flight was canceled several hours later. .
Due to some amazing negotiating by Sweta and Preetidutta we managed to get our whole team onto 3 helicopters for the journey so that we could still stay on schedule with our hike.
Shyamala looks happy, but is putting on a brave face and is happily sitting in the middle seat terrified and praying! She would happily fly with that pilot again any day -it was a lovely smooth flight and we are all so so grateful :-)
Lukla runway is down there - a delightful sight after our days of waiting and wondering if we would be seeing it today!
Once all the team had arrived we were on our way- a 3 hour hike which would finish in the dark due to our canceled flight and late arrival.
Receiving our trekking permits just outside Lukla.
Sweta making new friends within the first half mile.
Walking by the light of our headlamps for the last hour and a half.
Our home for the night - a very welcome sight!
