On the Top of the World
Runner’s World, UK: March, 2005
Article by Rob Spedding who ran 2004 events

Running in the shadows of the world’s grandest peaks is awe inspiring, and it’s pretty hard work, too…..

…It continued like this for the five days. Just when you thought you couldn’t take another hour-long climb on the rough, ankle-twisting jeep roads, the incredible scenery would take your breath away….

….. you’d be cheered up by unfailingly helpful and polite guides manning impossibly located aid stations; and as the last of your blisters burst on the long downhill stretch of the final day’s 17-miler you’d be cheered to the finish by smiling pretty schoolchildren…..

…. There is some tarmac in the Himalayas and the last two days saw the runners take to the road. The majority of day four’s 13 miles were downhill, taking the competitors through tiny roadside settlements where bemused locals stared at the strangely dress westerners…..

Coping with five consecutive days of long running – 24, 20, 26+ 13 and 17 miles is hard enough, throw in the altitude and the terrain, and the Himalayan 100-Mile stage Race becomes a true challenge.…

….. You are treated to fantastic views of Everest, as well as three more of the world’s five highest mountains: Kanchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu. While the front-runners barely glanced up, most of the field took time to stop, pull out their cameras and just take it all in.