The marathon to be held on May 29 will start from the Everest Base Camp I, situated at an altitude of 5,300 meters, and will end at Namche Bazar (3,450 meters). The marathon will pass through Gorakseph (5,160 meters), Lobuche (4,928 meters), Thukla (4,611 meters), Bibre (4,492 meters), Pyangboche (3,995 meters), Tyangboche (3,890 meters), Lobisasa (3,495 meters), Kangjuma (3,592 meters) and Chortern (3,560 meters). [break]
The marathon is being organized every year on May 29 for the past 10 years to commemorate the day Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmund Hillay conquered Everest for the first time.
The organizer has arranged for medical teams as well as helicopter in case of emergency during the race. "The highest marathon in the world is fully safe," claimed Shikhar Pandey, the event manager, during the briefing. The event is recognized by the Government of Nepal, the Nepal Tourism Board and the Sagarmatha National Park.
Meanwhile, a 60-km ultra race has also been included in the current edition to celebrate the diamond jubilee (60 years) of the first ascent of Everest. The ultra race will begin from Upper Pyangboche (4,010 meters) and will pass through Fortse (3,895 meters), Nyahala (4,397 meters), Morchema (4,395 meters), Dole (4,030 meters), Fortse Tenga (3,642 meters), Mongla (4,395 meters), Kangjuma (3,592 meters) and Chorten before concluding at Namche.
According to event manager Pandey, the event will feature competition in open category as well as separate competitions for men, women and foreigners. Altogether 107 runners from 17 foreign countries and more than 30 runners from Nepal have already confirmed participation in the event. Meanwhile, eight runners from six different countries have registered their names for the 60-km ultra race.
"We started the marathon with the objective of developing Nepal as a tourism destination, and the last 10 editions have been a grand success," said Pandey, adding, "Everest has been a center of attraction for adventure sports lovers all across the globe."
The winners of the open marathon and the ultra race will both bag Rs 100,000, while the runners-up and the second runners-up will get Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 each respectively. Similarly, the top three finishers in the open half marathon as well the women´s and foreigners´ categories will receive Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively.
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