Long-haul flights, red-eye and a journey through the night saw the 2017 ETR runners arrive in Istanbul, Turkey in the early hours of Monday 6th November. But the journey wasn’t over, departing at 0200 an onward flight of 7-hours to Kathmandu waited.

It was midday when everyone arrived in Nepal and visa and immigration went relatively smoothly, it is often a tiresome process! But the noise, colour and sounds of Kathmandu soon impacted on everyone as two small buses fought through the chaos to Hotel Shanker.

aA quiet oasis soon provided some tranquility and an opportunity for the runners to be officially welcomed  and taken through a simple briefing ahead of tomorrow’s equipment checks and official race registration and number collection.

Eager to explore on foot, most dropped bags, freshened up and were soon meandering around the streets of Thamel, a commercial neighbourhood in Kathmandu, that has been the centre of the tourist industry for over four decades.

Tomorrow, two excursions are planned. One exploring the Monkey Temple and the other an opportunity to walk around historical Patan.

Excursions are followed by the official proceedings of equipment checks, bag drop and number collection.

Day 1 of the Everest Trail Race inches closer.