EVEREST TRAIL RACE 2025 – STAGE 3

A BRUTAL TEST OF LUNGS, LEGS, AND GRIT

Stage 3 of the Everest Trail Race is where the real punishment begins. With 28.3 kilometres of unrelenting terrain and a leg-wrecking descent from the high-altitude village of Kamo (3855m) down to the valley floor at Jubing (1600m), this stage isn’t just tough, it’s a full-body assault.

Runners start high, where the air is thin and every step feels like a negotiation with your lungs. The early climb up to Checkpoint 1 at Kamo is already a grind, but what follows is what defines this stage: a relentless plunge that feels like it goes on forever.

The descent from Kamo to Jubing is not gentle. It’s steep, technical, and unforgiving. The views are spectacular, sure, but most runners will be too focused on staying upright to take much of it in. The drop of over 2200 meters smashes quads and shreds knees. Every rock, step, and switchback becomes part of the battle. If the climbs test your endurance, the downhills here test your durability.

Fortunately, the support is solid. CP1 at Kamo, CP2 at Hewa, and CP3 at Jubing are well-stocked and strategically placed. Runners have every opportunity to refuel and regroup, though few will find much comfort in the knowledge that the real sting comes right at the end.

Just when you think you’ve done enough, the trail throws in a final climb up to the iconic village of Kharikola. It’s a steep, grinding ascent that comes after hours of muscular destruction.

This is where mental strength counts just as much as physical preparation. After hammering down thousands of vertical meters, your legs are begging for mercy, and yet, up you go again.

Kharikola, perched proudly in the hills, is a reward in itself. Not just for the views, but for what it represents: survival. Conquering Stage 3 is a badge of toughness. It’s where the Everest Trail Race shakes out the pretenders from the contenders.

Stage 3 doesn’t just test you, you feel it in your legs for days. You carry it in your mind for longer. It’s beautiful, brutal, and unforgettable. And for every runner who arrives in Kharikola, it’s a hard-earned victory etched into the heart of the Himalayas.