Annapurna 100 | iancorless.com – Photography, Writing, Talk Ultra Podcast

Lizzy Hawker is going to attempt to break her own 3-day record for running 319km from Everest Basecamp to Kathmandu run.

At 7am on Thursday 18th April internationally renowned endurance athlete Lizzy Hawker began a solo run in the direction of Kathmandu some 319km (198 miles) away.

She is the world record holder for the ‘Everest Mailrun’ the route taken by those carrying letters to and from expeditions at Everest Base Camp before the opening of Lukla airstrip in 1964.

Lizzy Hawker at TNFUTMB copyright Ian Corless

record stands at 71 hours 25 minutes, completed in November 2011. She made her first attempt of the run in 2007 with two friends which took 74 hours 36 minutes with just 4 hours sleep in Jiri.

The last Nepali runner to hold the record was Kumar Limbu in 3 days 7hrs and 10mins set in May 2000.

The route is brutally hilly with more than 10,000m ascent and nearly 15,000m descent.

Hawker, who was named a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2013, won the 100K world championship in 2006, set a 24-hour world record by running 247km at the Commonwealth Championships in September 2011, and set a course record for women in the 250km Spartathlon Ultra Race in Greece last year.

Lizzy Hawker TNFUTMB copyright Ian Corless

“I try to focus on running the very best that I can, literally moment by moment,” Hawker recently told the New York Times, “If I’m in pain or tired, I don’t have to fight it. I can be in myself, in the environment. It’s amazing what you can do running moment to moment.”

Hawker fuels herself on simply banana cake and cheese sandwiches and likes dal but prefers roti to rice.

She is expected to reach Jiri at 4pm Friday and reach the Rangashalla stadium late Saturday night 65 hours after starting at Base Camp.

Earlier this year The North Face sponsored athlete won the 100km Annapurna 100 race and will race the multiday Mustang Trail Race later this month.

Lizzy Hawker blog : HERE

Press Release from : http://trailrunningnepal.org

Lizzy Hawker at the 2012 TNF UTMB copyright Ian Corless

Lizzy Hawker returned to racing in her beloved Nepal and hopefully puts to rest some injury issues that disrupted her late 2012 season and her early 2013 season. Although listed as potential starter of the 2013 Trans Gran Canaria, Lizzy decided to return ‘home’ and race in Nepal at the Annapurna 100.

Lizzy dominated the ladies race taking the win by over 4 hours from Eva Clarke. A notable mention must go to third placed lady, Bakiye Duran. I first met Bakiye at the Iznik Ultra in 2012. She is somewhat a legend on the small Turkish ultra running scene and deservedly so. She came to distance running late in life and has pioneerd the movement in Turkey.

The mens race was a very close affair with Aite Tamang taking the win just 2 seconds ahead of Tirtha Tamang. Taking third place on the podium was Upendra Sunuwar over 1 hour 20 mins later.

The Annapurna 100′s got big mountain views, forests trails, village culture and it’s probably the only ultra race where you get a tikka on your forehead at 20 km and a khata around your neck. It’s Nepal’s original ultra-trail race with great 50, 70 and 100 km courses.

On October 31st 1995 Sir Ian Botham, world-renowned cricketer, with Jan Turner and Ramesh Bhattachan, started the first 100 km race. Twelve local runners proved that a run from Pokhara to Poon Hill and back was possible in less than 12 hours. The route normally would take an average trekker five days. The winner took 11 hours 55 minutes..

Since then, due to a decade of conflict, only a couple more races could be run. Now the race has become an established annual event with a successful 100 km race in 2009, a 71 km trail-only race in 2010 and a 75% trail 100 km race in 2011.

2012 will be the best race ever, with an improved course with more trail than ever.

It is now a point-scoring, qualification race for India’s ‘The High‘ and the UTMB.

The course heads out of Dhampus, a mountain village close to Pokhara (1650 m), 8 hours drive west of Kathmandu. The views from the Dhampus ridge are spectacular. All three finish in Dhampus, after more or less ups and downs on a combination of technical tracks, well maintained trekking trails and some jeep roads, through forests and many villages.

RESULTS 2013

Men’s result: