The Grand Canyon of the Himalaya …………………………

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Mark Lyons

Mark Lyons Himalaya

The Grand Canyon of the Himalaya …………………………

We had been travelling for 17 hours, over mountain passes 20,000 feet high and across a desert that appeared to stretch the entire length of India! , but now I saw it, far below us lay the mighty Tsarap-Zanskar river, this is what we had come for! And the scale of what lay in front made me feel that the life I had led before this trip , my years of kayaking , climbing and mountaineering were merely preparation for what lay ahead , a river so physically and mentally demanding that only a relative handful of people had kayaked it before us , it is a huge volume grade 4-5 torrent that rages through 220 miles of 2000 feet deep  sheer sided canyon , a river where a single mistake could cost a life , where escape was impossible and a river that had a starting point of 14,500 feet in one of the most remote and inhospitable Himalayan regions of India , Kashmir

 The Grand Canyon of the Himalaya …………………………

I have always focused my blog on running with occasional departures into inspirational people or equipment, mainly because I started the blog at the advice of my friend and Irish kayaking legend Adrian Shanahan to help in my MS Society fundraising when I started on my Marathon Des Sable goal , last night I found this old article , one of several that I have written in the past for magazines , after dinner presentations etc and I thought I would share it and some of my photos,  hopefully I will blog more of them if this one is well received ….. for those of you who dont know , I have been a kayaker and climber for nearly 20 years , travelling to many far flung destinations in search of the worlds  best rivers and rock faces , my shoulder injury now means I have had to leave that life behind but in its place is now running and all the adventures it has and is yet to bring so no regrets !!! I hope you enjoy the story, I certainly enjoyed the trip .. Unfortunately Chris Wheeler who was part of this trip later died in kayaking accident , he was an amazing character and an outstanding kayaker having ran many of the worlds hardest rivers , may he rest in peace and never be forgotten ………..

Arty kayak shot .. I was smoking some crazy weed man !!

Neil Farmer, my good friend and companion on many trips and expeditions had started to put all the pieces together a few years previous, he had done the research, worked out the logistics and sat bug-eyed looking at Google for weeks, he had again come up trumps, it looked like it would work, the team he had put together was strong, 7 good friends, all solid boaters with their own areas of expertise, and all great company on a trip. Andy Holtham , ex Ugandan river guide now living in Glasgow , Matt Brook an expedition boater from Stirling , Chris Wheeler a very skilled boater with more trips and experience under his belt than the lot of us put together , Colin Kingswood a guy who has guided on some of the largest rivers in the world including Chile and Austria , Dug Rae a young apprentice on his first big trip , and myself a kayaker who has chased the  dream of far away beautiful white water for nearly 15 years  .The only problem was that Neil and Andy were teachers with set holidays ,  meaning that we would have to enter the gorge during the peak of summer ,most kayak it in September at “low” level , for us though the water levels would be exceptionally high and it could easily be 45 degrees in the sun , the Himalaya is a harsh environment , even more so in the summer heat.

Leh …. Himalayan hub

Over the next 6 months all the pieces of an expedition are put together ,emails , telephone calls ,  flights , transport , equipment , maps , food , plans , plans , contingency plans and even more planning !!! And on the 24th of July  we all fly to New Delhi airport and from there on to Leh, a shanty town in the Himalaya sitting at 13,500 feet, built on one of the old trade routes over the Himalaya, cashmere wool, salt, grain and cannabis are apparently the main products still brought across by Donkey trains, this is to be our base for the next 3 weeks….Walking off the plane in Leh the first thing that hits me is the altitude, nothing can prepare you for this, gentle acclimatization over time is the only way, we have to get all the equipment sorted and loaded into the awaiting transport, this proves a daunting task with limited oxygen, huffing and puffing we carry all our equipment from the airport to the trucks and then onwards to our accommodation.

Himalaya ….

Seeing the Himalaya for the first time is breathtaking , its on a scale that you could never imagine from photos , tv programmes , even people’s own description , you just have to see it for yourself to grasp it , it is rugged and  harsh , yet has a jaw dropping beauty that no-one can deny. You get the feeling that you could pick up the entire French Alps and hide it behind just one Himalayan mountain.

Charming … hsssssssss

Days 1 and 2 are spent just lazing around trying to acclimatize ,  looking at maps , taking in a bit of local culture and just getting our heads in gear for the mission ahead , trying to stay positive is very important on a trip where there is no room for fear or negativity .

Fucking remote !!

Day 3 We head off to the river Indus for a warm up, the Indus is a huge volume river originating high up on the Tibetan Plateau and gave India its name. We run two 20km grade 4 sections and get a feel for the style of BIG water paddling , everything goes well and despite still acclimatizing we are all pretty much on form .

Kinda chunky ….

Day 4 Today is to be the final 25 mile section of the Zanskar gorge, this is accessible by road and should give us a real taste of what is to come, it is tough, huge river features, whirlpools and crashing water everywhere, this one started to worry us, if this section was so hard what would the harder more remote sections of river be like.

A long way into nowhere …………

Day 5 is spent preparing our equipment and double checking everything, forgetting something like a water filter would be very serious, once we are all in the gorge there is no going back so nothing can be forgotten, we then set off on our 17 hour journey from hell, the roads in the Himalaya are more dirt tracks than roads and sat in a 6 wheel drive bus bouncing around for hours on end isn’t good for the back! Travelling over 2 of the highest passes in the world and crossing a desert plain the size of 1000 Wembley stadiums started to give us a real idea of how remote we were going to be in the upper sections of the river, even if we could escape the gorge, how long would we last in the 45 degree heat, we were at least a weeks hike to the nearest tiny village, nothing could go wrong or we were in very serious trouble!

Hmmmm …… lets see now ..

Day 6 It is all go, we get on and kayak down to the start of the gorge, where the walls started to close in and the two mountain ranges come together, here we will camp, a last check of our equipment and then rest up after our long and journey to the drop off point, there wasn’t much chat around the camp, everyone was nervous with anticipation of what was to come.

Its looking gnarly …

Day 7  As soon as we enter the gorge it all goes crazy, the river is huge, far bigger than we expected, the sides are all washed out so there is nowhere to stop, rest or inspect what lies ahead, we have to read and run from the kayak, It feels like we are being flushed down a giant toilet! , a few lucky escapes ensued and before we know it we have kayaked 30-35 miles of grade 4-5 in one day ! , we manage to find a raised platform above river level so we camp , the air this night is filled with tales of huge waves and man-eating  holes, oh and of course smelly thermals .

Chris negotiates a steep…..

Day 8 Is spent fighting our way through more “toilet bowl” gorges and a long section of very difficult technical white water where I have to dig deep in my psyche and keep cool, even though I know the feeling of fear is trying to fight its way into my head , fear is no good , even a split second of hesitation can prove fatal in this type of environment ,everything must be done positively , fear will only slow your responses down and I have no choice , I must kayak this canyon because I cannot get out , so I must be positive , fear will only spread , your friends do not need to hear it , they’re having their own mental battle , fear has to be boxed and tossed into the back of your mind , the only way is forward , literally in kayaking ! , we made it through, nobody said it was going to be easy and it isn’t but we are all sitting in our boats and most of us are smiling, we grab the next available campsite, with the gorge looming 2000 feet above us it is getting dark within 30 minutes of the sun disappearing, so we had to move quick, still sitting in my boat in the dark was not an option!

Phugtal …

Day 9 After a short hard section the gorge leads us to the Buddhist monastery of Phugtal , the monastery is built into the Cliff-face , high above the river , only accessible by walking up the river when it is frozen in the winter, it is the ultimate refuge and as a wannabe buddhist I was very excited to see it , we climb up and walk around , amazing , time is passing so we head back down to the kayaks and head down river to a horrendous section of un-runnable grade 6 called Reru falls , this is a mandatory portage and just one look was enough to know this wasn’t going to go ! , hours later we have portaged over and up huge boulders avoiding the grade 6.

now for some mountaineering …..

Day 10 The upper Gorge has opened out into a desert plain, it’s very weird to be sitting on a huge torrent of white-water snaking its way through a desert , this meant we are already half way , we are really eating up the miles , the huge water levels and continuous nature of the river has pushed us through quickly , we are a full day and a half in front of our schedule , already through the first set of gorges we decide to camp at the mouth of the next gorge , this takes us most of the day to reach and with no mountains to shade us it is hard going , the heat is over 40 degrees , the backs of my hands are blistering before my eyes and my dry-suit was heating up fast , rolling the kayak is the only way to get cool , 40 degree heat into 5 degree water , it was like running out of a sauna and diving in an ice pool.

a calm before the storm ….

Day 11  We are up early and straight to it , we kayak into the final gorge, keen to get out of the early morning heat , the gorge moves up another notch , tough hard paddling , in one section the gorge which is more than 60 foot wide squeezes  down to 10-12 foot , and I’m shot through it !! , rapid after rapid loomed, there was no stopping!  , 4-5 hours without a chance to stop and we are spat out at a place we recognise , it is the start of the lowest section , the section we had run nearly a week ago , things looked different though , it was much bigger !  , the river had risen considerably , almost 15 feet higher than before , we could camp here or we could go on and complete our journey , doing the final gorge  in one day , this was unheard of , something to be very proud of !! , “If Carlsberg did kayak day trips “ , we decide to go for it and 3 hours later we leave the Zanskar gorge behind us  and float out into the safety of the confluence with the Indus , amazingly 2 days faster than had been planned for.

let us outa here !!!!

That night we celebrate cooked food, rum, and beer and eventually when we can no longer keep our eyes open some uninterrupted sleep in a bed, it had been my finest trip and now, although I was glad to be standing on safe dry land, I was also very sad that the adventure was all over.

A motley crew ….

 

Leh temple

Indians wondering what the big plastic things are for .

Leh market

Danger all who enter ….

View from Phugtal

Posted in Adventure, himalaya, kayaking, Mojo, Motivation, stories from the past | 3 Comments

Movember 10k and the Incline Accelerators ……..

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Mark Lyons

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Running maybe simple but it definitely is not easy , whether you run 5km or 100km it’s all about you and what’s inside you , never judge yourself on another runners ability ,if you are giving everything you have then you are a champion, aspire to be better but never feel that you are no good …. you are the best !!

Movember 10k and the Incline Accelerators ……..

After my UrbanRunning experience with the RunDemCrew one of their stalwarts Glenn Hancock very kindly asked me to run with them at the up-coming Mo-running 10km charity event in Greenwich Park , he had organised a large number of the crew including to represent and had an entry going spare , so after the great time they had shown me previously I was stoked to join them again. I stayed in London the night before and I woke early, there was no time to waste though as I had to be there to meet everyone at 8:30am next to a tea-hut in the park itself ,the first stumbling block was a closure on the DLR at Bank, this required a run to London Bridge to get on the overland , then upon arriving at London I waited on the next train, I met a bubbly RDC girl by the name of Bridget , she was also on her way to Greenwich and was waiting on another crew member named Candie ,this young lady I already knew through reading her blog The Tortoise with No Hair and being amazed at her 7 Half marathons in 7 continents challenge that she is undertaking , great article about it here: Run the World… Eventually we made it to Greenwich where another illustrious blogger and RDC member Bangsandabun was waiting for us , bloggers of the world unite for we are many!!  Soon we all rocked up and found Glenn , he had done a great job as there were 44 runners here from RDC and we all registered then blew time as we prepared to race ..

There was a great atmosphere near the starting line , almost like a small half marathon with lots of fancy dress. We met up with the rest of the runners from RDC and they to were all super excited and raring to go, I was impressed with a young guy called Atticus who humbly said he was going for 55 minute’s but finished with a PB of 45 minutes I believe , good going Atticus .. soon we were all lined up and I stood ready , the music turned up a notch and off we went , 2 laps round the park , I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice couple of steep hills in there to keep me happy , I soaked in the atmosphere, it was a real fun event and I thoroughly enjoyed myself … we finished together with a sprint across the line … there was a bit of after race buzz and some photos , Charlie Dark although not running in the event had come to see his prodigies cross the line and some photos were taken , all the runners will be congratulated, awarded their Medals and applauded back at their 1948 headquarters before their next Tuesday night outing , that’s what RunDemCrew is about after all , support and encouragement …. Thanks again guys .. yet again I had an amazing time.

Glenn being interviewed after the event by Men Running uk’s foxy roving reporter Rhalou Allerhand

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The Incline Accelerators , London’s Uphill Elite …………..

On the Sunday I joined the Incline Accelerators , a group of runners dedicated to getting better at running uphill , this was right up my street and after a short run over to Dalston , I was introduced to Linda , an attractive Scots lass and founder of the group , I knew it had to be someone Scottish who could be so dedicated to running up hill !! we ran a few more miles to Springfield Park and I met the rest of the gang , some pretty fit people including Algy and his girlfriend Caroline , both very fast road runners … Linda gave us our first set of hill reps which we ran on a gradually steepening path which seemed perfect for the job , I really enjoy running up hill for some reason , maybe because I’m so bad at running on flat roads .. we progressed through our reps and Linda asked me if I had any favourites , they’re all my favorites to tell the truth , if I’m puffing and my calves are aching I love it !! I suggested a little one that Kenny gives me where you run a hill then come back to 3/4 then run harder back up , then come back to half before going back up hard then coming to 1/4 and giving it everything you have !! it’s a beauty and everyone seemed to enjoy it .. Algy sure had some turn of speed in his legs at the end and coasted by me at the top .. brilliant … after this we ran back to a little corner Creperie and had lunch … a great day again …. so my weekend with the Urban runners of both the RunDemCrew and Incline Accelerators was a brilliant one …. Runner786 thanking all of you .. now I really need to go run up some mountains soon

aparently its all about triangles …..

remember all my blog posts are my own experiences and my interpretation, if you feel I’m wrong say so in the comments and we can also learn from your experience ………”

if you enjoyed reading this note then please have a further look at www.runner786.com and http://www.justgiving.com/marko3006/ ……….. all donation no matter how small makes a difference ….

 

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Urban Running with the RunDemCrew …………..

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Mark Lyons

It is the simplest most accessible of sports and running has now taken me to some of the worlds most far-flung places , given me wild adventures and made me dig deeper at times than even my craziest kayaking Epics… it is a sport where anyone from any walk of life can enjoy themselves, just go find a pair of trainers and then only you set the limits of what you can achieve or where you can go !! but first you must have the desire , the energy and ultimately the motivation to keep at it and this , not the running is the hardest part ... where do we find this motivation ?

Charlie Dark runs to the beat with some of his crew ..

Urban Running with the RunDemCrew ……………..

I had asked me to come and run in London on the “RunDem” night , I will tell no lies here , I was apprehensive to say the least and not keen on the idea at all, mainly because I’m no road runner and when I do hit the tarmac it’s on country lanes with some of the most beautiful views in the U.K , not the traffic congested streets of our busiest city , but I really wanted to keep her happy and she was certainly keen for me to come along , so the week after my Himalayan100 race I arrived at the Nike1948 concept store in Shoredtich to run with London’s coolest running collective the RunDemCrew and despite my reservations I was both inspired and impressed !! What I found was a group of like minded people from all walks of life , they group together depending on their pace then head out into the London streets for 6-7 miles of street running, but this is not where it ends , definitely not !! the feeling I had when I entered that room in Shoreditch was one of excitement , friendship , mutual respect , support and admiration , family even , there was a real warmth here and noticeably so …….

On my arrival I was led to one of the large rooms that Nike uses as a showroom , I  grabbed a seat and I started to take in where I was , there must be nearly 100 runners gathered together , a buzz fills the room and Charlie Dark the founder is the guy standing in front of us , he’s cool , articulate ,a natural motivator and in his eyes I see the delight when he begins to talk , first he searches out new members and we introduce ourselves so everyone knows our names and what we do, RunDemCrew is about familiarity , he then moves to the runners who recently ran in races , individually they are congratulated , awarded their medals , the whole room claps at their success , there is an intense feeling of encouragement , affection and admiration , I have rarely witnessed such a good predilection to outwardly good feeling from so many at one time. Rhalou tells me about the RunDemCrew youngers project , a main part of RunDemCrews focus and one of Charlie’s great loves is to promote running among young people , to give them reason , interest and motivation to run ,to make them proud , help them to achieve and ultimately to give them the strength to avoid some of the pitfalls of life … My father has run a boxing club for over 30 years , I have seen what this takes , respect to any organisation or individual who has the strength and is prepared to give the personal sacrifice needed to achieve this .. respect to Charlie and all at RDC.

Eventually Charlie explains the groups , you join Tortoises, Hares, Greyhounds and cheetahs depending on your pace .. I joined the greyhounds for my inner London running experience and I was shown my leader for the night and told to follow him out into the street in preparation for our run , every group has a leader and rear guard (someone experienced runs at the back to make sure no stragglers are left behind) … perfect I thought !! I’m just back from the Himalayas and if my legs go to Jelly at least I wont have to find a taxi to find my way back to 1948 🙂 … My run was to be the “Bridge run” , from Shoreditch we would cross the Thames , run the Embankment and head back over Tower Bridge .. I was expecting traffic , more traffic and even more !! but what I found was a beautiful brightly lit run through some amazing architecture and across a spectacularly lit Tower Bridge .. at night it is a real eye opener and I was enjoying myself immensely ,at this point taking in one of the sights of London by running over it at night with newly made running friends was feeling rather special :).. I’ve worked in London on and off for years , I thought I had seen most of what it has to offer a long time ago , my night-time endeavours were normally seen through a taxi window , with an inebriated mind while falling about Knightsbridge with my customers , recently though I have seen a side to London that is very normal yet ultimately fantastic , this run was one of those fantastics !! After the bridge we followed the streets, underpasses , high-rise buildings , roundabouts and they all seemed to have a unique beauty when seen at night , a little rain helped make it all nice and shiny and soon we had arrived on the final stretch home , I was looking up a long street finishing at 1948 .. everyone is expected to give it their all up here and we sprinted home , the Cheetahs had made it there first and were lined up cheering us home .. it was uplifting , a great experience and the best part for me was running with these urban runners, everyone so friendly , everyone made me feel very at home from start to finish , thank you very much , if ever there was motivation to run , then it is right there at 1948 Shoreditch with Charlie Dark and his Run Dem Crew !!!

remember all my blog posts are my own experiences and my interpretation, if you feel I’m wrong say so in the comments and we can also learn from your experience ………”

if you enjoyed reading this note then please have a further look at www.runner786.com and http://www.justgiving.com/marko3006/ ……….. all donation no matter how small makes a difference ….

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Himalayan 100 , running on the roof of the World..

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Mark Lyons

My Himalayan 100 race was out of this world ,  a roller-coaster of emotion from start to finish , its been a long time since I have had so many good things going on in my life , so much so that It was painful to think about leaving them behind even for a single day let alone weeks , yet I had to  , I was competing in what has to be the single most awe inspiring race of any Ultra-runners life , a race totally unsurpassed both in its beauty and extreme environment !! … so I forced myself to pack up and headed out to India……. I was already riding on a sea of emotion before arriving in the Himalaya , so when the full force of what was in front of me hit ,  It was crazy , like a tidal wave smashing over me , tossing and tumbling, throwing me head over heals , I was constantly overwhelmed , one minute in control and rational , next minute tears in my eyes and a chest so tight I couldn’t breath , I was physically shaking my head to clear it and regain control ,  feelings so strong that they made my body ache were twisting me constantly and at every corner the most inspiring and jaw dropping views of magnificent Himalayan mountains would appear to mess me up even more , everything around me felt like a dream and it all seemed so surreal , yet it moved me to run beyond any ability I had previously , the pain in my legs seemed to be the only way to gain control of my head and my heart .. yet it was amazing …  to be in that turmoil with its exaggeration of feeling ….. I saw things in such an amazing way that no matter how hard it felt , its was the only way I want to have experienced the race …….  truly a man is at his best when he is moved so strongly 

Kanchenjunga …. The sleeping Buddha

The Himalayan 100 , running on the roof of the World…..

Getting there was the usual long flight nonsense , nothing like my Mongolia trip though so definitley not a problem!! I travelled down to London and relaxed for a few days before shipping out to Delhi , then I grabbed an internal flight to a tiny airport near Bagdogra , a small town in the Darjeeling district of the lower Himalaya, close to the Nepalese Border. Here I met Joel , an american photographer from Running Times who was making a movie about the race , he was a super cool dude  and we chatted about climbing and kayaking as we shared a jeep ride up and over the mountain passes to Mirik , an Indian town built around a lake , I  use the term “lake” very loosely as it was a leech and crocodile infested pond with a tiger that occasionally roamed by , yet very alluring in an Indian way  …. It was here I registered and spent the next two days acclimatizing and meeting the other runners , it’s not a big race , most years it is between fifty to seventy hard-core competitors , there were very good runners of all nationalities in the race , mostly from the USA, UK, Spain, Argentina, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden,Brazil, Ireland, Czech, South Africa so although a relatively small event it really felt much larger and the chat was amazing, in an extreme race like the Himalaya 100 there is a lot of camaraderie , the motto as always is “look after yourself and everyone else when your out there ” , and more than a little fun was to be had between us all over the week.

Darjeeling

On day 2 I was offered a chance to visit Darjeeling so I grabbed it and jumped on the bus , Darjeeling is a Himalayan city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is internationally renowned as a tourist destination, along with its tea industry and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. I stole that bit from Wiki .. 🙂 .. Getting there involved everyone jumping on 2 buses at 5:30am in the morning then negotiating super steep and precarious mountain roads , when 2 Indian buses meet head to head  it is all hell breaking loose ,first a stand-off , then shouting , swearing and spitting before eventually someone moves over and a clearance of only an inch or two between buses scares everyone involved but we got there none the less , I enjoyed my visit and was amazed how a city could spring up on such a steep hillside , we visited Ghoom temple , travelled on the famous railway  and saw the old British Colonial housing , it was like a piece of little England sat fenced off in the middle of a town made from rickety old Indian buildings , if there’s one thing India has in abundance it is surrealism . Heading back over that mountain pass in the dark was an experience all in itself to , I am constantly amazed by the abilities of these Indian drivers ..safely back in Mirik we were treated to a fantastic “last supper” before we headed to our beds in preparation for Stage 1.


Stage 1 …. Elevation Gain:10,291 ft … Elevation Loss:3,999 ft

Stage 1 .. Maneybhanyjang to  Sandakphu ,  23 miles ….  Garmin watch data was whack in the Himalaya , constant searching on the Gps so distances etc are way off from actual , distances and ascents were greater than the data I am about to present but the pics are as my Garmin …… 

I was picked up at 5:30am sharp , everyone piled into 2 buses and we were taken up and over the pass again , this time to a town called Maneybhanyjang sitting at 6600 feet in a jungle basin , staggeringly picturesque , mountains of green at every side , an infusion of Himalayan jungle and stepped tea plantation. The race was to start at 7:30am and I would eventually climb to the Sherpa lodge at  Sandakphu for a 12000+ feet finish line .. WOW!! …   this was to involve two insanely long and steep climbs and one huge descent , so the total ascent for the day was way more than I first thought and eventually went well over 10,000 feet . This was to be the toughest , most gruelling and painful stage I have ever ran , seriously !! Deserts are nothing compared to this day , it was remorseless !!!  I loved it at first , hated it at the end and was very depressed in the middle , it was to be breathtaking in its beauty and back-breaking in its constant climbing. It was my first day of running and I was so excited to burst over the start line as the gun went off , I hit the first hills full of excitement and energy , I was very pleased to sit in the top 10 for most of the first 15 miles ,especially as there were some great guys among the pack , two Irish hill runners , Stevie and Mark were going hard , as was Deone from South Africa and a young swede called Lars , all superfast.

Lars going hard ….

I was doing well until we climbed to over 9000 feet then all of a sudden my legs started to burn and my breathing became short , I was sucking air ,it felt nothing like being out of breath , it was more like breathing through a straw , then the headache hit me and I knew it was altitude , I’ve been at altitudes over 10,000 feet many times , indeed I’ve been to 20,000 feet and had no problems but this time I was running  , and up steep hills !! , it was obvious I was going to suffer , it was horrible , my muscles were being starved of oxygen and they were hating me for it , runners started to overtake me , suddenly I was out of the top 10 and drifting back , position doesn’t bother me , Im not that good a runner to ever win anything  , I race to compete against myself but I kept telling myself … come on Mark your better than this !! move !! make an effort !!  but there really was nothing there , I could get no work rate at all before my legs would again grind to a halt requiring me to pause and rest … on the steepest of the switchbacks I could get no more than 3 or 4 steps before a rest was necessary and deep breaths required to stop me feeling faint , I filled myself full of paracetamol for my now very dizzy sore head and slowly moved forward as much as I could …. fuck !! my legs are gone and its only day 1 , that was one of the thoughts going round in my head , I’ve underestimated this race and I’m going to pay , maybe even a DNF , no , no !!!  , was another , suddenly a deep depression started to set in , at one point it seemed to take everything I had just to move 5 metres up a hill  .. Ive been here before though and I know not to give in now , experience has taught me many lessons this year and one of them is that when you think your ready to drop , you still have lots more to give !!!  so I kept moving and slowly I inched my way up through the clouds and over the last monstrous hill to the finish stage 1 , I was so relieved to see that finish line , so bloody relieved !

Sandakphu Sunset ….

I lay on the ground for what seemed like forever , waiting for my legs to ready themselves for standing up , and once I did I was moved by the beauty of what I was looking at , the sight of being above the clouds at sunset on this remote mountain top , the Sherpa camp despite its thin air and huge climb to get there was the most awe-inspiring place I have ever been in my life , and I’ve been places !! .. to the left Makalu , Everest and Lhotse , in front of me Kanchenjunga in all its majesty with the clouds inverting below us … its indescribable how I felt standing there  , taking in the view , thinking of those I love and thinking of tomorrow !!

Start fo Day 2 , James , Mark and Johno … Sandakphu

Stage 2 …. Elevation Gain:3,288 ft … Elevation Loss: 3,249 ft

Stage 2 ..   Sandakphu  trail , 20 miles ….

Stage 2  was to start at 6am sharp , I awoke at 5am so I could force some porridge down my throat , I had lay awake all night , my mind whirling , thinking of what lay ahead , wondering what my legs were going to be like when I stood up , thinking of Rhalou and my holiday to Cyprus when I returned , thinking of my family and how proud they are of me, everything was whirling round my head that morning , it was insane , but I need not have worried as I had awoken strong and recuperated , I  trained hard and it counted for everything , my ability to run back to back marathon distances had not deserted me and I was fully recovered from the tough first stage and ready to go hard !!!

Everest ….

I walked outside the sherpa hut and witnessed everyone being blown away by the sunrise that was happening in front of us , it was staggering , Everest , Maklau , Lhotse , Kangenchunga all just sitting there on the horizon with the sun blazing up behind them , cameras were out , people were shouting and pointing , 50 hard-core runners jumping around like little kids … I’ve been lucky enough to have seen it many times but it doesn’t matter , every Himalayan sunset and sunrise  blows me away , they are truly spectacular !

The race started and we headed up and out the camp , the trail was rocky and very technical , just what I enjoy , it levelled the playing field a little between us hill runners and the speedy iron men , no speed here , agility and technique count for everything , I ran with Aaron an RAF pilot for most of the race and we even stopped to grab a few photos here and there , it was a long winding and seriously undulating trail run out and back from the Sandakphu Sherpa post , we ran most of the day in the shadow of the worlds highest mountains and I found so much power in this , my legs just flew , I jumped from rock to rock , climbed steep hills and motored downhill to finish top 10 … I was amazing even myself ,the miles of training had really came together for this great race … as happy as I had ever been I romped home with plenty in reserve knowing I was in good shape for Stage 3 The Everest Marathon , billed as 26.5 miles but in reality over 30 miles it was meant to be one tough day on the trail …. Bring that bastard on I thought to myself  !!! 

Stage 3 .. The Everest Marathon ,  30 ? miles ….

Everest Marathon stage .. reputed to be any distance between 26 and 33 miles depending who is telling the tale , this stage is part of ultra running folklore with stories of crazy miles , a huge 6000+ feet super-steep leg killing descent from mountain top to dense jungle , a real adventure racers dream , let’s get it on was my cry  !!!

Runners start to gather for the start of the Everest Marathon stage ..

A 6am start , a sunset above Kanchenjunga to inspire us and we all lined up at the start , other runners had joined us just for this stage so there were fresh legs and eager faces among us !! you could feel the excitement in everyone , see the faces of nervous anticipation and listen to the silence for once among us all ..  then it started !!!  …Off we all went at full pace , everyone was going hard on this one , it’s the “special” stage so we were all letting rip !!  the pace was furious and a few of us bunched for a while before spitting up as our natural pace separated us … I clung to 6th place and pretty soon I was out on my own , the top 5 had at least a mile on me by the 15 mile point but I was going strong , I was savouring the last day at altitude and the mind-blowing scenery , at mile 20 I was still on my own and I found the descent path , this was a super steep and extremely technical descent worthy of a hard-core Scottish hill run ,but over 7000 feet of it !!! like 2 Ben Nevis races back to back !!!   many runners arrived at the finish with cuts and bruises because of the severity of this descent .

The Descent took us straight down the mountain and through this …..

I burst into the path and soon I was jumping from rock to rock on what felt like a never-ending rock climbers descent path .. soon the rocks were giving way to jungle and single dirt track , still obscenely steep though !!! , it was also getting hot , really hot !! sweat was pouring off me as I ran through the thick undergrowth , thinking I had a good lead on 7th , I eased off as my legs were aching from the constant downhill ,  but then I heard the sound of heavy breathing and crashing foot steps , I glanced behind and about 500 metres uphill was a huge muscular figure , it was the giant Spanish Ironman Davide’ and he was hot on my heels ,  , 6 foot 5 , massive chest muscles popping out his running top and an orange bandanna tied round his head !!  every time I looked behind it was like Rambo chasing me , I worked hard and gained another few hundred meters but he clung to me all the way through the slippy paths , then across a big rope bridge I caught a glimpse of him gaining on me !!  aaarrgghh !!! my legs were giving up and he was going to have me !! I clung to my lead until the last 2 mile road section and his Iron-man speed gave him the edge , he caught me , but he wanted to run with me to the end , “come on my friend we run together” he said , he was a great guy and deserved to beat me , I told him to run on , he had beaten me square , Ill see you at the finish line I told him , “you are a gentleman” he said , no! , you are!! , I said , .. he laughed and shot off … I tried to keep up but my legs had all but given up .. it was no shame to be beaten by an athlete like him .. I followed the dirt track until I entered a village , the locals were all cheering , then I saw it , finally !!!  yes !! yes !! the finish .. I fell over the line … I had run it all and finished top 10 in the Everest Marathon stage .. the epitome of my running career so far .. I was congratulated by everyone and handed a drink , I sat down exhausted and we  waited for the other competitors to finish one by one, cheering and congratulating them as they came in !!!  I was so emotional at this stage that I could hardly talk without my lip wavering ….. one of the most enjoyable moments in my life !!!

Stage 4 … Elevation Gain:3,363 ft … Elevation Loss: 3,178 ft

Stage 4 .. only 13 miles but by God they were tough !! 

Although short in relative terms this stage was to be one of the most painful , it started fast as it went steeply downhill all the way for the first four miles , painfully steep down hill running to be exact and on road !! everyone went off fast !! even the slowest of the runners fancied their chance on this one , my legs were sore from the Everest marathon the day before , I had went hard and gave it my all , especially on the enormous descent , the Spanish Ironman had forced me to cane it even further and in the first 500m of this stage I knew my legs were feeling the abuse I had given them badly , I dug deep, bit my tongue and ran like a mother fucker to keep up but it was no good , the pain was just too much , my legs to stiff and my will was too weak to allow me to run hard on this the most horrible of sections , it was also my nemesis !! a road !! the runners who had notched their miles up on the roads had the advantage here and all I could do was give it my best , by the time I had hit the bottom of the hill I wasn’t even in the top 10 but I couldn’t have cared less , all I wanted was to stop running down hill !!!

Horrible !! nasty !! steep switch back road descent !!!

The road runners were blasting off in front so I settled into an easy pace and ground out the flat , running through jungle , over rivers and through the little mining operations that I think the road was built for , it was slippy though and at one point I slid off the path , shooting downhill through the steep jungle slope for about 20 feet , I dug my feet in but it wasn’t working , I shit myself !!

watch out for leeches , tigers and water snakes ..

luckily I slid to a halt and then set about climbing back up before setting off again aware that my mind had wandered somewhere else , careful Mark , get it together  !!! finally I hit the long hill , time to regain some places from those roadies !! I bit my tongue again and prepared to grind  but my legs were having none of it , so I was forced to run/walk the final ascent !! seeing the finish line that day was a relief and I was so glad it was only 13 miles !!!!

Stevie and Mark from Eire ..

.

Stage 5 .. 17 miles to heaven  !! 

Stage 5 …. Elevation Gain: 5,169 ft … Elevation Loss: 5,064 ft

Finally it was time to run the last stage , a 17 miler with a steep climb of over 2500 feet to start then a long torturous descent to the finish line .. this was the final stage , where you see who has endured , who has it left in them to go hard !!!  I woke feeling excellent , Stevie the Irishman  and I had massaged each others legs the night before and what a difference , they felt energised and ready to rock , thank god !!  We all lined up at the start ready to complete the final stage back to  Maneybhanyjang , finally we were here , completing the course , the final stretch … We all went out hard but soon the hill was separating us , I dug deep and cranked the hill , I love a hard hill !!  this day was no exception , I had power from somewhere and I was using it … up I went passing some of the weeks front-runners , I hit the top of the hill in 5th place and was determined to stay there , I ran with everything I had , 6.30 – 7 minute miles all the way to the finish line , my legs were aching , I twisted and turned my way up and down a long torturous track thought the jungle , breathtaking scenery and the thought of finishing had me so emotional , I was mustering everything I had to keep going , I turned a corner high on the hill and  Maneybhanyjang came into view , I felt it well up inside me , I felt tears in my eyes and I felt my legs speed up and another burst of energy carried me down the hill , closer and closer with every turn , as I approached the town several young Indians started to run down the hill with me , then more , they were chanting .. I felt so emotional at that point that I had legs so weak that I feared I might have tripped and fell on my face …… then the finish line !!!  they had the banner out and I ran through it , Yeeeeesssssssssssssssssssssssss !!!!  Himalayan 100 , you are mine !!!!! ……..

Crossing the finish line ..

I shook hands with the four runners who had came through before me , everyone was so happy and emotional , it was the perfect end to a perfect race …. we stayed at the finish line for a while and cheered everyone as they crossed the finish … everyone was ecstatic , tears , kissed , hugs and encouragement .. at that moment in time it was the happiest place in the world , what a place to be , under the Himalayan mountains , surrounded by happy people !!!!

Once we were all finished the race organisers took us back to the hotel in Mirik where we would have a prize giving and party the same night , we ate , drank and got merry …. after this I have tales of packs of wild dogs and Indiana Jones style midnight Jeep rides down mountains to make my flight home but I’ll save that for another day ……

Id like to say that during this race , we were housed and fed like kings , all you could eat buffets of Indian food , veggies , chips , porridge , you name it and it was available to us , even in the Sherpa camp we were well fed , what a difference this was to eating dehydrated food in a desert !!  It was a hard race but made easier by a few luxuries along the way , my thanks go to Mr C.S Pandey who organises this race every year , he pays for schools , builds house , teaches young poor Indians with the money … amazing … go run in this race !! you will have the time of your life and you will be helping the world …………………

Thanks also to Joel for the use of some of his images in this blog post … looking forward to your movie mate 🙂

Thanks to Inov8 for the Roclite 285 , this incredible shoe took me over the whole course without a blister or bruised nail !!!!   awesome shoe !!!

Beautiful , humble and grateful … help them if you can

Well that’s my big year of running over and Id like to thank everyone who supported me , helped me , donated to me and just generally was patient with me …. its been a year of amazing experiences and beautiful people !!!  thank you all so much .. 🙂

Mark Lyons …

Indian Wisdom ………..

remember all my blog posts are my own experiences and my interpretation, if you feel I’m wrong say so in the comments and we can also learn from your experience  ………” 

Id like to thank the Teviotdale Leisure Centre for its continued Support

if you enjoyed reading this note then please have a further look at www.runner786.com and http://www.justgiving.com/marko3006/ ……….. all donation no matter how small makes a difference ….

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