Blog
Mount Everest Marathon - Training Blog

Mount Everest Marathon - Training Blog

Back in March 2014, I was asked to accompany KE’s Mount Everest Marathon group to Nepal. As a regular runner this was a great opportunity but as t... Read more

22 Sep 2023 3 minute read

Filed under Blog

By KE Adventure Travel

Back in March 2014, I was asked to accompany KE’s Mount Everest Marathon group to Nepal. As a regular runner this was a great opportunity but as the initial excitement wore off, I started to think: will I be ready for the world’s highest marathon in May?

I had been running both on trail and road for several years and while I had competed in mid distance races, I had not run a marathon before. I upped my training as fast as I could do safely and created a training plan based on advice from friends who were runners and various plans I found online. Perhaps not very sensibly at such a late stage, I decided to buy a new pair of trainers. It took time to break these in and I felt like I had made a small investment in a plaster company but soon they were comfortable and ready for the event!

Over the next couple of months I persevered come rain or shine and increased the distance I was able to run comfortably by a huge amount. Being based in the Lake District I was lucky to be able to train in the hills and around the lakes. While struggling up some of the steep ascents I tried to reassure myself by thinking about the fact that the marathon is mainly downhill… although I knew it wasn't quite as straightforward as that!

It was great to be able to train in springtime – I was out training most days and really enjoyed seeing the trees get greener, the lambs playing and the bluebells coming out. I usually ran in the evenings after work and found there was no better feeling than standing on top of one of the hills looking back down towards Keswick as the sun went down.

I knew that running at altitude would be the part of the marathon I would find the hardest as I had been training at the low levels of the UK. However, I had been to high altitude trekking and mountaineering several times before so I knew what to expect. Running at high altitude was going to be an exciting challenge and I felt ready and raring to go!

Read my next blog to hear how I got on!