Previous Races

1985    The idea of the Everest Marathon was born in 1985 when two Britons organised an impromptu race from Namche Bazaar to Tengboche monastery and back.

1987    It took two years to organise the first race in 1987 when the course was measured in the worst snow conditions for over 50 years. Despite dire predictions from medical and sports experts about running at high altitude, the event was a huge success and marked a first in athletic history. 45 runners from 5 countries.

1989    73 runners from 9 countries. Winner Jack Maitland (Scotland) set a record of 3.59.04 which was not broken until 1999.

1991    69 runners from 11 countries.

1993    72 runners from 13 countries. Ray Brown (New Zealand) set the veterans' record of 4.28.38. Pierre André Gobet (Switzerland) won the race for a second time but failed to beat Jack's record. Hari Roka (Nepal) came second.

1995    71 runners from 12 countries. Freak snows and avalanches in early November prevented us from reaching the start and only a half marathon could be run. Hari Roka (Nepal) came second again.

1997    88 runners from 14 countries. Anne Stentiford (UK) set the ladies' record of 5.16.03 which was not broken until 2007. Hari Roka became the first Nepali winner.

1999    74 runners from 9 countries. The first spring race. Hari Roka won again and finally broke Jack Maitland's record in 3.56.10. Dawn Kenwright became the first person to win the ladies' race twice.

2000    67 runners from 13 countries. Hari Roka won the race for a third time and smashed his own 1999 record in 3.50.23.

2002    50 runners from 12 countries. Local boy Pasang Temba Sherpa won the race in 3.59 37, one second ahead of Nah Bahadur Shah: the closest finish yet!

2003    60 runners from 6 countries. First was Uttar Kumar Rai in 4.01.44, having been 7th in both 2000 and 2003. Hari Roka was first veteran but still holds the race record.

2005    80 runners from 9 countries. This was very encouraging in view of falling numbers in the previous three races. Tshering Lama Yolma (21) won the race in 3.52.25: a very talented performance. He actually broke Hari Roka's record but was penalised for breaking the minimum kit rule. as did most of the Nepalese runners. There is a kit rule for safety reasons and this will be applied more strictly in future. Obviously a runner can gain time if he drops his 'sac halfway through the race.

2007    87 runners from 10 countries including an entertaining contingent of 12 runners from New Zealand.   Although the men did not break any records, three ladies are now in the top 5 ladies’ results and Angela Mudge smashed Anne Stentiford’s record by 14 minutes.

Runners have come from the following countries: UK, Nepal, Eire, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Bulgaria, Russia, USA, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Malaysia, Argentina, Hong Kong and the Seychelles.

Since 1987 the race has been organised by Diana Penny Sherpani (Race Director) through her UK trekking agency Bufo Ventures Ltd..

Until 1997 the race was held every two years in November. In 1999 we decided to hold the race every 18 months, so that races could alternate between autumn and spring. There were spring races in 1999 and 2002. Because of political unrest in Nepal in 2002, it was considered safer to fly into Lukla rather than walk in from the roadhead at Jiri. This provided an extra week's training and acclimatisation in the Gokyo valley. We have now reverted to every 2 years in November.

THE THIRTEENTH EVEREST MARATHON WILL BE HELD IN NOVEMBER 2009.