The San Francisco (SF) Marathon is scheduled for July 31. It is nothing compared to the Everest Marathon which courses up the slopes of the Nepal Himalaya, but it is not easy, either. The Wall Street Journal called the SF Marathon a “Race even Marathoners fear.”
The SF Marathon’s full loop course is 42 km long through hilly terrains and steep inclines. It runs by the landmarks of San Francisco, one of America’s most beautiful cities, starting from the Embarcadero, passing through the Fisherman’s Wharf, the Marina, across the Golden Gate Bridge and back, through the Presidio and into Golden Gate Park. From the Park, the runners will course down the Haight Street –famous as the center of the Hippie movement in the 60s – through three Bay districts, under the Bay Bridge and back at Embarcadero. Each runner must finish the course within six hours. Manandhar’s goal is to finish it in three hours, and is training to improve his endurance and speed.
“I’ve always been a runner,” he says, “Growing up, I ran around Nag Pokhari and ran for track teams in school and college. I’ve always been addicted to the runner’s high. Also, I’ve never been to San Francisco and this is an opportunity for me to see the beautiful city and raise money for a cause I believe in.”
Manandhar is against running or walking with iPods in his ears. “I don’t take anti-inflammatory drugs and I like to enjoy my surroundings when I’m running,” he says.
A graduate from the University of Maryland, Manandhar moved to Las Vegas where he works as an engineer for a telecommunications company. The infamous Vegas Strip’s superficiality wears off soon, and Manandhar prefers to seek the challenge of the outdoors.
But running, swimming, and biking aren’t the only activities he is interested in. He goes hiking almost every weekend, hunting for difficult routes through the rocky mountains of Vegas.
“I’ve hiked the mountains of Utah, Arizona and California also,” he says, “It keeps me conditioned and brings me close to nature. Sometimes, I walk alone barefoot on the trails and plan to run a barefoot marathon one day.”
Constantly trying to push his limits, Manandhar has gone skydiving 11 times, graduating from Accelerated Freefall and is now working toward earning an A-License from the United States Parachute Association, which requires a total of 25 jumps from13,000+ ft.
“I believe if you can skydive, you can do anything in life,” he says, “Skydiving is not easy. When you jump, you don’t float like a feather and fall gradually. Rather, you spin and roll before you learn to fly. It took me quite a few jumps to learn to stabilize my body in the air and turn 90, 180 and 360 degrees. I was spinning and rolling mid-air before I learned how to fly and I realized with practice, we can achieve anything in life.”
He is also an Open Water Scuba Diver and a frequent kayaker around Hoover Dam.
Hugely inspired by physicist Richard Feynman’s book “Surely, You’re Joking Mr. Feynman,” Manandhar believes in learning and expanding his horizon. He has also taken up Bongo lessons and is planning to start Spanish classes this summer.
When asked how he manages to do all this, he says, “It’s about time management. But really, I live alone and these are things that keep me sane.”
So what is it about running and supporting charity organizations? How does he pick which ones to raise funds for?
Just before Manandhar came to the United States to pursue a Master’s degree at the University of Maryland, he watched “Inside North Korea” – a documentary about an American journalist who teamed up with a Nepali doctor to perform cataract surgery in North Korea.
“[Dr Sanduk] Ruit made sight possible for more than a thousand people in the 10-day relay surgery. I’ve been fascinated by his work and dedication since,” says Manandhar. When registering for the SF Marathon, Manandhar discovered that the Himalayan Cataract Project had partnered with the event, and this motivated him to vow to raise US$ 1,000. In the time of this interview, Manandhar had reached 25 percent of his goal but needs more people to contribute.
“I get to run and help people,” says Manandhar. “What could be more satisfying than that?”
On April 3, Manandhar leaves for Nepal and will return on May 6. He also plans to work on Mahabir Pun’s project, and if not, hike to Everest Base Camp. By December, he has vowed to raise US$ 500 to fund Pun’s foundation and run in the Las Vegas Rock and Roll, a night marathon through the Vegas Strip.
To contact Swikrit Manandhar and make a donation, email him at lahure@sajilonepal.com.
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