The marathon will kick off from Everest Base Camp (5364 meters), near the Khumbu Glacier, and end at Namche Bazar (3446 m).Organizing a press meet in Kathmandu on Tuesday, event manager Shikhar Pandey informed that Himalaya Expeditions failed to organize the event on the scheduled date of May 29 due to the devastating earthquakes of April 25 and May 12 that caused avalanche and devastation in the Everest region.
"We hope that the marathon will help for to revive the ailing tourism sector of Nepal which has been badly hit by the earthquakes," Pandey said.
The event, which started in 2003, is annually held on May 29, the day Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmond Hillary conquered the highest peak of the world for the first time in human history in 1953.
However, Pandey informed that October was the best season for the marathon as new tourist season starts in the month. He added that all sorts of preparation for the event have been completed.
Altogether 30 foreigner runners have registered their names for the event and the organizers are expecting 30 to 40 local participants. The registration for foreigner runners has already closed while the registration for Nepali runners will be open till October 1.
The participants shall compete in open marathon, open marathon for foreigners, open for female and half marathon. The top three finishers of all sections will be awarded with cash prizes as well. The winner, first and second runners-up in open marathon will walk home with cash prizes of Rs 100,000, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000. Similarly, winners and runner-up and third position holder in foreign and half marathon categories will each be awarded Rs Rs 50,000, Rs 35,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively. Likewise, the top three finishers in the women's section will get Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively.
Related story
Kargil runner wins 'Mount Everest Marathon Goodwill Prize'
_20191222200001.jpg)
-1200x560-1779450784.webp)
