Having spent most of New Year’s Day negotiating some of Nepal’s toughest terrain, Sam Stow is enjoying taking things a little easier.
It’s over. It’s finally over. The relief that surged through my body after I finally finished the Annapurna 100 (well, the 50km course at least) was almost as obvious as the sweat streaming down my back.
I originally intended to tackle 70km ‘track’, but as night (we began the race at 4.30am) gave way to day and the relatively gentle opening 12km gave way to steep climbs and treacherous descents, I soon realised that simply completing the ‘beginners’ course was going to represent one of the greatest achievements of my life to date.
Running, walking and, at times, dragging myself around the course would have been difficult enough in perfect conditions, but the rain that arrived soon after the start made several of the downhill sections (which were effectively roughly-cut staircases) incredibly difficult and – at times – dangerous to negotiate.
Add in the four of five kilos – changes of clothing, a survival blanket and plenty of fuel – that I had to lug around with me, and I was up against it.
Two of my team-mates looking fresh after 15km.
As such, I was determined not to make life any harder for myself. During my training runs I often found myself feeling fine after an hour or so, and then seriously devoid of energy 30 minutes later. As well as regularly sipping water from my Camelbak and taking advantage of the noodles, potatoes and yak cheese (yes, you read that right) at the designated stops, I carried a mix of energy bars and jellies, which I nibbled on every half an hour or so.
It’s difficult to know the exact effect of this refueling strategy (after all, I’d never done anything this strenuous before), but despite heavy legs from the halfway stage, I avoided my worst fear – cramp!
Unless you actually see the terrain for yourself, it’s difficult to describe the various challenges that the 31-mile course presented, but if I tell you that it took me 10.5 hours (there were plenty of people slower than me in case you’re wondering!), you begin to get the picture.
The hardest section of the course, was undeniably the 2.5km stage around Landruk to Ghandruk, which took me somewhere in the region of an hour and a half. A sheer 300m descent was followed up by an 800m climb – that’s 3,200 steps in old money. Unsurprisingly, by the time this stage was over, my quads and calves were on fire, and I was happy that I only had 10km to go.
The descent that took us to the small town of Birenthanti (and the finish line) was tough on the knees, but in the scheme of things was a relatively gentle way to finish what was a grueling but immensely rewarding experience.
A few minutes after completing the race!
I have to say that reaching the finishing line was a slightly surreal experience. There was general satisfaction rather than a wave of euphoria, but I think that – subconsciously at least – I was just a bit confused that an event I had trained months for was finally over.
As I write this, I haven’t been for a run for over two weeks. It’s been great to relax a little bit, and enjoy a few more beers than I’ve been used to in recent times. But I’m also starting to get the itch again. My body is telling me to get up and move. The only question is, how am I going to top the Annapurna 100?
If you fancy entering next year’s Annapurna 100 (or you’re just trying to shed a few pounds ahead of the cricket season) check out www.multipower.co.uk
