Cathy Tibbetts

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Hi this is Cathy Tibbets phoning on Monday, April 12th from Namche Bazaar. For once I wasn't looking at my watch as I ran, instead I was looking at my altimeter. Nearly immobilized by a surprise attack of acute mountain sickness at the start of the race, my thoughts went from a top finish to any finish. I was above 17,000 feet and just hoped to hold on until I got lower.

Once again the local talent took the men's race. Returning champion Hari Roka set a new course record of 3:56. Seven of the top eight finishers were Nepalese. Garry Wilkinson of Great Britain placed third battling for position right until the end. 'It was the toughest race I've ever ran,' he remarked. Sergio Cordeiro of Brazil finished tenth, completely impressed with the Nepalese runners. 'They're as good as any Kenyan I've ever run against,' he said.

At around 15,500 feet, my headache and nausea subsided. I started eating Power Gels and began reeling in the runners ahead of me. I couldn't quite catch up with Barbara Brandt and Cindy Estrada of Denver, however, who tied for fourth. They were in sight, but I just couldn't quite catch up with them. First women's place went to returning champion Dawn Kenwright of Great Britain with a 6:07, who said the heat made the race more difficult than before. Second and third place went to Liz Cowell and Sue Exon, both from England.

What's it like to run at 17,000 feet? None of the women ran any of the uphills, but the downhills were quite manageable. The top men ran most of the uphills, according to Garry Wilkinson. This course would have been brutal at any altitude; rocky and treacherous most of the way. Marathons just don't get any tougher. But, this is one tough crowd, despite giardia, diarrhea, nausea, upper respiratory infections, altitude sickness, torn ligaments, broken ribs, fear of heights and numerous bad falls, only one person out of 74 starters quit. One man missed the cutoff by five minutes and was disqualified, leaving 72 runners that finished.

Even Dorothy Hand, the woman who collapsed and ended up in the Gamov bag ran the last 17 miles of the course starting from a lower altitude. Several Sherpas had alternated carrying her all the way down to Pheriche where she later started the race. Said Dorothy of her near brush with death, 'I don't remember much that happened that morning, except at one point I wished they'd just go away and let me die, the headache was that bad.' I have never seen anything like this group of runners, they're as rugged as the Himalayas themselves. Bye.

— Cathy Tibbetts, Mountain Zone Correspondent

MARATHON DISPATCHES