isn’trunning,Stephunwinds
atthehorsestudshecallshome at
Clevedon,nearAuckland.A-KEEN
ran a
rathon
on Everest
NewZealandWoman’sWeekly 31
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weeklyPEOPLE
tohospital,wheretheyfound
I hadtornandrupturedthree
ligamentsin myback.I hadso
muchadrenalinein mysystem
whenI fell,I hadn’trealised
howbadit was.Whenit started
hurting,it feltlikesomeonewas
tryingtostabmein theback.
I wasabsolutelybesidemyself.
ThisreallysweetNepali
womancamedownfromthe
villageandsatwithme,holding
myhand,whileI criedlikethere
wasnotomorrow,waitingfor
thehelicopter.
Twodaysbeforetherace,
a lotofpeoplediedonthe
summit.Weweresittingin
themesstentwatchingthese
bodybagsbeingflownoffthe
mountain.It wasincredibly
soberingforeveryone.
Knowingthatthatcould
havebeentheoutcomehad
theSherpanotbeenthere...
That’s been quite a reality check.Irrespectiveofhowtherace
went,thewholethingwasjust
unbelievableandyes,life-
changing.I’vetravelledquite
a lot,butpredominantlyin
“developed”countries.The
Nepalihavenothing– thekids
playwithstonesbecausethey
don’thavetoys,theirhouses
arebasicallyslatewitha dirt
floor,theyburnyakpooto
keepwarm– yettheyseemthe
happiestandmostgenuinely
lovelyandgivingpeople.
Theyareunbelievably
gratefulforeverythingthey
have,andyoucomebackhere
andeveryone’smoaningabout
nothavingthelatestiPhone.It
seemsoutrageouslypedestrian.
I’mnowfocusedonmynext
race,theTaupoultra-marathon
in October,butI’mdefinitely
goingbacktocompleteEverest
nextyear.” #
As told to Julie Jacobsonhisagegroupaswell.
MymumNikiisn’tintoracing- she’sa mountainbiker– but
sheis greatassupportcrew.
She’sverygoodatwaitingthere
withyourproteinshakeoryour
energybars!
I sawtheTenzingHillary
EverestMarathonadvertiseda
fewyearsagoandjustthought
it wouldbeepic.It wasa bitof
a longshotbecauseit’squitean
exclusiverace.Wheneverything
startedfallingintoplace,it was
like,‘OhmyGod,thisis actually
happening!’Allofa sudden
it wasquitescary.
There’sa half,fullandultra-
marathonrace,whichis 60km
andcappedat 25 entrants.I was
theonlyfemalein theultra.
Youarrivethreeweeksout
fromracedayandtrekupover
thattimetoBaseCamp,where
theracestarts.It waspretty
muchallwalking– theterrain
is challengingonitsown,
particularly when you get up
aroundthe4500-5000mmark.
A lotofpeoplegotvery,very
badaltitudesickness– there
werea lotofunwellpeople.
Theracestartsat6am,from
theKhumbuIcefall,soforthe
first2kmor3kmofthecourse
youarejustrunningonglacier
ice.Yourecognisewhereyou
arebecauseyou’vetrekkedit
onthewayup,butatabout
15kmin,I tooka wrongturn
andendeduplosingmyfooting
asI headeddowna quitesteep
yaktrack.
I pickedmyselfupandgotto
the24kmmark,whereyoupick
upa Sherpawhoactsasa pacer
andguide.Wewentbackup
thehillbutona differentroute.
It wasridiculouslysteep.I got
another7km– toaround4500m- andbasicallycouldn’tbreathe.
TheSherpasaid,‘Yourlipsare
turningblue,you’regettingno
oxygen;youseriouslyneedto
consideryouroptions.’
PHOTOS: ROB TRATHEN I wound up getting flown off - HAIR & MAKE-UP: JAZ GARNER
Steph(abovecentre)becamea convert
tohorse-ridingandsportasa teenager,
and last year won the Coast to Coast.