EVEREST TRAIL RACE
Luis Alberto Hernando Leads The Everest Trail Race
Press Release / 09.11.2017
The runner from Burgos has pulverized the record for the first stage after crossing the finish line after completing 3800 meters of vertical gain and loss in just 21.5 km in Nepal.
At 9am the 7th edition of the Everest Trail Race by The Elements Pure Coconut Water started with the first stage between Jiri and Bhandar. The World Champion Ultra distance Skyrunner Luis Alberto Hernando lead the stage from beginning to end, crossing the finish line in 2 hours 17 minutes. This was a fast stage beating the record by 7 minutes and improving his own time from 2013. The Nepali runner Suman Kulung from Traça Esquí and Esports de Muntanya couldn't do much on this first day against runner from Burgos and crossed the finish line in second position 2 minutes behind him.
In the female category Ester Alves from The Elements Pure Coconut Water Team crossed the line in 3.22.22 to be the first leader of the race. Eleven minutes behind her was the Nepali runner Chhechee Sherpa. The double winner of the Marathon des Sables, Elisabeth Barnes finished in third position 14 minutes behind Alves. Ester's teammate in Team The Elements, the Catalan runner Jordi Gamito, finished fourth on this stage.
The first day started among millet fields and after crossing the town of Jiri through the main street the runners did a short stretch of road and then started the hard part of the day. First came a wooded area with a vertical gain of 500 meters and after that a descent of 600 meters. This is going to be the usual format of this crazy track where everything goes up and then down during the 6 stages with important vertical gains and losses in short distances.
Today the hard part of the day has been 1000m of climb after the first check point in a day marked by the varied terrain, technical and irregular with water and mud. The runners have carried their own bag pack throughout the stage with all the mandatory gear that they will need until the end of the race next Tuesday. They are now resting in camp in Bhandar where they have food, water and tents to sleep in. We have to add another difficulty to the race: the runners can't have a shower until the end of the race!
Tomorrow on the 2nd stage runners are going to reach the highest point of the race, a summit at 4,100m. The stage is 24km with 3,486 meters of vertical gain.
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