Mustang Trail Race 2017 Day 7

Today was reputed to be the toughest day of the trip at 27k with 2200 metres of climbing. The organisers had decided to change the course to make it more interesting and consequently longer and harder!  It was a 7.30 start and a brutal 500 metre climb to begin with, with great views and some exciting exposure on small cliffside tracks. 

It was hard work and I was sweating a lot after only 20 minutes. The path then went onto tracks before reaching the village of Tamar where a local had liked the look of the pink markers in the village leaving us clueless where to go. The fast runners ended up taking a completely different route to the rest of us, until half way. I ended up getting lost twice and losing a lot time. Luckily Menai reached the village when the problem had been rectified to a certain extent and she did not get lost. The next part involved crossing two river valleys and a climb to a 3800 metre pass. There followed a lovely descent to a cave temple where our time was stopped to allow us to look at it. We both used the time out to eat and take a well deserved rest. 

I had managed to catch some of the people who had overtaken me at this stage and continued on up the hill to the check point 2.5 k away. This was a stiff climb and I was exhausted again but had teamed up with George again and we kept each other going to cross a massive 4000 metre pass. From here it was mainly downhill to the village of Ghemi. I finished in 5 hours on the dot which was pretty much what I was expecting. Menai ran from the cave on her own and found the hills a struggle at altitude but kept herself going with snacks and a fear that the sweeper was going to catch her! This was not going to happen and she finished in under 7 hours. The slowest time was around 9 1/2 hours. Our accommodation for the night is first class considering how remote we are with an en suite bathroom with hot water. What luxury!