{"id":20182,"date":"2016-10-26T06:50:45","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T05:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/utmr.run\/?p=20182"},"modified":"2020-09-20T09:55:19","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T04:10:19","slug":"lizzy-runs-ght","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ultratourmonterosa.com\/fr\/lizzy-runs-ght\/","title":{"rendered":"Leeches, faceplants, snowblindness: Lizzy Hawker takes on the Great Himalaya Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Great Himalaya Trail is a vague concept, really a network of trails through the Himalayas. When you set foot on the trails, it’s anything but vague: it’s tough, wild, enormous, humbling. Lizzy Hawker, as you may know, has a passion for making long solo journeys across tough terrain. In 2011, a attempt to cross Nepal failed, losing the way in a terrifyingly dense forest on a steep hillside, and losing satellite phone, money, permits too. It took four days to escape from the forest. This 2016 attempt is looking much better, with 5 years\u00a0more experience gained. In between she’s run from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu, 319km in 60 hours, and recently the\u00a0Tour of\u00a0Monte Rosa, a brutal 170km with 11km D+ in 37 hours<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lizzy is, the time of writing, this far across:<\/p>\n

\"lizzy-runs-ght\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And at the time you read this, she is this far across<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The GHT<\/h3>\n

The Great Himalaya Trail is some 1600km east to west climbing more than 2km of height per day, maybe 100,000m in total. Moving across Nepal crosses all of the major rivers that cut deep into the Himalayas. Anyone who’s walked in Nepal’s hills will know the scale of the ups and downs.<\/p>\n

At the point she is at now\u00a0around two-thirds is done, and now it gets tougher than ever<\/strong>. The high altitude passes of Dolpa: traveling in thin air\u00a0over 5000m high passes 6 or 7 times, then into an area of no habitation for nearly a week, crossing difficult terrain like this on the faintest of trails.<\/p>\n

\"dolpo-glorious-trekking\"<\/a><\/p>\n

THE FINAL PUSH<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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And so, as written on her\u00a0fundraiser page: It’s hard to stay fit and healthy on a journey like this. Hundreds of thousands of footsteps from dawn til dusk in wet shoes, climbing more than twice the height of Everest every week, falls<\/a>\u00a0(pic), cuts & scratches, the leeches<\/a>\u00a0(pic), snowblindness<\/a>, losing the way, sleeping under the stars (or rain clouds) and (almost) all solo. How do you keep up the mental strength to keep going?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/a>
\nHaving a cause to work for helps.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lizzy wants to raise money to give opportunities to Nepali runners, particularly girls<\/strong>. She’s seen the impact Mira Rai<\/a>‘s success has had on Nepal, inspiring girls across the country. That started by a chance meeting and a subsequent donation of $360 from a woman\u00a0to pay for Mira’s food and lodging while she learned about trail running.<\/p>\n