Great news! The event host confirmed my extended stay. This is awesome. I will have 2 extra days for sight seeing in Bhutan.
Log 02/27/2016
Visited a friend in San Francisco and realized how hilly it is. This being hills. My respect for the Himalaya is growing by the day. The excitement, also.
Log 02/25/2016
Received final confirmation from event host today. Now it is for real, no turing back. My flights from Delhi International airport to Paro are secured, now I need to find myself a flight from Düsseldorf to Delhi and back and I’m all game. Also on the to do list are new running shoes, running sticks…
Log 02/14/2016
Stefan, the event host called me today. He’s trying to extend my stay for a few days. It would be great to do a little sight seeing in Bhutan after the race. We shall see.
Log 02/09/2016
Today my first orders arrived. Headlamp, knife, compass, survival blanket …. Now only shoes, backpack and running sticks and I’m all set. The tension is growing by the day and so is my respect for the trail.
Log 02/07/2016
My work schedule forces me to exercise insight – hotel style. So, I started to use the rolling-hills program on the treadmill. It’s not bad, I must admit. Once you pass level 6 it actually becomes pretty exhausting. I also did my Sunday run through the Baltimore harbour – 20+K in a 5:05/km pace. There…
Log 01/29/2016
Prepayment went out today. I’m officially part of the race now. It has become reality. I started to look into compass navigation but failed miserably – I’m talking about a real compass, not the one on your iPhone! I decide to postpone the topic for now. Looked for topological maps of Bhutan, nada. It all…
Log 01/28/2016
Today I put the first orders in. Knife, headlamp, first aid kit. Excitement is growing ….
Log 01/27/2016
Started to search for first aid supplies. There is plenty of little things to consider and purchase but it’s already fun. The biggest challenge ahead is the flight to Paro airport (the apparently most dangerous airport in the world). There is not direct flight from Germany to Paro, instead one must go through India or…
Log 01/26/2016
I have long thought about it and today finally did it. I signed up for a 6 day ultra-marathon race in Bhutan. This has been on my mind for years, as I always wanted to do something special. I just didn’t know what it was. Until I stumbled over a Facebook post one day –…
The Equipment
Equipment At the equipment check before the race, the mandatory equipment will be thoroughly checked by the organisers. Competitors are not allowed to participate in the race if any of the items declared as mandatory equipment is missing. Irregular equipment checks might be carried out at any time during the race week. Absence of any…
The Place
Bhutan Bhutan the land of the thunder dragon kingdom is a trekker’s paradise and an environmentalist’s dream. With 72 percent of the country under forest cover, Bhutan’s pristine ecology is home to rare and endangered flora and fauna. This spiritual land is the last bastion of the Vajrayana school of Mahayana Buddhism which provides the essence…
The Event
starts on Friday, May 27st 2016, with a meeting of all runners at the team hotel in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan and will end in Paro on Saturday, June 4th. The event host is GlobalLimits, a group of professionals that have done many extreme races themselves. The race will start 80km east of Thimphu…
My name is Dirk and I am about to start the greatest challenge of my life. A 6 day, 200 km run through the Himalaya mountains, in Bhutan.