What It’s Really Like to Run the Everest Marathon and Trek to Everest Base Camp

Yet another life-affirming trip with Adventurous Ewe!

Twelve months ago, it seemed like a really good idea to sign up for the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon & Base Camp Trek to tackle the highest marathon in the world, starting at just shy of 5,400 metres with around 50% of the oxygen available at sea level.

To say I hadn’t been able to look beyond 29th May 2026 since then is an understatement. From time to time, I questioned my life choices. Had I really bitten off more than I could chew this time? Given that the only way to get to Namche Bazaar, some 42km away, was on foot, what was I going to do if I crashed and burned?

As ever on Adventurous Ewe trips, I was part of a wonderful team, UK runners and trekkers alongside our smiley gang of porters, who really are the glue that holds everything together as we move from village to village. Not forgetting Kumbha Raj, who led us in the Langtang Valley and Yala Peak trip last year and has since become a very dear friend, and smiley Jiten, a porter just last year who seized the opportunity to learn English with both hands and blew us away with his confidence as a recently promoted assistant guide.

Walking from village to village towards Base Camp gave plenty of time for reflection and connection, and I’d promised myself not to let marathon nerves detract from what is one of the most breathtaking journeys. Meeting Tenzing Norgay’s son at the Everest Museum was a privilege, and it filled my heart with joy that we got such wonderful views of my favourite mountain, Ama Dablam, along the way.

Then, having reached Everest Base Camp, came the very humbling honour of camping there for two nights, an opportunity usually afforded only to Everest climbers. Here we met an eclectic mix of nationalities, ages and experience levels. I soon realised my trail running experience and expertise, by comparison, was somewhat limited. It would have been easy to feel overwhelmed and intimidated, but instead I felt welcomed and held as part of a global team.

After much snoring (sorry Christine!), yes, I slept far better than expected, marathon morning arrived. After breakfast, we headed to the start line.

There was snow, ice, altitude, serious ups and downs, and many yaks to contend with. When my first mile took 44 minutes, I genuinely wondered how I was going to get through the day. But the moment I let go of chasing cut-offs I thought I had no chance of making, I felt free to enjoy the experience. I relaxed and found a slow but steady rhythm.

I stopped at every aid station along the way, enjoying tea, juice, Sherpa stew, flapjack and plenty of chats. Then, as I reached the infamous checkpoint convinced I’d missed the cut-off, I was told it had been extended and I had plenty of time. Tears of joy. Which quite confused Jiten, my trusty pace-setter from 7km onwards. Having reached the checkpoint, we stopped for a good break, regrouped and enjoyed a well-earned hot chocolate. We were then joined by Dill, one of our fabulous porters, and set off to tackle the final 10km.

Convinced the rest of the team would have long since left for dinner, I was completely blown away as I approached the finish line to hear familiar whoops and cheers. One by one I saw not only the UK runners, but the trekkers and all of our local crew there to welcome me home with big hugs.

I’ve been back nearly a week and feel like I’ve only just started processing it all. Throughout the trip, Jo kept telling us, “The body achieves what the mind believes.” The thing is, I wasn’t entirely sure what my mind believed. But over the course of that day, I realised I was capable of far more than I’d ever allowed myself to believe. Another mantra was, “No better, no worse – just different.” And that was the truth of those two days spent at Base Camp. I didn’t feel judged for my lack of experience or ability. I simply felt welcomed as part of a global team, everyone facing their own challenges.

And finally, as someone who has spent much of life feeling less than, and like whatever I do could always have been better, at around 21km, while trudging up a particularly big hill, I heard a little voice say: “You are good enough.” Quiet, but there. And perhaps that was my greatest achievement of the entire trip.

My final learning? “People who judge don’t matter, and those who matter don’t judge.” My local crew could probably have finished the marathon two or three times faster than I did, but I will always treasure their beaming faces as they welcomed me across the finish line with hugs, cheers and genuine joy.

What a day. What a journey. I loved every minute of it.

Jane Ainslie, Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon finisher 2026