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It was her intention to complete the second half in 2023 , which was 103km , to give her the full Tankwa Challenge distance , albeit over two separate runs . That was accomplished in February of 2023 , although not without several unanticipated difficulties , including several heavy rain showers ( unusual for the Karoo ), and high winds that caused temperatures to plummet during the night , in contrast to the previous year , when temperatures had soared into the mid-40s Centigrade . |
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Last year , Capetonian Suzette McIvor completed her 100th marathon or ultra at the inaugural Yeti Marathon in central Nepal , in a unique , spectacular , and scenic location with the high Himalayan Mountains as background . What follows is an account of that marathon journey in Nepal , written by her husband , fellow world-travelling marathoner and regular contributor to Modern
Athlete , Scott McIvor .
Suzette ran her first marathon in 2004 , and subsequently ran many marathons and ultras with me , mostly in and around the Middle East , her work base . Her first marathon was also in a unique location , namely Luxor , Egypt , and the icing on the cake was that she was the first woman in , finishing in just over three and a half hours . However , over the years , a series of injuries prevented her from continuing to train for the longer distances . Several operations to address the injuries were not successful , and hampered her progress . Although she continued to run competitively at the shorter distances , the longer distances would have to be sporadic , and limited to a small number per year . Nevertheless , it remained a long-term goal of hers to achieve the magic figure of 100 marathons and ultras , and as time marched on , she decided she would endeavour to complete her goal in 2023 . In the seven years from 2016 to 2022 , she had finished 11 marathons – a relatively small number compared to an average of between six and seven per year prior to that – but at 2022 year-end , her total stood at ninety-four . Only six to go to reach her goal , and a special run to commemorate the completion of her project was warranted .
A family-bonding trekking trip to Nepal with our son James had been pre-planned to take place in October and November 2023 , and a
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ISSUE 171 | www . modernathlete . co . za
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new running event in central Nepal called the Yeti Marathon was scheduled just prior to the trekking itinerary . Perfect ! But there were still another five marathons to complete before the trip to Nepal took place , so could she complete five in the time available , bearing in mind her overseas work commitments , and whether her body could bear the strain ( and pain !) of running six marathons in one calendar year ?
Suzette and Scott McIvor at the recent Dodo Trail on Mauritius
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An overseas trip in May to Central Europe included standard road marathons in Prague ( Czechia ) and Salzburg ( Austria ). Those were followed by two road events in July in the Western Cape , the Hewitt Festival of Running 50km in Cape Town and the PPC Riebeeck Berg Marathon in Riebeeck-West , which brought her number of completed marathons to 99 . The former was done straight after flying in from Suzette ’ s overseas work , and the latter in pouring rain ! Happily , there were no adverse effects on her body after completing those events , although they were taken at a much slower pace than what Suzette had been accustomed to . So , it was game-on for the 100th in Nepal .
A Run in the Himalayas
The Yeti Marathon is organised by a Spanish-based company , WildMarathon , that specialises in running ‘ off the beaten track marathons with a cultural difference ’ in a variety of locations throughout the world . These include events in the desert in Morocco , in the Arctic Circle in Finland , in the jungle in Mexico , and in the high mountains in Tanzania ( Kilimanjaro ), the Andes in Peru , and in the Himalayas in Nepal . The number of participants is usually relatively small , with the organisers promoting a dedicated , quality service to those who are interested in running in a different but challenging environment .
A family trekking trek to the Himalaya with son James seemed a great setting for a 100th marathon !
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Images : Scott McIvor , Sergey Ashmarin / Wikimedia , Solundir / Wikimedia |