Quebec runner completes Everest Marathon

Montreal’s Lysanne Goyer returned from an experience of a lifetime on the weekend, completing the Everest Marathon on Dec. 2 and raising money for children with heart problems.

Goyer has run most of the major North American marathons, but her experience in the challenging race at the foot of the world’s tallest peak was like none other. She finished in 53rd place in 8:04:29.

Only one person broke four hours on the course and the top 20 were all from Nepal. As expected, locals had a distinct advantage on the high-altitude course, which began at Gorak Shep, near Everest’s South Base Camp in Nepal (5,184 m) and finished at Namche Bazaar (3,446 m).

“They say it’s a downhill course, but you’re in the mountains and you go up and down through rocks and ice,” Goyer says. “If you fall [near certain cliffs] you could die.”

Participants must enter a lottery to get into the Everest Marathon and there were only 85 runners in the race. There’s a mandatory 3.5-week training and acclimatization camp in the region for the month before the race. Prior to that, Goyer, who is based in Montreal, included regular climbing sessions in the Laurentians and Adirondacks every three weeks during her buildup.

The race has several safety and medical checkpoints along the route, and everyone is required to carry an emergency kit on their backs. Two days after the race, runners must also hike about six to eight hours downhill to catch their busses. Goyer, the first Quebecer to complete the Everest Marathon, says aside from a bit of the Khumbu cough, her body held up just fine.