I signed up for the Manaslu Trail Race mainly because it seemed like a great way to get properly into the Himalayas. Seven stages around Manaslu, plus two high-altitude days on foot and Larkya Pass above five thousand meters.
On paper, about 139 kilometers of racing and more than ten thousand meters of elevation gain. In reality, monasteries, suspension bridges, mules, snow, tea houses, a two-degree shower, cough, muscle soreness, one almost Tibet, and the gradual realization that at an altitude of 4 000 meters, you really do not run as well as at home.
I take the distances and elevation gains below from the organizer and ITRA. The GPS on my watch was not a measure of reality here most of the time. It was more of a psychological device that showed me, while running, what I should think was happening right then. :)
Seven stages. And “rest” that goes over five thousand.
The seven days count toward the result. In between are two high-altitude days that are not timed, but the word rest is quite bold for them — one heads toward the Tibetan border and the other goes across Larkya Pass.
Kathmandu: the first success was not getting lost
The trip to Nepal began even before Nepal. I did not fly out of Vienna, but I did from Budapest; the bus driver had some kind of incident on the way, there was a crash on the highway, and the transfer in Dubai worked out so tightly that on the way I already managed to spend a piece of luck meant for the whole trip.
And then Kathmandu. A city where, based on my own experience, I get lost practically every time. Not this time. I made it there normally.
- so far I always got lost. In Kathmandu, where the chance is 1000/1 that I will get lost, I did not get lost…
- after my arrival they closed the airport, the others were diverted to India (the lights went out at night, karma ran out)
- I was not able to leave Vienna, but I did from Budapest… this is a separate chapter…
- the bus driver had some kind of incident, they had to replace him, on the way to Pest there was a crash on the highway; 4 cars, I almost did not even make this one.
- the transfer in Dubai was very, very tight (the terminals are probably two hours apart)…
- I am really looking forward to the mountains.
Day one. GPS gave up early
Day one in the Budhi Gandaki valley. Heat, villages, rice fields, and the Nepali version of flat: up for a while, down for a while, and stairs in between.
The watch made a sport of its own out of it. A much more accurate measure was the feeling that the vertical from all the downhill stairs was becoming pretty brutal by the end.
GPS is not working, only 2k elevation gain. But with the stairs, the vertical 1,5 km downhill was already brutal.
1. stage on Strava →
Mules are racing each other along the mountainside. Important.
The Budhi Gandaki canyon, bridges, technical trail, and still plenty of up and down. The altitude was only around two thousand meters, so I was already preemptively looking forward to the day when 1 300 meters of elevation gain comes in five kilometers.
- Up top 1600, GPS is screwed again
- when overtaking mules, always do it on the mountain side, otherwise you will fall off the cliff
- still only 2k in elevation, I'm curious when we have an uphill run with a climb of 1,3 km in five kilometers. That will be brutal.
- if it slides, then properly, and it slid 3 km last week. That saved me because there was a checkpoint there and I was already out of steam
- but otherwise fine, not brutal like yesterday
Monastery, blessing, and a shower in two-degree water
We finished the third day at Hinang Gompa. A Buddhist monastery, a blessing, and a forest where I spent a moment wondering what giant spruces were doing at around three thousand meters altitude.
The luggage was on horses somewhere behind us, so a shower in two-degree water was the perfect way to end the day. And the soreness had already spread practically everywhere.
- Flat section, approx. 1900 vertical
- Buddhist monastery, we received a blessing
- jungle at 3000 m a.s.l.? Behind the monastery, spruces with a diameter of 3 m
- brrr, outside freezing, inside freezing, everywhere freezing, until the horses with the luggage arrived = shower in 2-degree water…
- muscle soreness like hell
Manaslu before our eyes. Running at four thousand meters is less romantic.
We got through Pungyen Gompa to about 4 000 metres, and for the first time the view of Manaslu really opened up. Beautiful.
And at the same time, the first day when it was completely clear that “running” and “running at four thousand” are two different activities.
- the elevation gain fits this time, but I only started my watch after the descent from the monastery
- at 4 thousand, a beautiful spot with a view of Manaslu
- but damn, it’s hard to run at this altitude.
Base Camp. But a little differently, because of the snow.
Usually the run goes from Samagaon toward Manaslu Base Camp and back. But this time, the snow had its own opinion. The organizers moved the turnaround lower and shortened the official part.
After the checkpoint, though, several of us said that since we were here, we should walk a bit higher. So instead of recovery, we took a trip toward base camp to around 4 800 metres.
- up/down. Because of the snow, they shortened it to about 800 vertical metres.
- after the checkpoint, several of us got motivated and set off for the base camp in 4800
The sixth day of running. And in the morning the kids had a race.
Morning: a little Nepali race
About sixty children got our bib numbers, and we acted as the finish line for them. For my taste they ran quite a lot — about 1,5 to 2 kilometers at an altitude of around 4 000 m, with part of it uphill. Some were still sprinting. At the finish, everyone was ready to cough up their lungs. They got juice boxes and were happy.
Then it was our turn
Through the monastery to the glacial lake below base camp, start there. First a long run downhill and then the last roughly 350 meters of climbing. The Nepalis took off at a pace like there was a propeller up their backside. The Australian tried to keep up with them. I was already out of steam even on the flat.
At the end, of course, there was a climb up to the village built on the rock. I somehow scrambled to the top and got a coughing fit. My roommate nearly coughed up his lungs, and the Nepalis just laughed: “you’re taking this kind of seriously, aren’t you?”
After lunch: instead of lying down, another 500 meters of climbing
I got myself back together a bit and went to look higher up. An eagle, some kind of weasel that the locals called a fox, mountain goats, and a bunch of horses. Only later did I realize from the map that the trail is an old trade route to Tibet.
So now I knew exactly how to illegally get into Tibet. At least in theory.
- I’ve been running for 6 days already, unbelievable.
Morning - the kids had a race. About 60 Nepali kids raced, with our numbers and our finish line. For my taste they ran quite a lot = about 1,5-2 km at an altitude of 4000 m and partly uphill. It has to be said that some were even sprinting, and in the end everyone in the finish line was trying to cough up their lungs (just like I was that same day). They got juice boxes and were happy.
We went through the monastery to the amazing glacial lake below base camp, where the start was. The last suffering at this altitude — if I can handle this, maybe I’ll survive here in Nepal.
Into Tibet. Or almost.
“Active rest” meant roughly twenty kilometers toward the border with Tibet, at an altitude of about five thousand meters. In the morning, the snow was a hard crust; then the sun came out and the snow turned into a trap.
Without headlamps, there was no point pushing on, so we turned back before the border. Tibet stayed at “almost.”
- almost
- the sun melted the crust and suddenly it was sinking in above your knees, up to your waist.
- without headlamps there was no point so we turned back before the border
Sunrise over the Himalayas. Absolutely awesome.
This was no longer a race stage, but one of the main days of the whole route. Cold in the morning, then wind, then sun, then everything again. And above it all, the whole Himalayas.
At altitudes above five thousand, I paradoxically felt pretty good. But in my head I was already running the final stage: the person ahead of me had a six-minute lead.
- a great trip but alternating cold (minus minus), wind, warmth, and everything
- the weather has been sunny for the second week now
- sunrise over the Himalayas, simply amazing
- pass at 5106, felt good.
- tomorrow I have to overtake the guy in front of me. Final stage and he has a lead of 6 minutes…
-11 °C, two almost sprained ankles, and finally more oxygen
The last day is mostly downhill. And after a week at altitude, that is fantastic: with every meter, breathing gets easier and running suddenly starts to feel like running.
By then my body had already gone through the full catalogue of problems — stomach, bronchi, cough, soreness, cramps, bites, and some kind of sun allergy. So two almost sprained ankles were just a nice bonus.
- minus 11 feels like minus 11 says Strava. It was cold but probably not that cold (I was running in shorts…)
- it was supposed to be all downhill and yet we climbed 200m, surprising.
- the best part is how amazing it is to breathe here, with every meter down the running gets easier
- I almost sprained my ankle 2 times
- over the last few days I’ve gone through just about everything: diarrhea, bronchitis and cough, the worst soreness (literally everywhere), cramps, some bug bit me on my legs and on my arms too, plus some kind of sun allergy..
4. place is nice. But I won’t remember Manaslu because of that.
Rather the monastery where it was freezing outside and inside. Children sprinting at four thousand meters. Mules above the cliff. Manaslu at sunrise. Snow toward Tibet. And that absurdly pleasant feeling when, after a week, you realize that with every meter downhill, you can breathe normally again.
Result: 4. place overall, 17:55:49. For how many times I kept noting along the way that I was already exhausted, pretty usable.
The personal passages are my original Strava notes from November 2025. I deliberately do not use GPS data from the watch as factual route data.