Check out this post from Dr. Yogesh Subedi, a friend of the Musa Masala site and one of the three doctors at Everest ER in the spring of 2016. He was recently the trip doctor on the grueling Manaslu Mountain Trail Race. Here he tells his story.
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In Sanskrit, Manaslu means, mountain of the spirit. In this place, where heaven and skies meet, The Manaslu Mountain Trail Race, a seven day race covering 212 km around the 8,160 m mountain, it might not have felt like heaven for all the participants. But what a feeling, to take part in such an event in the lap of the Himalayas.
Each day the runners would travel across diverse terrain, covering 22 to 30 km.
It was fun to be the trip doctor for this race. We encountered many different medical conditions. The initial days, we saw mostly muscle cramps, dehydration and musculoskeletal injuries. The altitude for the beginning of the race, 600m, rose to 5,160m at Larke Pass. The runners who seemed well-acclimated, though, did not have many issues with altitude sickness. The most common problem as the race wore on was diarrhea.
It was an honor and a pleasure to help the participants and race staff with their medical problems.
For more information on the race check out manaslurrailrace.org and trailrunningnepal.org.
