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Approximately 2 years ago, someone put into my head the Everest Marathon as a bona fide possibility. I had written about it for years as a bucket list kind of adventure, never thinking it would be something possible for me to do.
At this juncture in life, I know plenty of fellow runners who have the financial and physical abilities to go, but lack the time. It makes me think of this very simple, but very true visual representation:
Money
Having this on the radar for a couple of years has allowed me to slowly sock away money without a big impact on my day-to-day living. I am budgeting $5,000 for the trip. $3,100 for the travel within Nepal, accommodations, and most meals via Kathy Loper Events.
Approximately $1,000 is reserved for airfare from Atlanta to Kathmandu. The last $900 or so is for gear that I will need such as a 0°F rated sleeping bag and a down jacket.
There will be additional expenses along the way in my travels, but this is not a shopping trip to Paris. I’ll be on the side of the Himalayas for the bulk of the trip.
Energy
The energy certainly has been the thing that I was least concerned with until two injuries this year have suddenly threatened to impact my trip. After running successfully without injury for over 20 years, I have been benched for a rather large chunk of time in 2018.
A metatarsal stress reaction in my foot in the early part of the year and then a likely-overcompensated-and-ran-too-much-too-soon tibial stress reaction has currently got me down.
I am signed up to run the NYC Marathon in November, Rehoboth Marathon (Delaware) in December, and will plan to return to the Boston Marathon in April 2019. The current goal A goal is to complete these without further injury.
Time
Time away from work was the big hurdle – it is not 100% a done deal, but I should have an answer soon. I’m likely going to use a mix of vacation time and unpaid time to go away for 3 weeks.
This is the box that it seems everyone my age struggles with the most. Fortunately, my company seems willing to work with me thus far and while I have a husband and dogs, I don’t have human children.
Once I get the final approval from HR, I will begin the process of making this dream come true. The deposit will be put down on the trip and I can start checking things off the packing list as I collect them.
Much like my journey to making it to my first Boston, the anticipation is arguably as exciting as the trip itself.
Carissa Liebowitz has run the Boston Marathon as well as dozens of marathons and half marathons. You can follow her running adventures on Strava, Instagram and her blog.
