The Last Secret: Bhutan
A race in a hermit kingdom above the clouds
By the fourth day the slog is by no means over. The warm up consists of a steep 100 m ascent to the starting point, which lies at 3,700 m. The road book tells us that it’s a treacherous 37 kilometres. Initially, the route is downhill, but soon after that it goes steeply uphill over a pass lying at 3,500 m. At the end of the stage is another farmhouse, also with dormitory accommodation, at a height of 2,280 m, but with a welcome surprise for the exhausted runners – a herbal bath in a wooden tub. The medicinal water, heated by fired stones. It’s also perfect timing, because the next morning the 57-kilometre “Queen stage” awaits.
All of the runners undergo exhaustion, despair and pain during this long stage. Many are short of breath. The head wants to run, but the muscles begin to rebel. Compensation for this is that the runners experience Bhutan in a way that will never be experienced by even the lucky few tourists that travel to this land. Throughout the day, the runners cross through rice paddies, over swaying bridges and along narrow walls. On the right the abyss of a dramatic drop below, on the left in the distance a circuit of asphalt – the airfield in Paro and a continuous spiral up the mountain past new roadwork meant to connect this remote region finally to the rest of the world. The runners pass women banging stones together, many laughing, encouraging children who hold out their hands to the runners for a high-five. It’s muggy and the air is filled with dust. Today’s finish line is at the ruins of a monastery which lies, as always, on a mountain.
The grand finale heads towards the Tiger Nest, in the Dzong Takshang monastery at a height of 3,100 m. It is the most famous monastery in Bhutan and is located on a precipice. It’s only a distance of 15 kilometres, but the final ascent is the steepest of the entire event. The pilgrimage path is lined with prayer f lags that zigzag up the relentless switchback. The runner’s steps are small, sometimes less than a foot per stride. On arriving at the top the runner’s final energy reserves have to be summoned. The beauty of the monastery must be earned, as 400 steps now separate the runners from the finish line within the Buddhist temple.
The men’s race is won by the Canadian Mark Tamminga in 25:51. The winner of the women’s race is Georgina Ayre of Britain in 27:49. Canada is the strongest country with Joany Verschuuren finishing in second place. The monks as well as the exhausted yet elated runners are all grinning from ear to ear. Every one of them have felt the real meaning of the race’s motto – explore your limits.
Crossing three rivers on swaying suspension bridges is challenging. The prayer f lags, the visual constant during the event, sway in the same rhythm of the runners as they carefully jog across these hundreds-of-years-old engineering feats. At the finish, in the courtyard of a monastery lying at 1,750 metres above sea level, the runners are greeted with a bottle of Coca-Cola by the organizer, Stefan Betzelt. This becomes a daily reward at the end of every stage. After that runners must set up their tents before sundown, take a quick shower with a water hose and meet for the evening meal under the starlit sky.
The race really begins on the second stage. It is a demanding 29 kilometres that includes a mountain pass climb up to 3,500 m and a steep descent through a narrow, canyon on a single-track trial littered with scree and roots. Nevertheless, it’s not the stage elevation profile which is of the greatest concern here, but rather the animal kingdom. These rainforest trails are, in part, made up of a moist sludge, a fantastic hunting ground for mosquitoes and leeches. “The mosquitoes are twice as big as ours and show no mercy,” says Mark Tamminga. This is why the 56-year old Canadian has adopted one mantra for the race: “Just don’t stop running, or you will be eaten.” Tamminga managed to master this danger zone with very few bites. “But it’s better to be be bitten by a few mosquitoes than sucked dry by leeches,” reports the German Michael Snehotta. The bloodsuckers were gunning for the 40-year-old professional runner. Several managed to crawl unnoticed up his trekking poles and attach themselves on his arms and legs. Organizer Stefan Betzelt distributed a powder mixture of tobacco and salt to the participants for just this situation. However, Snehotta ripped the leeches from his body with his own fingers, but paid for it with extremely painful moments.
When the runners reach the finish at a farmhouse at 2,500 m of elevation, they count their mosquito bites and compare how badly each has been ravaged. Then they make their way to the farm’s dormitories, where every runner gets a place to sleep in the communal space. The burning question of the evening is: snorer or non-snorer. Within minutes, the joke becomes a moot point, as every participant slips into a deep sleep.
The next mountain stage over 28 kilometres starts at 6:30 a.m. and climbs the equivalent of running to the top of two CN Towers stacked on top of each other. At the summit is the oldest and poorest monastery in Bhutan. Organizer Stefan Betzelt has developed a great relationship with the communities the race passes through. Here he sponsors an English teacher for the monastery for six months in a country where an education is rare. Unfortunately, this monastery can only be reached by withstanding one of the toughest sections of the entire race. “It’s a truly hellish climb,” said German runner Ursel Plehwe. “It seems to have no end. It was as if we were suffering through the stations of the cross.” Before the runners can move into their night-time accommodation provided by the monks, they have to partake in the promised soccer game. The exhausted runners are no match for the monk’s team, who entertain themselves with the sport whenever they are not praying or tending to the duties of the monastery. The high altitude and exhaustion gets to the runners and they lose three-to-two to the acclimatized monks. After the game the race doctors check in with the runners and treat the many bruises, scrapes, stubbed toes and sore joints.
Prayer f lags, seemingly everywhere, wave in the wind. Monks peacefully stroll across the vast courtyard, their cloaks a deep maroon set against the white six-storey temple. Just beyond the walls of this ancient fortress are the lush yet hazard-filled rainforest and the most unforgiving mountains in the world. This is the Kingdom of Bhutan, the land of the thunder dragons and, as the Buddhist monks say, the eternal state of happiness – perhaps because of how beautiful yet cruel their surroundings are. This is also the perfect stage for one of the hardest and most exotic adventure runs in the world. Aptly called The Last Secret, this 200k, six-day stage race traverses up 10,000 m and 8,000 m down, including three passes at a height of 3,500 m, the equivalent of running along the summits of much of the Canadian Rockies.
Just 36 competitors from 18 countries dare undertake this adventure. Extreme runners are lone wolves. The youngest, American Jacqueline Seymour, is just 18 years old. Another American, 74-year-old Harald Schmid, is the oldest. The race starts at the massive Punakha Dzong, a fortress built in 1637 that sits where the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers intersect.
The participants still look as if they are doing a catalogue shoot. They are well-conditioned and fresh, wearing bright running clothes. This situation will change within the hour. At the front, there is going to be a battle for winner of the day, at the back, the fight for survival. Stage races challenge the runner’s patience and capacity for suffering.
The first goosebumps moment comes when the Lama blesses the runners and 500 Bhutan schoolchildren loudly sing the national hymn. At the end, the runners take off for the first stretch over a wooden bridge and deceptive first stage of about 31 kilometres of relatively f lat terrain. But the first day is not without its challenges: the weather in Bhutan can wildly fluctuate. Today it is 30 C. The seasoned ultrarunners soon take to focusing only on the little orange f lags and arrows that mark the route through one of the most remote places on Earth. Water is only available every 10k at the checkpoints. The landscape is so fascinating over the first few kilometres that many of the more novice runners are distracted, and, combined with the exertion, forget to follow the markings. All of the stages become a kind of orienteering adventure, with these runners struggling to find their bearings in a place that just a few years ago was not open to foreigners.