SWIM, CLIMB, WADE...

Fancy stretching the sinews at a race that exudes the exotic?  Greg Ashley did, so headed to Nepal for the Himalayan XTRI  Solo Point Five middle-distance triathlon…

- GREG ASHLEY

The sweat dripping in my eyes is now really irritating me. My running cap is sodden. My tri-suit soaked. I’m barely moving forward. My Garmin keeps autopausing I’m moving so slowly. A jeep has just driven past me on the rocky, dusty upward spiral and kicked up a load of dust that clings to my sweat-covered face. I look up and see the 8,000m Annapurna mountain range looming large over me, the snow-capped peaks glistening in the hot afternoon sun. I’m halfway along the 21km run course – well, more accurately the shuffle-and-jog course – upwards towards the mountain village and finish at Ghandruk. The swim and bike have been ticked off, and I’m slowly edging towards the finish at 2,000m. It’s brutal. And I’m absolutely loving it…

THRIVING, COSMOPOLITAN BACKDROP

I’m in the heart of the Annapurna conservation area, not far from the city of Pokhara, Nepal’s second busiest city, a thriving tourist area and once famed on the hippy trail. Now catering for trekkers and thrill seekers, it’s a modern and cosmopolitan city, with cafés and WiFi aplenty on the banks of Lake Phewa, the scene of my earlier 3km swim exploits.

It’s my second visit to Pokhara and the Annapurna area. I last visited in 2018 for the Annapurna Ultra – a six-day self-supported ultra-running race. I fell in love with Nepal and its people and vowed to return. Sadly, Covid hit and Nepal suffered terribly in the aftermath, with the tourist trade decimated.