Nestled in the folds of the mighty Himalaya Mountains, Bhutan is a tiny country of only 800,000 people. When I picked Bhutan as the destination for my third marathon, I didn’t realize what an amazing experience I was in for and that the run would only be a small part of it.
Landing at Paro airport is an experience in itself. Taking Number one spot as the most dangerous airstrip in the world, (sometimes google is not a good thing!) I have to confess to being a bit nervous as we flew between towering mountains and got buffeted by swirling winds on the approach to the airport.
To travel to Bhutan you need to book a tour through a travel agency. The number of tourists is strictly controlled as the Bhutanese are fiercely protective of the pace of development of their tiny Kingdom and believe that economic achievement is no replacement for its unique national identity.
Our group for the trip consisted of ten like-minded people from various corners of the world. One of our fellow passengers looked vaguely familiar and I could tell she was looking at me thinking “where do I know this lady from”?. If you read my last blog, I mentioned helping a young girl on my previous trail run who had collapsed from heat exhaustion. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was the same girl, looking fighting fit and obviously ready for another run! Talk about a small world. Turns out she had been helicoptered off the trail and had spent two nights in hospital for dehydration, and that was only two week ago. (Which didn’t help my ego when she went sailing past me at the 35km mark of the marathon looking fresh as a daisy!).
What is great about travelling for a run is that the people you mix with are all as passionate (crazy) as you are, some even more so. We had a film producer who had flown in from Lisbon, an adventure sports loving couple from Dubai, two young Mums from Singapore, and running partners from India. We gathered on the bus and set off across the country to reach Punakha, which is where the run would be. The 5-hour journey gave us time to chat and learn each other’s stories; everyone had their own reasons for being in Bhutan and their own goals to strive for.
Normally I get a bit nervous before a run and spend the few days beforehand thinking of nothing else. However in Bhutan I was so distracted by the beautiful surrounding and great company that race morning dawned before I had a chance to feel any nerves. At 5.30am we were bussed 1.5 hours up a Valley into the National Park to the start line. The sun was just coming up as we arrived and the day hadn’t yet warmed up. It was a relief to start the run and get moving so I could get some feeling back into my toes and fingers. It was a beautiful course that wound its way along a river, down a valley and past local villages. This really is a wonderful way to see parts of a country that you don’t get to see on normal sightseeing tours. I ran past children herding cows, young women tending rice in the paddy fields and old men shaking their head at the crazy people puffing and panting past them. If anything can lessen the pain of running 42kms, then running in such a beautiful, unspoiled location will do it.
However, by the 35km mark, (when my young friend sailed past me), I wasn’t feeling as uplifted by the scenery, to be honest I was barely noticing it. There was only one sight I wanted to see and that was the finish line.
I eventually got there and, as with all races, as soon as I crossed that line, I felt fantastic. Marathon no 3 could be crossed off the list and I could now focus on a hot shower and a celebratory glass or two of wine.
That night our group gathered together for dinner and to share our race stories. Everyone was feeling a sense of achievement and pride, along with various levels of aches and pains in their bodies. Nothing unites people more than a shared experience and the camaraderie felt around the table that night is what makes doing this sort of event all worth it.
The next day we all hobbled out to our bus and headed back to Paro. Just in case the marathon wasn’t enough exercise, today we got to hike to the Tigers nest, the famous temple perched on the side of a cliff and about 4km walk straight uphill! There was lots of moaning and complaining along with plenty of laughter as we made our way slowly up the slope. Luckily the climb was worth it and the views from the top were breathtaking.
Bhutan is a country almost frozen in time. It is deeply religious (90% of the population are Buddhists), and environmentally aware, no pesticides and chemicals are used there. There is a sense of calm that envelopes you as soon as you step off the plane. The Bhutanese people are fiercely independent and proud of their country and its rich culture. I am incredibly grateful I was able to run in such amazing country, meet such wonderful people and have an experience that will stay with me for a lifetime.
A wonderful insight to this Amazing place and your mind. I’m now putting it on my bucket list as a place to visit as it sounds to calming and peaceful.
Jen, That’s exactly how i felt about Bhutan, it was calming and peaceful. Definitely needs to go on the bucket list. x
I’ve heard about that airport before and having landed is a bucket list item itself for many people. Cross it off – :-). I must say, I absolutely love reading your posts. You have a way of pulling your readers into the story and your photos are such a good compliment. Thank you for sharing this.