Everesting Challenge - Climbing the height of Mount Everest in Hong Kong
Bix ambassador Charlotte Taquet completed Asia Trail Girl's latest event: The Everesting challenge. She picked a steep road in Hong Kong (the iconic Old Peak Road) and repeated running up and down that hill for almost 24 hours till she reached Everest height (8848 m +). In fact, Charlotte covered 125 km and climbed 8872 m in 23h 39. How did she do it?
How did you come up with the idea of the Everesting challenge?
The Everest Challenge was part of the Asia Trail Girls event which aims to support the Mira Rai’s Initiative Exchange & Empower. This challenge was the perfect opportunity to challenge myself while supporting other women.
What course and format did you choose for the event?
I choose to do the full Everest challenge solo – 8,848m elevation in a single workout. One of my friends, Stephanie, was doing the same challenge at the same time. We decided to “climb” the iconic Old Peak Road located on Hong Kong island. The idea was to share this experience with friends, so everyone was welcome to join, support and/or donate.
When did you start and finish the challenge and how long did it take you?
I started on Friday (May, 28) around 4.30pm until the next day. I ran overnight which was a bit cooler and on Saturday it was not too hot, but still very humid. I covered 125 km and a height of 8872 m in a time of 23h39.
How did you train for it, were there any key sessions you had to tick?
We didn’t have much time to train after having decided to do this challenge. We only did a few elevation repeat trainings during the weekends leading up to the event.
How different is a taper to an event like this compared to a regular ultra marathon?
The taper was not much different compared to a regular ultra marathon – only some short flat runs to shake the legs the week before. The only thing I considered a bit more was to drink plenty of water, electrolytes, BIX as the weather is very hot in Hong Kong at this time and it was key to be well hydrated before starting such a challenge.
What was your hydration and nutrition plan for the challenge?
As we had repeats to do, it was a great way to manage the consistency of the nutrition intake. Our check point was located on the top of the hill. At each lap, I took 500ml (alternating water and water/electrolytes) and some food, starting with solid food and finishing with gels. The beginning was quite hard as some of the electrolytes I took messed up my digestion a bit but I still managed to eat something until the end.
What was your pacing strategy for the event, did you take breaks?
The pacing strategy was to stay steady the entire time, with restricted breaks. The advice we read was to avoid losing time during the laps to keep a rhythm. So I started not too fast and tried to keep the same pace for the entire event.
What was your recovery like compared to a regular ultra marathon?
I took the recovery part more seriously this time, as the distance covered was the longest for me (i.e. 125kms) and the effort on the quads, knees and calves must have been bigger too. I focused on 3 things:
Hydration: to fully replenish after these long hours sweating in the heat with water/BIX/champagne
Progressive active recovery: focusing on biking and doing short flat runs
Massage/sleep/good food
What is your next project?
I do not have a specific project in mind at this stage, especially as the current situation is uncertain but I’m always open to new challenges!
