Hillary Scholar To Run The World’s Highest Marathon

15 March, 2013

Hillary Scholar To Run The World’s Highest Marathon

A University of Waikato Hillary Scholar alumnus will brave ice, snow, and altitude when he takes on the highest race in the world - the Tenzing Hillary Marathon.

Qualified snowboard instructor, international level wake-boarder, action sports fanatic, and former Sir Edmund Hillary Scholar Chris Dunn will travel to Nepal in May to complete the marathon.

The Tenzing Hillary Marathon starts on 29 May at Everest Base Camp (5364m) and travels 42km through the Himalyas to Namche Bazaar (3446m). Athletes have to battle snow, ice, altitude, and exposure to rough terrain and environments as they descend just short of 2 vertical km.

The marathon was created to commemorate the first successful ascent of Everest by Tenzing Norgay and Sir Ed in May 1953.

Chris was a Sir Edmund Hillary Scholar for two years. The Sir Edmund Hillary scholarships are the University of Waikato’s most prestigious scholarship for students who are high academic achievers that are also achieving in the arts or sport and display leadership qualities. It was created to mirror the values of Sir Edmund Hillary.

“Ever since I was a Hillary Scholar I’ve had a goal to visit Everest Base Camp,” says Chris, who during the day is a graphic designer for Gold Coast based water sports company Jetpilot. “I wanted to understand what Sir Ed endured on his expedition to the summit.”

“While I’m not climbing to the summit, a trek to Base Camp didn’t seem like enough, which is why I’ve entered the marathon. This feels like the least I could do to say thanks to Sir Ed and the University of Waikato.”

Chris is a keen runner, and has completed one full and a handful of half-marathons. However, none were off road and none were at altitude.

“I have no idea what it’s going to be like running at altitude, but from what I’ve read there aren’t a lot of positives. Without a doubt this will be the toughest race of my life.”

The University of Waikato is supporting Chris, helping cover his training costs and being in Nepal.

The University of Waikato offers a range of scholarships for high-performance students, including the prestigious Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship, and provides support to help them balance their training, competition and study commitments. The university is also a member of the High Performance Sport New Zealand Athlete Friendly Tertiary Network.

Chris will be blogging about his adventure at http://chrisdunn.com.au.

For more information about the Hillary Scholarships visit http://www.waikato.ac.nz/about/hillary/.

His trip comes hot on the heels of another team of Hillary Scholars visiting Nepal. The Step Higher team have been trekking up Khumbu Valley, visiting visit schools, hospitals, and see the work being undertaken by Sir Ed and the Himalayan Trust.

They have been blogging about their trip at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/news-events/2013-step-higher/.

ENDS

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