KATHMANDU: Annapurna Treks and Expedition Pvt Ltd, in association with Grands Space of Spain is organising the ninth Everest Trail Race from Dhap Patale of Solukhumbu district from Monday.

The ninth edition of the world’s toughest high-altitude trail race will kick off from the altitude of 2,700m and will go through Solukhumbu’s Chyangsar, Solukhumbu district’s Pikey, Namche, Tengboche before culminating in Lukla at an altitude of 4,070 metres on November 15, according to Kami Sherpa, Managing Director at Annapurna Treks.

A total of 45 runners, including three Nepalis, all from 12 different countries, will take part in the trail race which covers at least 172 km. The top three athletes in both men and women categories will receive 1,000 Euros, 750 Euros and 250 Euros respectively, said Sherpa.

Annapurna Treks has been organising the race since 2011 with an aim of preserving the route used by Tenzing Norge Sherpa and Edmund Hillary while climbing the Mt Everest five decades ago.

According to Sherpa, ETR is a freestyle race. Runners will reach the highest point of the entire ETR, the Pikey Peak (4,068 m), from where one can see the most spectacular peaks in the world, like Mt Everest, Mt Lhotse and Mt Makalu, among others.

All participants have passed technical and medical checks before moving to the start of the race, he added.

“The ETR has compelled to change the earlier route that starts from Ramechhap’s Bamti Bhandar due to haphazard construction of rural roads along the trail route,’ Sherpa said.

The ETR would also help promote the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign, Sherpa added.