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Batase, Nepal

Nepal Impact Marathon 2023

The original Impact Marathon race - there’s a reason why this race keeps returning year after year.

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Overview

For 2023, we have a new home but that doesn’t mean your Nepal experience will be any less impactful. On this life-changing trip, we work directly with those changing the future of Nepal, and become part of the community. We run tiny but magical trails, which climb up to 2300m of altitude. We touch the lives of thousands. You will never be the same again.

Highlights

01 Immersive Village Life

02 Ultimate Trail Running

03 Powerful Impact

04 Nepali Culture: Nepali Food

01 Immersive Village Life

This is the most intimate village experience we've ever had in Nepal. It’s a long trek into the foothills of the Batase village, but it’s worth it. Oozing peace, tranquility and beauty, this is fast becoming one of our favourite spots to set up camp.

02 Ultimate Trail Running

There's no doubt that Nepal is the mecca of trail running globally. Technical, challenging, and mountainous but rewarding at the same time. Expect trails that run along spectacular ridge lines, before dropping down into the villages, in an attempt to make the course accessible to all and yet challenging at the same time.

03 Powerful Impact

For the 5th Nepal experience, we are bringing together all we have learnt to drive a truly powerful narrative and impact throughout the week. From our time in Kathmandu, to our work in Batase, you will see first hand how we can prevent trafficking, support Gender Equality and create real opportunities for the children of Nepal.

04 Nepali Culture: Nepali Food

Momos, Dal Bhat, Thukpa - these foods may seem unfamiliar to you now, but they will become favourites by the end of our week together. Packed full of flavours and textures, the food in Nepal is full of delicious surprises- we will make sure you have a chance to try everything!

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Race Routes

42km -The Beast of Batase

42km -The Beast of Batase

The Greeks invented the marathon, but Nepal is taking it to the next level. This distance is a brutal battle of man vs nature and will surely be the hardest but most rewarding race of your life. With 2000m of climbing on the trails around Batase, this course is the ultimate test of a runners ability. 

You will be pushed to your limit, you will feel like you can't go on. But when you dig deep, when you keep moving you will earn the right proudly say you conquered The Beast Of Batase.

21km - Mountain Ridge

21km - Mountain Ridge

A unique opportunity to run a simply incredible loop of around Batase village. Make no mistake about it, with over 1000m of climbing this is a course that is for strong runners who can take on these challenging trails. You will take on the Savage Summit as well as some technical descents and a thrilling mountain ridge - it is a true test of your running ability. 

10km - Starter for Ten

10km - Starter for Ten

A 10km race that feels so much further! This is a serious test for any runner. With almost 600m of climbing, finishing this race will feel absolutely amazing. Indeed, it has the hardest hill of all our distances. If this is your first running race it truly will be the best. 

Running with and through the Batase community, this is our most popular route. For the fastest runners in Nepal this will be a competitive and thrilling race.

If you are not a runner, we invite you to hike this course.

Schedule

Since we are travelling to a new home, we will be tweaking this itinerary through the year to be make it as powerful as possible - below is indicative but not exact!

Day 1 - Monday 20 November

Welcome! 

We’ll be meeting in the vibrant city of Kathmandu, where we will be staying the first night of our adventure. After your flight arrives in the afternoon, you’ll be whisked to your hotel. Here you’ll get to know your fellow travellers whilst enjoying an evening of amazing Nepali food and start learning more of what you'll be experiencing this week.

To Batase we go!  

After an awesome breakfast, we will be visited by the team from Burns Violence Survivors to share the work they do - the work your fundraising supports. This is tightly knit, beautiful team of passionate advocates who are making a huge impact despite tight resources. 

We have supported them since the very start of our time in Nepal - and are always blown by how far they stretch your fundraising. Over 400 life-saving surgeries have now been funded by our Impact Runners.   After the talk, it's all aboard our bus to Batase. Well, almost... the last 5km is an uphill climb to the village. We will have a truck take all your bags and luggage up as we have some traditional lunch in Melamchi town. Then, it's a good steep trek up to your new home, our see;f--build pop-up Athlete's Village that looks. out over the foothills, and onto the Himalayas. 

Village Life

Today, we will be waking up with a quick running tour of the village to help get your bearings. This is a gently warm-up, acclimatisation run so that you can begin to prepare your lungs and legs for the race ahead. We are camping at c1800m altitude, so you'll have all the week to acclimatise - so don't worry if this first run feels a big punchy, it gets easier, we promise.

After run, and breakfast, we will begin our community project work. This year, we have partnered with the amazing team at SmartPaani, and the Batase community to fund and install 10 full water filtration systems in 10 schools across the mountains. There will be a breadth of work alongside the SmartPaani team, community members, and local labourers as we undertake this ambitious project that will impact thousands of lives. This is what makes the Impact Marathon experience so life-changing for you, and for the community.

Batase Village

We rise with the sun for another acclimatisation run through the village - it's not uncommon for the school kids to lead the runs. If they do, prepare for some serious off-roading, adventure, and punchy climbs. It's all part of the fun.  

Post-breakfast, it is back out to get stuck into the project work with the community. Clean drinking. water. is essential to keep children in school, provide for their families, and ensure that the water-borne illnesses that devastate communities, especially during monsoons, become a thing of the past. By installing these facilities in all ten schools in one go, we are truly changing the face of the community with an impact that will be felt for years to come. 

Down time

The morning will continue the work from Thursday, and a full immersion into the Batase community. From the magical sunrise, the sounds of a village waking up to excitement of another day working in this beautiful place. 

Some of the community members will take you around the village to see the everyday work, and add context to what you see within the school grounds. You'll learn a heck of a lot today.

We will close out by lunch time, ready for your race briefing as the team goes about planning the next day’s events - and welcoming all the local runners coming up from Kathmandu to join us for a spot of camping and running.

Run The Himalayas

The moment has come - race day. We’ll head to the startline together and run as a community in what will be one of the most magical experiences. Get ready for stunning trails and a remarkable finish line moment, as you take the final steps of the hardest race of your life. And at that finish line, we’ll have a huge welcome home for you. 

Post-race, we jump in some vehicles and bounce our way back down. the roads to Melamchi. - a post-race massage, if you will. After a bite of chow mein, we will be headed back to Kathmandu for a good shower, and a bit of a party into the night, you deserve it...

Homecoming

You'll have breakfast at the hotel and then you are free to go! Every single year, those who book morning flights regret it as the runners tend to head into Thamel for a final lunch together and souvenir shopping - so top tip, stay a few hours longer for this. It's a special time for all.

Furthermore, we have organised some incredible Bolt-On Adventures that show you the very best that Nepal has to offer. Just message us once you're registered and we can begin planning an extension that is perfect for you.

Alternatively, and reluctantly, we will let you return home and transfers to the airport are included!

What's Included

Accommodation
Food
All in-country transport
Race Entry
Race Shirt & Stash
Shivapuri Park Entry & Guides
Project Visits
Flights
Travel Insurance & Visa
Alcohol, Snacks & Refreshments

Blog

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Fri 20 Oct 2023 · Liza Kershaw

PODCAST: Starting from Zero in Kathmandu

Day 2 of the Impact Sprint: 14 Stories of Heartbeats and Footprints

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Thu 12 Oct 2023 · Nick Kershaw

5 Reasons the Nepal Impact Marathon Is More Than Just a Race

Our original race has always been a beautiful example of how powerful our running can be, and the impact a race can have on the communities we serve.

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Tue 26 Sep 2023 · Nick Kershaw

Regenerative Travel and the Nepal Impact Marathon: Running for a Better World

The concept of regenerative travel is shaping the future of tourism pushing it towards more sustainable, equitable, and meaningful experiences. But what if we applied this progressive approach to sports events? As with all our Impact Marathons, we are very aware that we need to create a positive impact that far outweighs the impact of travel.

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Mon 9 Sep 2019 · Nick Kershaw

It takes a village

This was easily the most brutal 2 days in Impact Project history; we are indebted to the incredible group of runners who relentlessly pushed to lay this pipeline. They dug through dirt, they dug through rock, they dug through tarmac and came out empowered on the other side.

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Tue 16 Jul 2019

Nepal Impact 2019 to be led by an all-female race director team

Since our first race, the UN in Nepal have been sponsoring these girls to run our race each year, some travelling from days away to be part of the Impact Marathon. Their stories have inspired us and the idea that some of these girls will be looking our race directors thinking “that can be me” will inspire us even further.

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Fri 31 Jan 2020

Impact Runner Stories: Kit Garnett @ Nepal Impact Marathon 2019

To be honest, my favourite part of the week was meeting everyone and making friends for life. The runners are always so amazing and down to earth, and it was an absolute pleasure running with them, yogaing with them, and building a road with them

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Mon 2 Nov 2020

How do you create a new race route? Meet the Impact Pyramid

When we chat to race directors around the world - particularly when back home - we are always asked how we go about creating and executing in extreme places. Everything from bureaucracy to risk management to the actual finding of a great trail. We have become so comfortable with this side of our operations, we look at the races back at home and regularly think “oh, that looks much harder!”.

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Thu 25 May 2023 · Dave Melody

Why Impact Marathons are changing the face of global charity events

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves...

Tue 29 Oct 2019

Kelsang: The unsung hero of Nepal Impact

“The charities that IMS are partnered with are not only receiving a certain amount of funds but also the direct interaction between runners who are donating so they can see where their donation goes, to let them connect with the cause that makes the run all the more special.”

Reviews

JOSH, NEPAL IMPACT RUNNER, 2016 & 2019

I’m not terribly good at swearing…having said that...running in the Himalayas was f****** awesome.

The Impact

The Impact

We aim for all our Impact Runners to smash through at least £1000 of fundraising - this is what brings the Impact Week alive and leaves a lasting legacy in the communities we seek to serve… The Impact Marathon Foundation has the goal of catalyzing change and supporting tangible, grassroots organisations with our funds, affirmation and a platform to tell their story In Nepal we have year on year honed our approach to supporting the right charities to tackle the biggest problems. We have blended two very different, small, powerful organisations that tackle Gender Equality from two very different angles to bring the intangible nature of The Global Goals to be relatable, understandable and real for our Impact Runners.

SmartPaani

Water is life. And this year we are bringing back SmartPaani into the Impact Week in response to the core goals of Batase Community. SmartPaani is a social enterprise that installs and maintains sustainable clean water systems. We have one clear goal in 2023: install 10 water systems into all 10 schools in and around our host community. The impact of this work is immediate and exponentially powerful. From our previous projects we know that this one single change lowers water-borne illnesses that smash school attendance during monsoons. Clean water in rural community keeps children in school for longer. It is as simple as that. Your fundraising will have an impact in the short, medium, and long term - you will touch thousands of lives this November..

Burns Violence Survivors

With 56k of burns cases a year and only 2 hospital ward dedicated, this is a powerful project that goes right to the heart of Nepali culture. Not only tackling the care, but the prevention - a huge challenge when faced with the task of tackling domestic abuse and the use of acid in such attacks. Since starting the Nepal Impact Marathon we have funded 15 life-saving surgeries for burns victims, and with your support we can really ramp that up this year. This is not an issue that has easy solutions, it’s not a topic that most larger organisations can prioritise, but someone has to. We love the passion and compassion of this tiny team, with tiny overheads. We love how our funds have the tangible impact of genuinely saving lives, one at a time. Since 2015, our Impact Runners have directly funded over 400 life-saving, and life-changing surgeries. You will be adding to that number, you will be deeply impact lives with every dollar you raise for our friends at BVS Nepal.

FAQs

An Impact Marathon is not just a race. It is a life-changing experience. For one week, you will be taken into the Impact Family, meet people from all over the world united in a movement to change the world for the better, through the power of running.

It is advised to book them in the afternoon on Sunday, due to the long bus ride back from the mountain.

No, there will be a lorry to transport all your belongings. You should carry a day bag with you.

A in depth briefing will take place on the Monday, the first day of the week-long event.

International flights, airport transfer, travel insurance, rest day lunch, visa and alcohol/snacks.

Nepal Impact Marathon 2023

Nepal 20 - 26 November 2023 6 nights

Coming soon

Coming Soon