Written by Molly Mikita for ATRA corporate member One World Trekking. Essay contest winner Molly Mikita checked in with ATRA about her training and preparation for her trip to the event.
We are working with a new non-profit in Nepal, as the original group we had planned to work with has dissolved. We are excited to be working with the Himalayan Youth Foundation and specifically the Kailash Home in Kathmandu. One of my husband Drew’s colleagues at Colorado Mountain College has worked with Kailash Home in the past and connected us to them. They are an orphanage that focuses a great deal on education programs for the children.
We also found out that a few of the older children from Kailash Home are running the Mt. Everest Marathon as well. After the run we plan to spend a day or two at the Kailash Home to see how we can be the most helpful with fundraising in the future. We should be able to give them enough in May to fund at least one child’s education needs for the next year.
I have been making crocheted hats and selling them online and at Vertical Runner in Breckenridge, CO, to raise money for the trip and for the Kailash Home and for Girls on The Run (the other non-profit we continue to support). I will be brining hats for our guides and for the children at Kailash (to purchase a hat visit: breckenridgecrafts.com).
For training, we have both been spending as much time as we can out in the mountains. On skis and foot, we are busy increasing our mileage and making sure we are ready for the run of a lifetime!
The 2016 trip dates are May 15 to June 3, with the race on May 29 (the day Hillary and Tenzing summited Everest in 1953). For details visit: OneWorldTrekking.com.
