Guinness world record for Westbrook adventurer Tom Basson
Of the 34 athletes who started the trek, three turned back owing to acute mountain sickness, while a fourth was transported to Kathmandu via helicopter. Of the 19 who pushed on, only nine were able to finish.
Westbrook adventurer Tom Basson officially had his name entered into the Guinness World Records after overcoming overwhelming odds to secure second place in the international back-to-back epic endurance races on Mount Everest which ended at the weekend.
The Grace Family Church Umhlanga pastor not only completed the punishing Altitude Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) World Championship, but also the World’s Highest Obstacle Course challenge.
His entry into the Guinness World Records was for the most total ascent and descent in an OCR race – some 10 000 metres.
The father of two and husband to motivational speaker Jess Basson, recounted the details of his epic journey which began on November 8, speaking to the Courier while on board a bus in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
The back-to-back events include several treks from location to location in blistering conditions with added harsh and strenuous tasks which have to be completed, designed to push athletes to the limit.
Basson said his achievement marked the culmination of months of tough training, fundraising and preparation.
Basson said while the course was only 3km long, it included a vertical 500m ascent, before descending again to face the bulk of the obstacles.
“To add insult to injury they had a 20kg sandbag carry over 50 metres at the summit. Temperatures were around -20 degrees Celsius.
“I was only too happy to drop the bag and race down to Gorakshep. By the time I reached the bottom my hands were a little less frozen and I managed to complete all the obstacles without too much hassle,” Basson said, noting his completion time of 94 minutes.
Next came the murderous marathon, which took just shy of nine hours to complete. Basson said it felt surreal to be running so isolated while surrounded on all sides by the majestic and sacred mountain range.
While there were moments he had to pinch himself in disbelief at his luck to be taking part, there were also times of real struggle.
“The 10km detour to Chukhung (4 730m), which included a horrible, seemingly never-ending 5km climb, was really tough. After that, however, I realised I may actually have a chance of doing well and that kept me motivated to push hard over the last few hours.”
“When I realised I was going to finish second, I began to cry and paused for a minute to pray and thank God for keeping me safe and bringing me so far.”
At 5.21pm, nearly 11 hours after starting the race, he crossed the finish line.
“The magnitude of this is still sinking in,” Basson said.
Of the 34 athletes who started the trek, three turned back owing to acute mountain sickness (AMS), while a fourth was transported to Kathmandu via helicopter. Of the 19 who pushed on, only nine were able to finish.
“Among those nine three are professional mountain runners, and two former world champion adventure racers with years of ultra-running and orienteering experience. For them to say the race was one of the toughest they have ever done says a lot.”
Basson is expected back home on Friday.
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