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At Everest base camp, most trekkers are focused on the upward climb.

But UWA technical officer Kevin Johnson was concentrating on the downward run during his few days at the camp in the Himalayas in May.

Kevin is one of about 120 marathon runners from all over the world who competed in the tenth annual Everest Marathon to mark the anniversary of the first successful summit by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

The first event was held to mark the 50 ^th anniversary of the victorious ascent.  Kevin and his co-runners set off on their marathon run down the mountain from base camp on 29 May, the 60 ^th anniversary.

A New Zealander by birth, Kevin felt especially proud to be marking the anniversary of his famous countryman's achievement.

"We flew to Kathmandu and spent a few days there before flying in a tiny plane to Lukla, which is listed as the most extreme airport runway in the world," Kevin said. "It's at 2,800 metres above sea level and the runway is carved out of the side of a mountain, with a sheer drop at the end of it."

After acclimatising in Lukla, the runners began the 10-day trek to base camp. The climbing was interspersed with three days of staying at the same altitude to avoid altitude sickness.

"We spent a few days at base camp at 5,365 m (about 3,500 m below the peak of Everest) and took a hike of just over five kilometres one day to a lookout where we could see Everest," Kevin said. "You can't actually see it from base camp. It's hidden behind other mountains."

The runners set off at 7am on 29 May and the first part of their marathon was run over glacial ice. "It was pretty treacherous, but I was wearing good trail shoes.  After the ice, it became very rocky and we had to keep looking down at the ground. I only fell over once!"

Kevin took eight hours 48 minutes to run 42 kilometres - much longer than a marathon would take on flat land.

"I've run about 30 marathons over 15 years, all over Australia and some overseas, including the Comrades Ultra Marathon of 90km in South Africa. But I've never done one at altitude before."

Kevin and his friends from the WA Marathon Club trained for the Everest event in the Perth hills.  "But 300m above sea level doesn't really prepare you for the Himalayas," he said.  "It just got us used to running downhill."

He said he didn't suffer from altitude sickness and attributed it to keeping hydrated.  "I don't think it's got anything to do with how fit you are.  I think it's just matter of body chemistry," he said.

Kevin backed up for his 11 ^th Perth Marathon just two weeks after arriving home from Nepal.

The man who runs roughly the equivalent of a marathon each week said he would recommend the Everest race.

"It just takes a long time to get to the starting line!" he said.