Mikołaj “Miki” Kowalski-Barysznikow, sponsored by global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, will run in Kilimanjaro Extreme Marathon 2017 on 9 December 2017. This first ever extreme marathon at Africa’s highest mountain Kilimanjaro is competing in the Guinness World Records in the highest altitude marathon category.
Kilimanjaro Extreme Marathon will begin at Uhuru Peak, at the altitude of 5,985 metres above sea level, which is over 500 metres higher than the marathon at Mount Everest with the starting line at 5,333 metres above sea level. Kilimanjaro Extreme Marathon will be the first official, international race at the Kilimanjaro National Park and is likely to make it into the Guinness World Records. The initiator and organiser of the event is a Polish man Michał Gawron.
Mikołaj Kowalski-Barysznikow, who previously worked in Cushman & Wakefield’s Office Agency, for the last three years has been the editor of ULTRA – dalej niż marathon, Poland’s only magazine on extreme long-distance running.
As part of preparations for Kilimanjaro Extreme Marathon 2017, Mikołaj took part in two ultramarathons in which he ran 220 km in total. On 1 September, he completed a 100-kilometre long route at the world’s largest trail-running event Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) in the Alps with passes at altitudes of 2,700-2,800 metres above sea level. The race’s elevation gain totalled 6,000 m. Last October, in another ultramarathon organised in Turkey’s Cappadocia, Mikołaj covered a distance of 120 km.
Kilimanjaro Extreme Marathon 2017 is the first-ever race at Mount Kilimanjaro. “Running approximately 43 km at such a high altitude is a gruelling stress for the human body, but it’s a challenge I simply couldn’t resist. Firstly, because I’ve never run at such altitudes and secondly because it’s the most interesting race and the greatest sports challenge in my life. Besides, I’ve never been in Africa. I feel very humble before the start but I have no fear,” says Mikołaj Kowalski-Barysznikow.
Limited connectivity permitting, Mikołaj will report on his extremely short five-day acclimatization period from 4 to 8 December. He will also do his best to post reports on the Facebook fanpage of Cushman & Wakefield Poland from the Kilimanjaro Extreme Marathon, which will start on 9 December at 8 am (6 am Polish time).
The expedition will end on 14 December.
Mikołaj can be followed at: www.facebook.com/CushWakeCE/ or using hashtags #cushwakenaszczycie #cushwakeontop #cwrunner.
You can watch live coverage of Mikołaj during the race (subject to GPS availability) at: http://app2.trackcourse.com/view/kilithon-2017
For more information on the race go to: http://kiliextrememarathon.com/