The Everest Marathon, Peter Counsell can admit, is "absolutely insane".
Nonetheless, the 65-year-old from Batemans Bay on the New South Wales South Coast will board a plane next month as one of about 50 people from across the world taking up the 42-kilometre challenge.
If other years are anything to go by, it is likely only 80 per cent of those who enter will even make it to the starting line at Mount Everest base camp.
"It takes about 10 or 11 days of trekking just to get to the start so just getting there is an achievement," Mr Counsell said.
"The last time it ran a guy broke his shoulder, another got altitude sickness, a couple had to be lifted out by helicopter.
Low oxygen, yaks, tiny trails and ice
The Everest Marathon is considered one of the toughest races in the world, with a starting point at 5,364 metres above sea level.
Runners pick their way down through the Sherpa trails of the Khumba Valley dodging yaks making their way up the narrow paths and fighting a mental battle against fatigue and low oxygen levels.
In its 19th year, the race will commemorate the first recorded ascent of Mt Everest by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953.
"My only goal is to beat a Nepali porter who carry 20 or 30 kilograms on their back," Mr Counsell said.
"If I can achieve that, I'll be very happy."
Typically it takes runners double the time they would normally complete a marathon.
Deepak Rai, a Nepali runner, holds the course record of 3 hours and 28 minutes, while Antoine Bonfils from France holds the fastest time for a non-Nepali runner in 4 hours and 50 minutes.
No one has ever beaten a Nepali on the Everest run.
Mr Counsell has been trekking in Nepal for 40 years and ran guided walking tours in the 80s.
He first heard about the marathon four years ago when he noticed a running shirt pinned up in a tea house in the Himalayas.
"That was it, my heart was set," he said.
"It's the adventure of a lifetime."
From sea level to the top of the world
For at least the first 10 kilometres there will be less than half the oxygen Mr Counsell is used to on the coast.
"To be really honest it's almost impossible to really train for the conditions you experience," he said.
"As we go progressively downhill, theoretically it should get easier to breath."
Mr Counsell completed his first marathon at 38 years of age and is the oldest competitor in this years race.
He has done three marathons in the past six months to prepare and runs at least 30 kilometres a week.
"I've been throwing in a few hills too," he said.
While it will certainly be a gruelling physical challenge, it will also be a mental battle.
"I'm sure the body will hold up, but it's more of a mental thing. That's the real challenge," Mr Counsell said.
Mr Counsell hopes his adventure will inspire others to pull out their passports again.
"Nepal really relies on the tourism industry and they're doing it really tough," he said.
"Hopefully I can encourage people to get back over there."
