Nepali runners dominated the recently concluded Annapurna Mandala Trail, which organisers say, is the "world's highest race". On 23 March, Dacchiri Sherpa, a Nepali living in Switzerland, raced his way to victory. The race, covering 320km over eight days, took 31 marathoners across rice paddy fields at 800m and up to a height of 5400m through the Thorong Pass, before descending to Dhampus, near Pokhara. Sherpa, currently considered one of the leading mountain runners in Europe, had a comfortable two-hour lead over Nar Bahadur Shah, winner of the previous two races around the Annapurna. Shah was followed by Sumba Sherpa, Babu Raja Shrestha and Pasang Sherpa.