Anna Frost's next big race is the Everest Marathon. It is one of the toughest long-distance races in the world and runners must be fully acclimatised to take part.
It is dangerous racing in the high altitudes and it is mandatory for all runners to acclimatise naturally together during a 25-day stay in Nepal.
The preparation includes a 16-day trek to the start under medical supervision, and ascents of Gokyo Ri (5483m) and Kala Pattar (5623m).
Frost (27), who started competitive running in Dunedin when she was a pupil at Otago Girls High School, has been based overseas for two years.
She won the inaugural Commonwealth mountain running championships in the English Lakes District in September and was third in the long-course world championships in Austria last month.
The Everest Marathon, the highest long-distance race in the world, will be held on December 4.
The start is at a height of 5184m at Gorak Shep close to the Everest Base Camp.
The finish is at the Sherpa town of Namche Bazaar at 3446m and the course is a measured 42km (full marathon) over rough mountain trails.
The race has been held 12 times since 1987.
The course is basically downhill but there are two steep uphill sections.
There may be snow and ice on the upper areas, and the race is suitable only for runners with recent experience of cross-country, fell or mountain running and endurance events.
Frost won the 9km Commonwealth championships in a time of 48min 06sec from English runners Katie Ingram, 48min 43sec, and Rebecca Robinson, 49min 12sec.
The world long-course championships was run over a 42km course that climbed to 2000m.
"It was a long race for me after a season of not many long races," Frost said in an email.
"Near the end of the race I was very tired, but with just 2km left I was still in fourth place. I caught sight of the Russian who was in third spot and it gave me the boost I needed to catch her which I did with about a kilometre to go."
Czech runner Anna Pichrtova won the race in 2hr 28min 57.4sec from Evgeny Danilova (Russia), 3hr 29min 23sec, and Frost, 3hr 33min 20.9sec.
The men's title was won by Jonathan Wyatt (New Zealand) in 3hr 12min 04sec.
Frost has been based in North Wales for two years with her boyfriend, and has worked in Llangollen, a small village, as a physical education teacher and sport development officer.
"I have been struggling with a knee injury for over a year," Frost said. "I had an arthroscopy to remove a skin fold that was getting in the way but it didn't seem to solve the puzzle.
"For a lot of the season I was unable to run pain-free and decided to focus on long walks and road bike rides at high altitude in the mountains of Switzerland, Austria and Italy."
Over the past two months, Frost has increased her running time, especially uphill, and she won the Predazzo vertical kilometre and the Drei Zinnen races in Italy.
Frost's goal for the next few years is to race professionally in Europe.
She intends to return to Dunedin in April to visit friends and family and race the New Zealand championships.
