NEPALI mountain RUNNING ATHLETES

Nepali children from remote villages grow up naturally training on the challenging trails of Nepal. Due to the remoteness and relative inaccessibility due to challenging hilly terrains, they have spent hours walking up and down to their schools, fields, farms and also the nearest villages connected via foot trails.

Since 2012, athletes from Nepal had been invited by the international running communities to represent Nepal in the international races as a team as well as a solo athlete. Bhim Gurung, Sameer Tamang etc have been world class runners in the Skyrunning Championships. In 2014, Mira Rai’s ultra running success and her unique story sparked immense interest in the running community towards Nepal. And since 2016, we have seen rising number of world-class trail running champions from Nepal. With proper support and guidance they can bring Nepal to the forefront of the ultra-running sports in the World as some have already demonstrated.

In 2021, Sunmaya Budha from Jumla became the first Nepali woman selected as full time professional athlete with the North Face Asia Pacific Adventure Team.