When Sunmaya Budha was in her early teens, she was on the verge of marrying her parents. Things were all but certain if she kept running, as her family was adamant about marriage.
She told her parents that she was going to the city to attend high school. But she joined a running club instead and started training to become a better runner.
This Saturday (August 27), after 11 hours and 45 minutes, she finished the 101-kilometer CCC UTMB Montblanc race in second place. It was just then that Sunmaya Budha burst onto the international scene. She finished the race just five minutes behind the winner. Her manner shows how much potential the young runner has.
recent achievements
Known as one of the toughest races in the world, this race was a huge achievement for Buddha and as soon as she crossed the finish line she was greeted by her mentor and supporter, Mira Rai, to her delight. This was especially special as Buddha suffered a severe Achilles tendon injury two months before her, but defying everyone, she came in second to her.
For Sunmaya Budha, this was exactly what she was trying to do. Since she started running at the age of 15, she has made her evolution as a runner, and now, at 23, she believes that if she continues to push the limits as she always has, she will become one of the best ever in the sport. I know I can be a player. A country like Nepal doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.
“We have won a lot of races, but the Nepali people don’t care. Sometimes we feel like we are not athletes. says.
all the way from Karnali
Sunmaya Budha started running at an early age. Growing up in Pele, a village in the northeastern part of Jumla in Karnali, she first ran in school events. Then she got the chance to participate in the President’s Running Shield. This is a grassroots event for runners held in all regional units across Nepal.
At just 13 years old, she performed well in this competition and began to attract the attention of those around her. One of them is former Olympian and long-distance runner Hari Bahadur Lokaya, a former Olympian and long-distance runner who won her marathon on Everest three times, and was also a coach for the National Sports Council. He wanted Buddha to join the running club.
“He was writing to my parents asking them to let me go to training, but my mother was worried that something bad would happen to me and that I would be sold. But in the end, after I finished 10th grade, I went running to Jumla,” says Buddha.
Joining Rokaya school, Sunmaya Budha started training regularly. She had won several track events by then, and she knew running was what she was good at. She says she had no regrets about not going to high school because she wasn’t very interested in her studies.
“If I was good at studying, I would have studied, but I knew I belonged on the track.
Through the club, she started attending track events in Kathmandu. She also started doing well in the marathon where she finished third in Dhahran.
“My parents were sad that I came in third because they didn’t understand what a marathon was and the level of competition I was facing.”
She began participating regularly in both road racing and track. Her people were watching her intently. After she continued to perform well in these races Mira Rai reached out to her and told her how much potential she had in. Rai went to her parents , persuaded Summaya Buddha to run free.
It was at the Godavari Running Festival that Rai and Richard Bull saw what she could do and invited her to join the Manaslu Trail Race. She was in 1st place every day during the 7-day event. This was unprecedented and many people were curious about who she was.
“Someone told Richard they wanted to sponsor me and send me to other races around the world.Since then, things have changed,” says Buddha.
run abroad to keep score
After that, Sunmaya Budha participated in various national and international competitions. She has been to China, Oman, Hong Kong and France and has won podiums in most of them. What she didn’t do, she impressed people because she was still a young runner.
These accolades were huge considering how she started out. In her childhood she ran without her shoes in most of the races she participated in in her own village. Even when she came to Kathmandu to run her 5,000m event at Dasharat Stadium, she ran barefoot because she didn’t know how to run in her shoes on the track. And barefoot, she won.
“The start was tough. When I started trail running, I ran with shoes that I bought for 800 rupees (less than US$7). I have.”
Sunmaya Budha says every event she attends abroad has taught her something new. However, she says she still has a long way to go. Her recent success in France is evidence that she is getting better and learning from the races she has participated in in Nepal and other countries.
“We are not interested in trail running. No one knows the potential these types of races have.”
And she is right. People from all over the world come to participate in these races. Her one event in the Golden Trail Series at Mardi Himal in 2019 was a huge success.
“I also want to run in Nepal with the support of many fans. That is my dream.”
Maybe that dream will soon come true for her. In July 2021, she signed with The North Face Adventures as an athlete with her team, becoming the first Nepali woman to sign for The North Face in several years. The North Face team her director, Ryan S. Blair, said after her signing how she wanted to support Buddha given her potential and ambitions.
Sunmaya Buda’s recent acclaim in France will be remembered for years to come, but many in the running world knew this was coming.
“I am very impressed with Sanmaya. She may be a little shy, but she is already very charismatic. I have no doubt that she will win the best races in the world in the next 10 to 15 years.” No. I hope she can visit Chamonix and run the UTMB Mont Blanc,” said UTMB Organizing Committee member Remi Duchmein in 2019.
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