The ultra-runner started her career as an athlete in Nepal when she was a child soldier. Now she’s an international star and national hero

I grew up in a village of only four houses in the middle of the jungle in the hills of Bhojpur district, eastern Nepal. Our family was poor so I had to work alongside my parents and brother, and walked for hours every day to collect firewood and grass for our goats and cows. I had to climb trees and got so good at it my friends said I was like a monkey.

I carried 10kg on my back since before I can remember and would frequently walk for two days up and down steep hills, just to get salt, cooking oil and other goods from our nearest market. Slowly, I started to love those walks.

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I become a Maoist guerilla when I was about 14. The civil war was at its peak and the Maoist rebels came to my village. I was fascinated by their speeches and talking to female combatants. I’d always wanted to leave my village and do something with my life. The Maoists said they would give me opportunities, and that women and men were treated equally. I was the only girl from my village to join them.

I was too young to fight, but I was trained. I was moved to a jungle camp, where we built everything ourselves. That increased my self-confidence and made me self-reliant. I started running almost two hours a day and loved the sound of my footsteps on the stones and rocks. I stayed with the rebels until they were incorporated into the Nepalese army and I was disqualified by the UN for being a child soldier.

Until May 2014 I didn’t know that ultra-running athletics existed. My trainer from my guerilla days told me about a 50km race around Kathmandu. I didn’t know I should carry food and water and I didn’t wear proper running shoes. I almost fainted from hunger, but someone gave me food and I finished it.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘I went to upper Mustang near the Chinese border, west of Kathmandu, for a race. It was like heaven, the white mountains.’ The village of Tangge, upper Mustang, Nepal. Photograph: Alamy

That race changed my life. I was invited to Italy to race in the Dolomites. It was my first time abroad and on a plane, and I spoke little English and missed my connecting flight, but I won the 57km race and set a new record.

I cannot live without running. I get to see the sun rise over the hills. I am addicted to the beauty

The longest run I’ve done is 110km in Spain, when I came second. I’ve visited eight countries, and every one is amazing. Wherever I go it strikes me how busy life is. In Nepal, people are more relaxed, doing nothing but still surviving. I believe God might be behind this. There are many temples looking after Nepal.

I think Nepal has more natural beauty than any country I’ve visited. I went to upper Mustang near the Chinese border, west of Kathmandu, for a race. It was like heaven, the white mountains, red rock, dried but beautiful trees. Simply beautiful.

My day starts at 5am with beans and egg – if it’s available. I run for five or six hours a day, even in winter, in the northern hills of the Kathmandu valley. I cannot live without running. I get to see the sun rise over the hills. I am addicted to the beauty.

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As a Nepali woman, it’s difficult to break social barriers, and I never believed I could live this way. Becoming a Maoist combatant was a good step. Now youngsters are inspired by me. They say, we are doing the same as you, running in the hills, carrying water on our back, walking for hours on sloppy earth, rocks and stones.

My happiest moment was when I won a race in France after the Nepal earthquake. People at home were devastated by the destruction but the news brought a smile to their faces. I received some overwhelming messages and realised I was doing something good for my country.

I will run as long as my health allows. I’m like the sea, where the water flows and flows. I just want to run and run.



