Mira Rai loves having a mountain to climb
Improving by leaps and bounds, Nepali ace tackles Lantau ultra event
Growing up in a remote village in the eastern hills of Nepal, Mira Rai had no idea people ran in the mountains for sport. Legs were for carrying heavy loads of rice to support her parents and four siblings.
These days, her legs are supporting her in her pursuit of becoming Nepal's first female professional ultrarunner.
Rai, 23, is in Hong Kong to defend her MSIG Lantau 50 ultra-marathon title on Sunday after finishing as the first female - and fifth overall - in the first race of the series in October.
She has this open, fearless personality, and I think really just enjoys the excitement of running in competition
It was her fourth straight win in an international race: in September, on her first-ever trip outside Nepal, she got off a plane in Italy and won two races in a row.
She warmed up for today's event with victory in the Vertical Kilometre up Lantau Peak, charging to the top in 48 minutes and 32 seconds. Remarkably, she only ran her first ultra in March.
Inspired to break down gender inequality in Nepal and told she would make a better runner than karate champ (she has a brown belt), Rai moved to Kathmandu two years ago to pursue the life of a professional road runner. She had no luck.
Broke and about to make the dejected journey home, friends persuaded her to take part in her first ultramarathon last March. She won the race, collected US$100 and a pair of shoes, and found a new path in life.