North Face Adventure Team sign first full-time woman in years, who escaped arranged marriage by dedicating herself to ultra running

Sunmaya Budha, a Nepalese runner who avoided an arranged marriage to forge a running career, has earned a place in Asia’s North Face Adventure Team

Her courage and determination inspires Ryan Blair to bring her on board as the first full-time women on their team

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Sunmaya Budha is the first woman to join The North Face Adventure Team full-time. Photo: The North Face Adventure Team

Published: 8:30am, 1 Jul 2021Updated: 5:24pm, 1 Jul 2021

The incredible journey of Sunmaya Budha has taken another step – she has landed a full-time sponsorship with Asia’s famous The North Face Adventure Team.

Born into a poor region of subsistence farmers in Nepal and destined for and arranged marriage, Budha deceived her parents and attended a running academy. Her obvious talent has propelled her through the ranks to finally landing a full-time sponsor.

Budha has made a name for herself, winning the likes of the 130km multi-day Manaslu Trail Race (her first international race) and the 50km race at Oman by UTMB.

The team’s manager, Ryan Blair, has a knack of finding diamonds in the rough around Asia and helping to change their lives with sponsorship.

“Faced with really difficult circumstances, in such a tough environment, faced with being a subsistence farmer and an arranged marriage, she had the courage to stand up for herself,” Blair said. “She has that grit and determination.”

Sunmaya Budha training near Karnali Sports Club in Jumla, where she relocated to focus on running. Photo: The North Face Adventure Team