Mira Rai grew up in a remote mountain village in Nepal. She always dreamed of being successful in sport despite all the challenges that she & other Nepali girls face. Running away from home at 14 years old, Mira joined the Maoist army until as a young adult, she traveled the long distance to Kathmandu to try her luck. Out of money, she was about to return home to her village, when by chance on a morning run, she meets another runner who tells her about a long distance running race in the local hills. She wins it and soon begins to realize her tough mountain village upbringing has prepared her perfectly for this sport.
Mira helped train other promising young female athletes from rural Nepal to complete on the international stage and organized many trail races in Kathmandu. She has become an inspiration to many girls across the country.
Mira says, “I grew up in a remote village and walking on trails, collecting fodder for animals, or wood, or to walk to friends houses and school was normal. To collect water was 30 mins straight downhill and more coming back up. When I was younger, there were no shops. My mum had to walk for two days to get salt and other basic things. She needed someone to go with her so I went with her. I recently found there was a sport like this, running on trails like I did at home – wow! So trail running is like home for me, it’s natural. Life is short, I want to do something good and earn a name for girls in this country, and hopefully race internationally so people will know about Nepal. Since I was small, I wanted to be in sports and reach national level. Before sponsorship I had no opportunities. Now my confidence gone up a lot and I can work on doing my best.”
Visit Mira at: https://www.facebook.com/mirarainepal/
