From rural Nepal life to ultra stardom
Sunmaya Budha has narrow victory amid epic battle in Wenling 70km race
Nepal’s Sunmaya Budha battled to a nine-second victory over China’s Xiang Fuzhao in the 70km Wenling Golden Coast Trail Race, cementing her rise from poverty and an arranged marriage to ultra-running stardom.
The pair collapsed at the finish line, having exchanged the lead back and forth for more than seven hours. Budha, 25, said she could hardly breathe during the last few hundred metres.
“I didn’t have much idea about this race but was told it’s one of the biggest and most important races in China so I thought there would be some good competition,” Budha said.
“When I learned Fuzhao was racing 70km I knew she would be one of hardest to beat.”
On the International Trail Running Association rankings, Xiang is No 2 in Asia for all distances and Budha a place below. Xiang, 32, is also the No 2 woman worldwide for 100km.
Budha finished in seven hours, six minutes and 17 seconds, beating the course record by 10 minutes, previously held by Miao Yao, who is ranked No 4 in the world for 100km.
Wenling has become one of the largest and most competitive trail and ultra races in China. It grew from around 1,500 runners last year to 4,500 across three distances, including the 70km. The region is on the coast, about five hours south of Shanghai.
There is live television coverage and prize money of 30,000 yuan (HK$32,500) for the winner of the feature race.
For Budha, the victory transcends sport. She was born into a poverty stricken area in Nepal with few prospects. She had been destined for an arranged marriage when she secretly started going to a running academy.
Her parents only found out when they heard on the radio she had finished third in a race – they demanded she come home. Budha refused and stuck to her own, risky path.
As her success grew, opportunities and prize money followed. Her family eventually came round and now Budha’s success helps to support them in Nepal.
“Thinking about the past is not enough for me, I can do much more,” Budha said. “Also, this is my job and my career and I want to help my future and family more.”
In 2022, she finished second at the 100km CCC during the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in Chamonix, the most high profile ultra event in the world.
“The CCC was my biggest breakthrough performance but this [Wenling] one was very good to start 2024,” she said. “It’s a big win for me – especially in China. I was supposed to race HK100 as my first race with Kailas but had an ankle injury that took more time to recover and Kailas was very supportive when I had to skip that important and big race.
“It’s so important to have sponsors who understand all athletes have to deal with injuries and cannot always be 100 per cent or even ready to race.”
“It was a very hard race battling together like that back and forth, but this also gave me more energy to push in the race,” Budha said. “The mental side was a big challenge as the whole race I was strategising what to do next and also managing my cramps.”
In the final few hundred metres, Budha told herself just to try her best and that she would be happy either way.
Budha’s manager, Ryan Blair, leader of the Asia-Pacific Adventure team, said it was “certainly the most epic head-tohead battle between two elite woman I have ever witnessed. Sunmaya showed not just her athletic talent but her strategic wisdom and tactical experience to pull off this epic win.”