Nepali second in 24th Mt. Kinabalu International Climbathon

Sudip Kulung Rai

Good news for Nepali runner Sudip Kurung Rai. As you may know, Sudip is from the Everest region of Nepal and earlier this year he won the Everest Ultra, a 65 km race from the Everest base camp to Lukla. In his normal life he was a porter carrying heavy loads of supplies from the road head to the villages of the region.

He managed to grab first place in the Everest Ultra early this year – he heard about the race only the day before and ran the 15 km to the start. This brought him to the attention of Rob Cousins, a British coach who trained him and another runner called Bed from the Nepali Army and Project Davos was formed.

The Davos race proved a great learning experience. The results were not as hoped, but then racing is also a skill to be learned.

The 24th Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon is a short, tough race with rather a lot of very steep uphill – so much so that a rope is provided.

Congratulations to Sudip and also to Ramesh Bhattachan for sponsoring Sudip to make it to the race.