• Ex-PLA member breaks course record

KATHMANDU: Nepali ultra-runner Mira Rai won the Mont Blanc Skyrunner World Series in Chamonix Mont-Blanc Valley, France on Saturday.

Rai finished the race — 82km in distance with upto 6,000m altitude — in 12 hours, 32 minutes and 12 seconds to win the women’s overall section gold medal in the second edition of the competition. “After my birthday, this is the day of my life,” Rai told trails-endurance.com after winning the race. “And I thank everyone for supporting me as I ran for my country,” she added.

Rai, who hails from Bhojpur and was a member of PLA for two years during Maoist insurgency, was a runaway leader as she left her opponents way back finishing the race almost 21 minutes. She also broke the course record, beating previous edition’s 12:38:49 set by Sweden’s Tina-Emelie Forsberg.