Sunmaya Budha hopes to challenge gender norms in Nepal with UTMB CCC heroics – ‘I’m no less than a boy’
- ‘I will be capable someday of taking care of my family much better than a boy,’ says Budha, who was neglected as a baby in a patriarchal society
- The Hong Kong-based runner’s time of 11 hours and 45 minutes is the second fastest in the history of prestigious race at Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc
As Sunmaya Budha crossed the finish line in second place at last month’s Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc’s Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix (CCC) race, fans cheered and shared in the joy of her moment.
It might have been 100 kilometres from the start line, but it was symbolically a million miles from where she began her life, in a society that seemed not to care if she lived or died because she was a girl.
The CCC, which starts in Courmayeur and ends in Chamonix, attracts scores of fans and the top ultra runners in the world. Budha’s time of 11 hours and 45 minutes is the second fastest in history, slower only than August 25’s race winner.
“What would I have done if I wasn’t running, if I wasn’t discovered by the right people and the team?” she said. “Most of my friends get married at 16, some even at 14. Many have children now.”
![Sunmaya Budha [left] flies the flag of Nepal on the finish line of the CCC.](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2022/09/07/7886d2c3-7c12-4117-8426-b78626e8fefb_3c29b697.jpg "Sunmaya Budha [left] flies the flag of Nepal on the finish line of the CCC.")
“My parents gave birth to seven girls to try and have one boy, because girls are burdens for the poor families in my culture. I was on the verge of death due to malnutrition when I was a baby, and perhaps it wouldn’t have made any difference to my family if I was alive or dead.
