MIRA RAI

The Happiest runner

Nepal, 30 years old

Mira provides women from her country with hope for a different future. She is generous, determined and sometimes a little reckless.She grew up in the remote countryside where she had to walk for miles to get food and drink for her family, she then became a child soldier before fate brought her to Italy in 2014 where the trail world discovered an extraordinary athlete and personality

"As far as I remember, I have been running and moving fast my whole life. As someone who was born and raised in a remote village in the mountains, I used to run up and downhill to go to school, cut grass for livestock, carry food, water, etc. At the time I didn’t know it was ‘trail running’ but I have been doing it ever since I could run.

When I won the Himalayan Outdoor Festival Race (50k) back in 2014, I didn't even know I was competing in an actual trail race, let alone winning it. I thought I was just out for a practice run. I was motivated to pursue that. That’s when my trail running career started off."