INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
OKHALDHUNGA, MARCH 3Okhaldhunga Tourism Development Committee in association with the Nepal Tourism Board and
Khijidemba Rural Municipality successfully organised an ultra-marathon covering a distance of 42 kilometres on the lap of Pikey Peak in the
Two killed, 11 injured in Okhaldhunga road accident
Suman Kulung, Sunmaya Budha win Khijidemba Ultra Trail Race
According to Ngawa Ngima Sherpa, Chairman of Okhaldhunga Tourism Development Committee, Suman Kulung Rai of
Solukhumbu won the ultra trail race in the male category, completing the race in 3 hours and 49 minutes
Similarly, in the female category, Sunmaya Budha of Jumla bagged the first prize completing the race in 4 hours and 41 minutes
Tirtha Tamang of Bhojpur (3 hours, 50 minutes), Arjun Kulung Rai of Solukhumbu (3 hours, 55 minutes) and Mohan Dev Joshi of Baitadi (4 hours
and 8 minutes) stood second, third and fourth in the male category respectively.
Likewise, Manju Rawat of Jumla stood
second completing the race in 5 hours and 11 minutes while Priya Rai of Khotang and Nitu Tamang of Sindhupalchowk stood second and third in
the female category making it in 5 hours, 11 minutes and 3 seconds, and 5 hours and 19 minutes respectively.Among local racers from
Okhaldhunga, Kirti Rai (4 hours, 18 minutes), Rabindra Tamang (4 hours 19 minutes) and Devraj Sunuwar and Prithilal Rai (4 hrs, 33 minutes
each) bagged the first, second and third position in the male category, while female runners Padam Kumari Sunuwar (5 hrs, 33 minutes and 1
second), Hirumaya Bhujel ( 6 hours and 19 minutes) and Anita Sunuwar ( 6 hours and 29 minutes) bagged the first, second and third prize
respectively.There were a total of 58 athletes, including one each from Kathmandu University and Kenya
The route of the race follows the beautiful pastures between Pikey Peak (4,200m) and Demba (3,150m) and runs down to Chuplung Banjhyang
(2,600m), with the finishing point in Khijipalathe (2,500m).According to Gambu Sherpa, the ultra-marathon was organised in coordination with
Nepal Tourism Board to promote adventure sports in the Pikey region."The top three athletes in both male and female categories received Rs
70,000, Rs 55,000 and Rs 45,000 respectively," Gambu Sherpa said
"The marathon aims to promote adventure tourism along the Pikey region that adjoins Solukhumbu and Okhaldhunga districts," he said."The
trail race is not just a running event, but truly a once-in-alifetime experience where the OTDC will support the local community by
organising various kinds of programmes such as health camp, education, awareness programmes for the public, and home-stay programmes," he
shared.Participants shared that it was a pleasant race along the open narrow strip of pasture land sandwiched between a forest of
rhododendron and coniferous plants."Pikey region has great potential for adventure tourism
Numerous mountains including Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Gaurishankar and Makalu can also be viewed from Pikey peak," Sherpa said, adding
that the marathon would be helpful in promoting the lower belt of Mt Everest region nationally and internationally.A version of this article
appears in the print on March 4, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com