Nepal is internationally known for the Himalayas, trekking, mountaineering, and adventure tourism. But in recent years, another sport has been rapidly gaining recognition: trail running or ultra marathon with significant results by endurance athletes in Asia. Nepali endurance athletes have been documenting Asia and also performing world class in ultra running world stages like world Major races and UTMB world series .
With some of the world's most spectacular mountain landscapes, challenging terrain, diverse cultures, and thousands of kilometres of mountain trails, Nepal has everything needed to become a major international trail-running destination.
The growth of Asia Trail Master (ATM) qualifying races in Nepal is helping make that possibility a reality.
Asia Trail Master has created an international competitive platform connecting trail runners across Asia. For Nepalese athletes, ATM races provide an opportunity to compete for international ranking points on home soil. For international runners, they offer a chance to race in one of the world's most extraordinary mountain environments and at the same time see the world's highest mountains from the race course of trek to the Himalayas after the race as they are already in Nepal.
Most importantly, ATM races could become a bridge between sport, tourism, athlete development, and local economic opportunities in Nepal.
Nepal's Journey with Asia Trail Master
Nepal's connection with Asia Trail Master is not new. Nepal was previously part of the ATM race calendar, but after several years away, the country returned to the series in 2024. After the historical win by Rashila Tamang in 2023. In 2023 Rashila Tamang and Chhoki Sherpa travelled all the way to Malaysia for the qualifying race supported by T8 Talent fund, the company from Hong Kong. They found the potential of Rashila for Asia and along with the CEO of Asia Trail Master and T8 they invited both of them to qualify for the ATM. Rashila and Chhoki both had an amazing performance in the races but Chhoki could not make it to the final due to her toe injury before the race. Tamang had the outstanding performance in the final which was held in Indonesia and become first person to win Asia Trail Master title from Nepal
The return was significant because races such as the Manjushree Trail Race and Jumla Rara Ultra gave Nepali runners opportunities to compete for Asia Trail Master Championship points without having to travel abroad. And there are Fishtail ultra and Pokhara ultra newly selected for qualifying races from Nepal.
Athlete Development and the Growth of Trail Running in Nepal
For developing athletes, access to Asia Trail Master (ATM) qualifying races in Nepal is particularly important. International trail racing can be financially and logistically challenging, with expenses related to international travel, visas, flights, accommodation, race entry fees, equipment, and transportation often limiting the number of overseas races a Nepali athlete can participate in.
Hosting ATM qualifying races in Nepal helps reduce these barriers by providing athletes with the opportunity to compete for international ranking points and gain experience against high-level international runners on their home terrain. This creates a more accessible pathway for Nepali athletes to progress from national competition to the international stage.
Manjushree Trail Race: Nepal's Gateway to International Trail Running
Among Nepal's ATM events, the Manjushree Trail Race (MTR) has emerged as one of the country's leading international trail-running events.
Held around the Kathmandu Valley Rim, MTR combines challenging mountain terrain with forests, traditional villages, cultural landscapes, and panoramic Himalayan views. Its 100-mile course traverses the ridges surrounding the Kathmandu Valley and includes demanding sections around areas such as Nagarjun and Shivapuri. With more than 85% of the course on single-track trails, the race provides an authentic and technically demanding mountain-running experience.
The inclusion of the 100-mile and 50 km categories as Asia Trail Master Championship Qualifiers has further elevated the race's international significance.
MTR is therefore more than a local sporting event. It has become part of an established international trail-running championship system, connecting Nepal's athletes and trails with the wider Asian trail-running community.
Nepalese Athletes Making History
The strongest evidence of Nepal's potential in international trail running is the success of its athletes.
Rashila Tamang: Asia Trail Master Champion
Nepal reached a significant milestone when Rashila Tamang became the 2023 Asia Trail Master Women's Champion.
Her achievement demonstrated that Nepali athletes could compete successfully against some of the strongest trail runners in Asia. More importantly, her success provided inspiration for Nepal's emerging trail-running community and demonstrated that athletes from Nepal could reach the highest levels of competition in the region.
Priya Rai Continues the Success
Nepal's success continued in 2024 when Priya Rai became the Asia Trail Master Women's Champion.
The achievement was further strengthened by Team Nepal winning the 2024 ATM Team Championship, ahead of several established trail-running nations in Asia.
Winning consecutive women's individual championships in 2023 and 2024, together with the team title in 2024, demonstrated that Nepal's success was not limited to a single athlete. It reflected the growing depth, competitiveness, and development of Nepal's trail-running community.
Success at the Manjushree Trail Race
The Manjushree Trail Race has also become an important platform for Nepalese athletes to compete at an international standard.
Nepali runners have consistently achieved strong results across the 100-mile and shorter ATM qualifying distances. Athletes including Arjun Rai Kulung, Nirmala Rai, Priya Rai, Man Kumar, and Rashila Tamang have produced notable performances in recent editions.
Arjun Rai Kulung, in particular, has established himself as one of the leading performers in the MTR 100-mile, with multiple victories in the event.
These performances are significant not only because of the results themselves, but because they provide Nepali athletes with international-level competition, exposure, and experience without requiring them to travel overseas.
What Asia Trail Master Means for Nepali Athletes
The presence of ATM qualifying races in Nepal provides several important opportunities for the country's trail runners.
International Ranking Opportunities
Nepali athletes can compete for valuable ATM Championship points on home soil. This provides a realistic pathway from domestic competition to the international stage and allows athletes to build their rankings without having to participate in numerous overseas events.
Reduced Financial Barriers
International competition requires considerable financial resources. By hosting ATM qualifying races in Nepal, athletes can reduce many of the costs associated with overseas racing, including:
International flights
Visas
Accommodation
International race entry fees
Ground transportation
Travel logistics
This can make international-level competition more accessible to talented athletes who may not yet have significant sponsorship support.
International Competition and Experience
ATM qualifying races bring international athletes to Nepal, allowing Nepali runners to compete directly against experienced trail runners from across Asia.
This exposure provides valuable opportunities to learn about different approaches to:
Race strategy
Training
Nutrition
Equipment
Recovery
Competition management
Such experience can accelerate the development of Nepalese athletes and improve their competitiveness at international events.
Sponsorship and Professional Opportunities
Strong performances and international rankings can also improve athletes' prospects for sponsorship.
As trail running continues to grow, successful Nepali athletes can become valuable ambassadors for:
Running and outdoor brands
Equipment manufacturers
Tourism companies
Airlines
Banks and financial institutions
Telecommunications companies
Sports nutrition brands
Sports and adventure organisations
International recognition can therefore help athletes move toward a more sustainable professional career in trail running.
A Pathway for the Next Generation
ATM can contribute to the development of a structured athlete pathway:
Local Trail Races → National Competition → ATM Qualifiers → Asian Competition → ATM Championship
Creating such a pathway could be particularly valuable for young runners from Nepal's mountain and hill regions.
Nepal's Next Generation of Trail Runners
Nepal has a natural advantage in developing endurance and mountain athletes. People living in the country's hills and mountains often grow up walking and travelling across steep and challenging terrain.
Regions such as Jumla, Dolpo, Mustang, Manang, Solukhumbu, Rasuwa, Humla, Ilam, Sankhuwasabha, and many other mountain districts have significant potential for developing future trail-running talent.
However, natural ability alone is not enough. To compete internationally, athletes need access to structured coaching, nutrition, equipment, medical support, training opportunities, race experience, and financial assistance.
ATM qualifying races can become an important component of this development system by providing talented athletes with regular opportunities to compete at a higher level.
From Race Tourism to Sports Tourism
Traditional tourism is often centred on sightseeing and visiting established attractions. Trail-running tourism offers a more active, immersive, and experience-driven form of travel.
International runners do not come to Nepal simply to admire the Himalayas. They come to experience the mountains firsthand—running through forests, crossing mountain ridges, passing traditional villages, interacting with local communities, and experiencing Nepal's landscapes at human speed.
This creates a deeper connection between visitors and the destination while introducing Nepal to a new segment of international adventure travellers.
Trail running therefore gives Nepal an opportunity to expand its tourism identity—from a destination known primarily for trekking in the Himalayas to a destination where people can also race through them.
For Nepal, the opportunity extends beyond hosting individual races. By combining world-class trails, international competition, local communities, and responsible tourism, the country can develop trail running into a significant sports tourism product with benefits for athletes, businesses, and mountain communities.
Beyond Kathmandu: Taking Trail Running Across Nepal
Jumla and Rara Ultra
The Jumla Rara Ultra offers a unique trail-running experience far from Nepal’s major tourism centres. The race combines remote mountain landscapes, traditional communities, high-altitude trails, and the spectacular beauty of Rara Lake.
As an Asia Trail Master (ATM) qualifying race, Jumla Rara Ultra provides an important platform for both Nepali and international athletes to experience the less-explored western Himalayas while competing at an international level.
Beyond sport, the race has significant potential to promote Jumla and the Rara region as emerging adventure and sports tourism destinations, creating opportunities for local guides, accommodation providers, transport operators, homestays, and communities.
Pokhara Ultra / Fishtail Ultra
The Annapurna region and Pokhara are internationally recognised mountain tourism destinations and offer exceptional potential for trail running and sports tourism. Events such as the Pokhara Ultra and Fishtail Ultra, both organised by the private sector, are helping strengthen Pokhara’s position as a trail-running destination.
With both races now part of the Asia Trail Master (ATM) qualifying race calendar, they provide Nepali and international athletes with an opportunity to compete on challenging Himalayan trails while experiencing the natural beauty and cultural diversity of the Annapurna region.
The inclusion of these races in the ATM series also creates opportunities to attract international runners to Pokhara, increase visitor stays, promote local businesses, and connect trail running with adventure and sports tourism in Nepal.
More possibilities for the future in Nepal
Mustang
Mustang offers dramatic high-altitude landscapes, ancient villages, Buddhist culture, and unique Himalayan terrain.
Everest Region
The Everest region could become one of the world's most recognisable high-altitude trail-running destinations.
Langtang
Langtang provides another accessible Himalayan environment close to Kathmandu, with enormous potential for trail races and training camps.
Ilam
Ilam can be leading in the eastern himalayas trail running destination
Benefits for Local Communities
Trail running can also support communities outside Nepal's major tourism centres.
Local hotels
Homestays
Restaurants
Mountain guides
Porters
Drivers
Local shops
Photographers
Event staff
Tourism operators
Local producers
Unlike large stadium-based sporting events, trail races often move through rural communities.
This creates opportunities for tourism revenue to reach places that may not benefit significantly from conventional tourism.
Trail Running and Sustainable Tourism
Trail running can become an important part of sustainable tourism in Nepal, bringing international visitors into mountain and rural communities while encouraging environmental protection.
Through responsible race management, Nepal can focus on reducing plastic and waste, protecting and restoring trails, supporting local employment, involving communities, promoting sustainable transport, and raising environmental awareness.
ATM qualifying races in destinations such as Kathmandu, Pokhara, Jumla, and Rara can help spread tourism beyond traditional centres and create income for local guides, homestays, restaurants, transport providers, and other businesses.
With proper planning and cooperation with local communities, national parks, and conservation organisations, trail running can promote Nepal not only as a world-class adventure destination but also as a model for responsible and sustainable sports tourism.
The Bigger Vision for Nepal
Asia Trail Master qualifying races can become a powerful bridge between Nepalese athletes and the international trail-running community.
For athletes, they provide opportunities to compete, earn ranking points, gain international experience, and attract sponsorship. For tourism, they create a new reason for international visitors to travel to Nepal. For local communities, they can generate employment and economic opportunities. For Nepal as a whole, they offer an opportunity to establish the country as one of Asia's leading trail-running destinations.
Nepal has the mountains, thousands of kilometres of trails, talented endurance athletes, hospitable communities, and rich biodiversity. What Nepal needs is stronger government support, transparency, and a clear strategy to develop and monetise the trail-running industry while supporting the private sector that has helped build ultra running in Nepal.
The trail-running federation also needs to invest its resources strategically, work with experienced experts, and support long-term development rather than spending budgets on random races without a sustainable vision. People who have worked in this field for more than a decade have helped bring Nepal's trail-running industry to where it is today. With the right government policies, investment, and collaboration with these experienced stakeholders, Nepal has the potential to make a significant impact on the global trail-running scene.
Asia Trail Master qualifying races could be one of the most important platforms for making that vision a reality.