Nothing in Mira Rai’s life has gone as planned. Growing up in a small village in Nepal, the trajectory of her fate was mapped out: find a husband, have kids, and support them through hard manual labour. As a child, Rai and her mother worked from dawn to dusk to eke out a living selling rice. In an attempt to break this cycle of poverty for her family and herself, Rai joined the Maoist rebel army when she was just 14 years old.
In 1996 when civil war broke out, a feudal caste system and strict patriarchal norms dictated all layers of the country. The communist soldiers recruited Rai in 2004 with the promise of liberation and equality. “There are not many opportunities for girls,” Rai says. “I wanted to support my family, so I ran away from home to become a child soldier.” During her two years in the Maoist ranks, Rai was exposed to running as part of regimented training. Soon, she realised that she possessed a talent for it. In 2006, a Peace Accord was signed by the government and the Communist Party of Nepal. Because Rai was a minor at the time, she was discharged after two years of service, but returned to her family bursting with a passion for running.
Years later, Rai moved to Kathmandu to pursue adventure, and met a group of trail runners in the foothills of the city’s outskirts. Impressed by her innate ability, the athletes invited her to join the 50-kilometre race at the Himalayan Outdoor Festival. She arrived not realising that it was a competition, ran anyway, and won the event. Since then, Rai has become a trail legend. Of the 29 races she’s participated in, she’s won 10 and finished in a top-three position 21 times.
As a UN goodwill ambassador and 2017 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Rai’s impact is felt beyond the realm of sport. “I have won global awards for running. But it’s not just about that, it’s about inspiring young girls,” she says. Encouraged by the breadth and colour of the life that she’s won for herself, she started the Mira Rai Initiative to galvanise women in Nepal to chase their dreams. At the end of it all, Rai has earned enough to buy land and hundreds of chickens for her family to tend, achieving what she set out to right at the start – provide a better life for her loved ones.
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