Priya Rai: Nepal’s emerging trail and ultra runner can’t wait to show what she’s made up of

Standing at the start line of the Doi Inthanon Thailand by UTMB in Chang Mai in Thailand on December 10, 2022, Priya Rai was nervous. It was the 22-year-old’s first race away from Nepal and there were over a thousand men and women waiting to start the race with her.

Thanks to her record in Nepal, she was in the front row, which was full of elite runners. There were people far more experienced than her, but she was not letting that get to her. She had trained for nearly three months and was desperate to show the best version of herself and prove to everyone out in Thailand and Nepal what a great runner she was.