The 3rd edition of The Manjushree Trail in Kathmandu, Nepal, was a great trail running festival with a bright future ahead. Part of the Asia Trail Master Championship series for the first time, MTR saw some amazing runs by especially local trail talents of whom we are bound to hear more in the forthcoming weeks and months. With three points race on the programme, 100miles, 100km and 50km, there were quite a lot of race protagonists. Arguably standing out were Arjun Rai Kulung as the faster-than-ever winner of the men’s 100 miles after a great battle with the UK’s surprising Alistair Masson, and Priya Rai winning and finishing ahead of reigning ATM Champion Rashila Tamang on the women’s 50km.

The 100 Miles started already on Friday morning at around sunrise. Last year’s winner Arjun Rai Kulung and his expected challenger Ramesh Limbu were quickest in the first few hours, with Alistair Masson and Roland Hunter chasing them. In the women’s competition, two runners immediately took command and would continue to do for the whole race: Anita Rai and Nirmala Rai. The very young (U24) Ang Furba Sherpa and UK’s Sally Moulds were the other two brave women on the Miler, and they would also finish as third and fourth. Saturday daytime turned out to be more hot and humid than anticipated, affecting many runners. Ramesh Limbu suffered the most, and would eventually even DNF with dehydration signs. Arjun appeared in control, but was probably also surprised when - after taking a nap at CP 12 on Saturday night - he found out that Alistair Masson was already quite a long way further up the trail around the Kathmandu Valley Rim. It added spice to the race, the more because as far as anyone could tell, Masson was an unknown entity on the 100 miles and even more so in Nepal. Arjun Rai Kulung kept his head cool and composed and managed to bridge the gap to Masson in the early morning at CP14. Moreover, Arjun felt he could still beat his best time set last year and pushed on to victory in 26h52. Masson was unable to follow that pace, yet finished a great second about one-and-a-half hours later. In the battle for third, Hunter still got caught by Bijay Magar and even lost the podium in the final kilometers by a mere two minutes. Next was Nirmala Rai, who outpaced Anita Rai towards the end to win the women’s race in 34h34’. The gap at the finish was just over one hour.

The 100km was dominated by Man Kumar Rokka Magar in 14h45. Furpa Singi Tamang took second two hours later, and Abinash Devkota third a few minutes afterwards. The women’s 100km went to Padam Kumari Sunwar in a narrow finish with (another) Anita Rai .

The medium distance of 50km had a tight race in the men’s, won eventually by Harilal Singh ahead of Nimsang Limboo in 7h17. Dipesh Tamang was the third man on the podium in 8h04.

The women’s 50km had a pleasant surprise before the start as reigning ATM Champion Rashila Tamang, who is also involved in the event management team of Manjushree Trail, decided to have a go at it. Rashila injured her thigh muscle in the dying moments of Lantau 70 in Hong Kong a few weeks ago and was still plastered up. Nevertheless, she had a more than decent run to secure her wild card for this season’s ATM Championship Final (former champions receive a wild card as soon as they finish 2 ATM races in the current season regardless of race results). Not being at her best level, she had to settle for second place, however, as Priya Rai turned out to be too powerful last weekend. Priya is not unknown on the international scene and was also a training mate of Hau Ha last year, but MTR 50 was her debut in our ATM series. A debut in great style, finishing fifth overall and 50 minutes ahead of Rashila Tamang and Chhoki Sherpa, the latter scoring her second ATM podium after Koboi Malaya Classic in Malaysia a year ago.

Several of Nepal’s competitive runners will now make the long transfer to the west of their country, in order to take part in the 50km race Jumla Rara Ultra next weekend. In order to qualify for the ATM Championship Final, runners must finish two ATM races as a minimum requirement.

Priya Rai made a fantastic ATM debut, winning the 50km ahead of Rashila Tamang and Chhoki Sherpa

Still visibly ‘damaged’ from Lantau 70, Rashila Tamang nevertheless managed to take 2nd place and obtain her wild card for this season’s ATM Championship Final as reigning champion

Arjun Rai Kulung had a bit of a challenge from Alistair Masson and initially Ramesh Limbu, but won the 100 miles in a new course record time

The surprise of the day on the 100 Miles: UK’s Alistair Masson

Anita Rai and Nirmala Rai dominated the female 100miles. Nirmala scored the win, eventually

Padam Kumari was a convincing winner of the female 100km race

Man Kumar won the men’s 100km

Starting on Friday morning, trail runners will be competing along the famous Kathmandu Valley ridge line during the third edition of the Manjushree Trail Race, an event that is quickly gaining reputation and developing itself as the main international trail event in Nepal. Riding the wave of Rashila Tamang’s popular victory in last year’s Asia Trail Master Championship, the ‘MTR’ is also the first Nepalese points race in ATM since 2018’s Ultra Trail Nepal. Participants can score points on the 100 Miles, 100km or 50km in their attempt to qualify for this year’s ATM Final in Malaysia on 14 September. Runners aiming for Grandmaster points of course need to focus on the 100km or 100 miles only.

The MTR 100 miler looks very appealing to ultra distance enthusiasts. As the official website says: ‘The race route takes runners along the famous Kathmandu valley rim ridge line and across the seven peaks that surround the valley. As part of this, the racecourse also crosses the two national park (Nagarjun and Shivapuri) that border the valley. Over 85% of the route is single track, where it sometimes takes hours before runners come across a little settlement. Even though you are technically still within the Kathmandu valley, you will feel like you are far away from urbanization many times during the race.’ Looking at the course map, you see one big natural loop that measures 175 kilometres (so it’s actually longer than 100 miles). The names of the seven peaks are Jamacho, Shivapuri, Nagarkot, Pulchowki, Champadevi, Basmandur and Chandragiri. It’s a clean oval loop, but with a total elevation gain of over 12000hm, this is a race runners need to be physically and mentally prepared for. The race starts on Friday early morning and the cut-off time at the finish will be reached after 52 hours.

There’s quite a few runners taking up this challenge, mostly Nepalese themselves. We are bound to get to know some new names this weekend. But also familiar ATM competitors such as 4-star Grandmaster Masafumi Yamamoto, 2022 ATM Final qualifier Thang Huu Hoang from Vietnam and Indonesia’s 2023 ATM Finalist Qheiza Wiranda Edelwise feature on the start list of the ‘miler’.

As always, more people consider the 100km or 50km enough for their liking and we will see larger fields with a number of well-known Asian and Asia-based runners. Hong Kong’s Fuk Cheung Tsang and USA’s Chris Miller have had great results in ATM races before. Singapore’s Vincere Zeng is a double ATM Finalist and Himalaya mountain lover per excellence. On the 50km she will be up against Priya Rai , who until recently was a teammate and training partner of 2022 ATM Champion Hau Ha. Being neighbours to Nepal, we also find a lot of runners from India on the start list, including those who did well in Malnad Ultra in Karnatika, the ATM points race near Bangalore in November.

As of Friday morning, you can follow the action with our multimedia coverage live from Kathmandu, provided to us by Adventure III. As usual, tune in to ATM Facebook for ‘first news’, highlights will also appear on our ATM Instagram and ATM YouTube.

Follow the action as of Friday via our usual channels, with live updates via ATM Facebook

This is a natural 100 Miles course

Indonesia’s Qheiza Wiranda Edelwise will be in action in Nepal this weekend

Singapore’s Vincere Zeng is no stranger to Nepal and the Himalaya. She climbed Everest last year

We are very happy to announce that The Manjushree Trail Race and Jumla Rara Ultra in Nepal have been added to the 2024 Asia Trail Master Championship calendar on back-to-back weekends in early April. It is the first time since 2018 trail runners can score points for our ATM Championship in Nepal, and a logistical cooperation between the two events will even make it feasible to run both races in one trip to the Himalayan country. The Manjushree Trail Race takes place near country capital Kathmandu and on the famous Kathmandu Valley Rim, whereas the Jumla Rara Ultra event is set in the far west of Nepal, from Jumla to the Rara Lake - considered a hidden gem. Race dates are 5/6 April and 13 April , respectively.

For more on Jumla Rara Ultra, please go and read here

The 3rd edition of the Manjushree Trail Race event features four race distance categories, of which the 100 Miles, 100 km and 55km offer points for the ATM Championship ranking. Runners aiming for Grandmaster points of course need to focus on the 100km or 100 miles only. The 100 miler is a special one here and not only because it’s the only real one in Nepal. As the official website says: ‘The race route takes runners along the famous Kathmandu valley rim ridge line and across the seven peaks that surround the valley. As part of this, the racecourse also crosses the two national park (Nagarjun and Shivapuri) that border the valley. Over 85% of the route is single track, where it sometimes takes hours before runners come across a little settlement. Even though you are technically still within the Kathmandu valley, you will feel like you are far away from urbanization many times during the race.’ Looking at the course map, you see one big natural loop that measures 175 kilometres (so it’s actually longer than 100 miles). The names of the seven peaks are Jamacho, Shivapuri, Nagarkot, Pulchowki, Champadevi, Basmandur and Chandragiri. Total elevation gain is estimated at over 12000hm, meaning this is a race you need to be physically and mentally prepared for. The race starts on Friday early morning and the cut-off time at the finish will be reached after 52 hours.

The MTR 100 km and 55km races will have different start and finish locations along the same route as the 100 miler. The 100km will have an evening start and has a cut-off time of 26 hours, which considering the overall altitude and elevation gain is indeed quite tight. Note that pacers are allowed for the 100k participants from the start till dawn the next morning. Details can be obtained via the very informative official MTR website. The 55km race will start at 7am in the early morning on Saturday and finish 16 hours later. As much as a running competition, MTR will be an adventure and provide people with a lifetime of memories.

Where does the name Manjushree comes from? The website exlains: ‘The Kathmandu Valley Rim 100 miler is named after the god Manjushree. According to the legend, It is believed that Manjushree arrived at the edge of the valley while being on a pilgrimage, encountering a large lake that once filled the valley. Upon arrival, the god saw a lotus flower in the centre of the lake, which emitted brilliant radiance. Having walked around the valley rim, the god reached Chovar, where Manjushree used its flaming sword to cut a gorge, allowing the lake to drain and the Kathmandu valley to appear. The place where the lotus flower settled became allegedly became the Swayambhunath Stupa and with the valley being no longer under water, it became habitable and Kathmandu was founded. This has left Manjushree in a way to be the patron of the valley and to leave tales of the route the god walked before cleaving the rim and allowing the land to emerge. There are different opinions on what the exact route is that Manjushree travelled and so the Manjushree trail race is in no way trying to exactly replicate this or claiming to be a pilgrimage in anyway. Rather than that, it is inspired by the legend and therefore has chosen to honor this in its name and logo.’

This event has not suddenly emerged from nowhere. MTR is the result of years of work by trail pioneers even including international stars such as Lizzy Hawker and Seth Wolphin. Also. our reigning female Asia Trail Master Champion Rashila Tamang is a proud member of the MTR Team. The 2024 edition is already the third and the previous two have received widespread praise.

You can find all details on the event via the official website, as well as the registration facilities. Please note that after the event, transportation will be organised for local and international runners to travel to West Nepal for the Jumla Rara Ultra 50km race the weekend after on Saturday, 13 April.