Dinanath Bagale (Dina), a Nepalese runner living in Hong Kong, has reached France to participate in the world-famous ultra-trail race.
Dina, a veteran mountain ultra-marathon runner, arrived in the southeastern tourist region of France for the world-renowned Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) World Series Finals to be held on August 28 in Chamonix.
He is participating in the 145 km long race 'Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie' (TDS) under UTMB. He is the only Nepali participating in the competition of that category. Two female and one male competitors from Nepal will also participate in other categories of the same competition.
In the sixth edition of the competition, which commenced in 2003 and is held every year in August, after 6,000 contestants registered their names within 8 minutes, admission was started on the basis of qualifying points.
That is why trail runners dream of participating in this world-famous competition. Dina got admission by fulfilling all set requirements.
This mountain race is an adventure game where you have to overcome big challenges. The match in which Dina will participate will start at 11:30 PM (French time) on August 28.
Around 1,600 best runners/runners from around the world will participate in this race event which requires hard work and preparation.
The race will start in Courmayeur in northern Italy and end in Simony in France. During this race, the runner will cross different places in Switzerland and Italy and will return to France.
Dina practicing for the competition
In order to cross 9 thousand 100 meters uphill, the runners will have to cross many snow ranges.
Dina from Hong Kong along with other competitors will have to face darkness, biting cold, rain, snow, etc., during the race. It requires good training and practice, which Dina has done.
Dina is joining the competition by accepting all these challenges. He has the experience of completing the 171 km race in the same competition in 2019. Also, he completed 161 km at UTMB Thailand last December and 100 km at UTMB Australia last May.
Dina, an experienced long-distance runner, told Nepalkhabar that he had prepared well for the race and said, "I am proud to represent Nepal among hundreds of countries."
The competition has a cutoff time of 44 hours. Dina aims to cross the distance in 25-27 hours.
