Sunita Subba, 32, a mother who took to running only six years ago, has managed to win a 122km ultra-marathon deemed one of the toughest in the country in her very first attempt.

The Ladakh marathon, organised by Rimo Expeditions, has six categories with a choice to compete in the 5km fun run, 21km half-marathon, 42km full marathon, 72km Khardung-la Challenge and the 122km Silk Route Ultra.

Sunita came first in the women’s category of the 122km Silk Route Ultra, winning the prize money of Rs 50,000.

“I want to run long distances. I want to do something different, I want to create my own identity and this is why I decided to run a race of over 100km,” the Darjeeling-based wife and mother told The Telegraph.

The Silk Route Ultra is not for the faint-hearted.

It starts from a village called Kyagar, situated at some 10,000 feet from sea level before reaching Khardung-la at an altitude of more than 17,000 feet before ending at Leh at 11,400 feet.

The 122km-distance is to be completed in 22 hours. The marathon started at 7pm on September 8 and after running through the night the participants were expected to complete the run by 5pm the next day.

“It was the most difficult run of my life. Running uphill was tiring. I thought running downhill would be easy but my legs would just not move downhill. I literally had to drag myself down,” recalled Sunita.

The Darjeeling runner, however, has had to overcome many challenges to be a winner.

Sunita is a contractual data operator in the information and cultural affairs department of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. Her husband, Suren Tamang, owns a taxi and operates between Darjeeling town and Singamari.

She juggles between her job and her duties as a wife and mother. “I have a 15-year-old son, Swayam, and I can think of running only after completing my daily chores. Yet, I manage,” said Sunita.

Also, she took to running relatively late in life.

“I took up running in 2016 after my niece Smita, who is also a hockey player, egged me on to run. I took running seriously only from 2020,” said Sunita.

She neither has a trainer or a coach but said it was never a deterrent.

“I just kept running. In 2021, I ran for 8 hours in a stadium run in Delhi and I came first. Before that I had completed 335km in eight days of running (in virtual mode),” said Sunita.

The credentials were not enough for Sunita to qualify for the Silk Route run.

“I needed two finisher certificates for 100km runs but I had one. I repeatedly requested the organisers to allow me to run and after many requests they did,” said Sunita.

Funds were a worry. “The registration fee was Rs 25,000. The flight tickets cost me Rs 28,000 and I had to stay for more than 10 days. Funds were really tight,” said Sunita.

As luck would have it, Tashi Wangchuk, owner of the Goji Villa in Ladakh hosted Sunita for free after another acquaintance from Darjeeling, Nawang Sherpa, spoke about her. “I was so relieved. A day’s stay with food would have otherwise cost me Rs 4,500,” said Sunita.

Sunita also found a Darjeeling link in the Ladakh marathon. “I was glad to find out that one of the race directors, Yangdu Gombu, is the daughter of our Everester Nawang Gombu (who aced the Everest twice) from Darjeeling,” said Sunita. Yangdu’s husband Chewang Motup Goba was the other race director.