From Komic to the World Stage: Tenzin Dolma’s Grit Powers Her Ultra Running Journey

 The story of Ultra mountain trail runner Tenzin Dolma is one of grit, determination and a never-say-die attitude against overwhelming odds.

Hailing from Himachal Pradesh's remote Komic village, which is one of the world's highest motorable villages, Dolma has represented India three times in Ultra mountain trail marathons.

The 39-year-old brought glory to the country by securing a Silver medal at the 2025 IWBF Asia Oceania Championships held in Bangkok in November.

In an exclusive chat with UNI, on the sidelines of a panel discussion 'Building Champions in the Himalayas: Importance of Grassroots Sports' organised by Royal Enfield recently, the self-financed athlete spoke about the challenges posed by lack of funds

"Having proper shoes is very important for a long-distance runner. Without them chances of injury goes up, recovery time also goes up, as well as post competition cramps. I can run 100 kilometers, but won't be able to compete in the next event."

Dolma, who runs a small eatery in Komic along with her husband, said she hardly gets time to acclimatise before races as she does not have the finances to travel to the host city in advance and stay there for a few days.

"I am self-trained for the most part. Though I hired a coach

for a few months, I could not continue with that as I could not afford it. Also, athletes reach the race venue about 5-7 days in advance so as to acclimatise to the conditions, but I cannot do that as I don't have the finances to stay at a location for so many days," she explained.

Dolma also represented India at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC) in Spain in September 2025, and the 2024 IAU 100 km World Championships held in Bengaluru.

Currently she is preparing for the qualifiers of the 2026 IAU 24h Asia & Oceania Championships in Japan (May 2026), and the 2026 Asia Pacific Trail Running Championships in Fujian Province

She advises aspiring runners not to get de-motivated easily. "Those among the new generation seem to quit very fast, if they don't have support. I ask them not to give up. Be determined, keep on motivating yourself, you will eventually reach your goal."

Dolma, who started racing at the age of 30, spoke about her journey.

"Once I started winning medals for the state then I thought that I can represent India. I was self-financed, and once I started winning, I reinvested my winnings into my training, diet, travel, lodging and equipment. I still don't have a sponsor. I have competed at various events, including the TATA Mumbai Marathon, TATA Ultra Marathon, Apollo Delhi Marathon. I have participated in almost all long distance runs across India, especially the trail runs, especially all trail runs in Maharashtra."