Sudeep Pakrashi:
India’s ultra-runner Sunita Subba smashed the current national record at the 2025 IAU 24 Hour World Championships held in Albi, France, on 18th and 19th October.
Sunita covered a distance of 217.327 kilometers during the stipulated 24 hours, surpassing the national record by a huge margin.
The existing national record was held by Anju Saini, who had covered 204.314 km during the IAU 24 Hour Asia and Oceania Championships held in Bengaluru in 2022.
Sunita Subba, starting her running career in Darjeeling in 2016 in a half-marathon, did not have any coach or systematic guidance. Out of passion, a sheer determination, and an indomitable mental strength, Sunita overcame with all her challenges.
After the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Sunita signed up for a 10-day virtual run challenge. She revealed, “I could do it only for eight days, covering a distance of about 330-350 km.”
Then she showed her brilliance, winning the 122-kilometer Hell Ultra in 2022, a race from Leh to Nubra Valley that crosses the 17,582-foot Khardung La Pass. Since then Sunita has been called the ‘wonder girl’ of Darjeeling.
In July 2024, Sunita won the women’s race in the 24-hour stadium run held in Bengaluru, covering a distance of 188 km, helping her to qualify for the world championships.
After she was chosen to represent the country at the IAU 24-Hour World Championships in Albi, France, Sunita set about doing her training in Darjeeling, where she resides. “I used to train alone, sometimes running for six hours, sometimes eight hours. I would keep my water and other supplements near the gate of Bhanu Bhawan on Mall Road,” she said.
An employee of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), Sunita is often forced to juggle her finances in order to participate in running events. She was worried about arranging finances for the Albi, but after she was enlisted as an Enerjiva athlete, many of those tensions were taken off her plate. Enerjiva, a sports nutrition brand, sponsored many of the athletes for the Albi championships.
Also, for the first time in India’s ultra-running history, two women, along with Sunita, crossed the 200-kilometre mark, surpassing the previous national record of 204 km.
