Kenya has Iten, but Nepal has Karnali to produce international runners on roads and mountains
- Karnali Sports Club gives youngsters a chance by introducing them to running, so they can compete at the top level and gain employment
- Karnali is likened to Iten, the famous village in Kenya that attracts runners from around the world to train and compete
You may have heard of Iten, but have you heard of Karnali? The town of Iten in Kenya is famous as a running factory that produces world and Olympic champions. Professional and amateur runners now flock to Iten to train.
Nepal has its own version of Iten – a remote town of Jumla in Karnali province in the Himalayan foothills. A local called Hari Rokaya overcame poverty and lack of prospects by becoming a runner and competing in two Olympic Games. He then founded a running academy, Karnali Sports Club, to give the local youngsters an opportunity to make a better life though running.
“My family was very poor, but from childhood I wanted to run, do nothing else. I ran and ran,” said Rokaya, 60. “People were not accepting sport as a career. Father and mother would tell me – go take the animals for grazing!
“But when my parents told me to go do something, I would run instead of walking.
“I won district championship, then junior national championship, then national championship. After that, the community started to support me – ‘oh, you are a good runner. Keep running!’”
