Anisha Gurung, 24, from Jhapa is a national cyclist, trail runner, and solo traveler. It has been almost 5 years since she first started cycling. On the other hand, being a conscious consumer, Gurung has always supported sustainable practices. To spread the message on the importance of local products, she initiated her own local business.
She says, "Despite coming from a large family, I've been living alone for the past four years and I'm happy with how things are now.” The reason why she is living alone is that her childhood was tainted by her mother scolding her for even the smallest mistakes. It has just been 6 months since she has been able to manage traumas and chronic stress better.
Though she's gone a long way since then, those days are still buried deep within her psyche. "When a youngster doesn't receive love and attention from their parents, they go for it elsewhere. I ended up in a relationship with a much older man who was mentally abusive. My life began to seem like it was going downhill. Then I decided to run away and managed to make it to Kathmandu, where I could start anew," she explains.
Even after running away from her troubles, life didn’t get easier. She had no choice but to face reality. “It was hard in the beginning since I had no idea where I would end up because I had no financial support. But I was lucky enough to have the support of my friends. Later in life, I found happiness in sports and developed a passion for cycling. I went on bike journeys to Solukhumbu Pikey Peak, Gufa Pokhari, Panchpokhari, and Ilam-Darjeeling, as well as many one-day trips.”
She took a bus to Okhaldhunga and began cycling to Solukhumbu Pikey Peak, a route that took her a week. Gufa Pokhari was her next cycling destination. It took 4 days to travel from Basantapur to Gufa Pokhari, 6 days to travel from Kathmandu to Panchpokhari, and also 6 days to travel from Ilam to Darjeeling. She visited all of these locations with her friends.
“I won the state-level cycle race and later got the opportunity to participate in national and international races, represent Nepal in the Tibet Road Race and the 2019 South Asian Games, and won the 2020 Army Adventure Race, Duathlon, and running races, too. Now, I share my stories and present myself confidently to the public,” she says.
Those days of multiple emotional breakdowns and failures have only shaped her better. She says that she has a risk-taking and fearless character which makes her stronger, happy, and complete and that is why she has made it where she is today.
Explaining how valuable life is, she says, “I celebrate life like every day is the last day and also grateful for those pains which have made me stronger. Now they hardly affect me. My mother and I have not been in touch ever since I left home. I don’t think I can ever forgive her for the way she treated me.”
Currently, Gurung is enrolled in yoga training because she wants to be a yoga teacher. She recently completed her Bachelor's degree in Social Work, also working as a content writer in a Leadership Company and an admin at Lead Academy. She is not letting her past affect her present and future. Now, all she wants is to move further and make progress.
For those who want to do something significant in their life, Gurung says, “If you feel that you are capable of bigger things, then don’t settle for anything less. Just go for it and face situations fearlessly. ”
She is motivated by the prize money she won from races and now she only wants to move further and progress.
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