Nepal’s Marathon Star Santoshi Shrestha Sets National Record at London Marathon 2025

Nepal’s celebrated long-distance runner, Santoshi Shrestha, has set a new national record after completing the London Marathon 2025 in an impressive time of 2 hours, 42 minutes, and 50 seconds. It was her debut in the globally renowned race, which took place on April 27.

Known as Nepal’s “Golden Girl,” Santoshi shared her experience of running in the massive crowd of over 56,000 finishers, saying she initially felt overwhelmed. “At first, I couldn’t find my pace in the crowd. But I reminded myself that I was running not just for me, but for my country,” she told RSS.

Santoshi’s participation was financially supported by Nepal Run UK. Reflecting on the experience, she said it was significantly different from her previous races, including her debut in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics. “Meeting world-class athletes and coaches was a big encouragement. Many of them told me I have great potential to improve,” she said.

The London Marathon 2025 saw 840,318 registrations, with over 100 Nepalis taking part. For the 2026 edition, a record-breaking 1.133 million people have already registered, according to the organizers, London Marathon Events. Organizers expect next year’s race to break the world record for the highest number of finishers.

Among the standout Nepali participants this year was Santosh Rai, founder of Nepal Run UK, who set a Guinness World Record by completing the marathon in traditional Daura Suruwal. He finished in 2 hours, 59 minutes, and 47 seconds.

All 96 runners who participated under Nepal Run UK’s coordination successfully completed the 42.195-kilometre course, while several other Nepalis joined independently.

In the elite races, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the men’s title with a time of 2:02:27, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa clinched the women’s title in 2:15:50.

Ramnath Ghimire / RSS