Santoshi Shrestha is an undisputed favourite in any race she participates in. She won gold in the 10,000-metre race at the 2019 South Asian Games, the first South Asian gold by a Nepali woman in athletics. And since then, she has consistently dominated the women’s category in domestic races. Fans and the media endearingly call her the ‘golden girl’.

In fact, Shrestha had never suffered defeat in any of the domestic races she had run in years, until recently. When she was denied first place in the half-marathon at Lumbini Peace Marathon on March 21, many wondered if her dominance had finally come to an end. She was defeated by a thin margin of a minute and 30 seconds by Tribhuvan Army Club’s Purnalaxmi Neupane.

The loss had a big impact on Shrestha. She felt she was not “afraid of loss anymore,” she recalled on Saturday, as she steadied herself at the start line of the 14th Kantipur Half-Marathon on Saturday.

“I won it last year,” Shrestha said before the race began. “Even if I finish last this year, it would not matter.”

Nepal’s legendary runner Baikuntha Manandhar blew an air horn and the race got underway.

Shrestha found the rhythm early on and built up the momentum as the race progressed, from Tinkune through the serpentine route to Jagati Chowk and back.

Shrestha did it again. She became the first to reach the finish line, completing the 21.1-kilometre course in 1 hour 18 minutes 11 seconds, a new record in the event. (She had clocked 1 hour 23 minutes 28 seconds in the race’s previous edition.) And with that, Shrestha won the 14th edition of Kantipur Half-Marathon, defending the title successfully. Sceptics who thought her days were over were silenced.

“I ran a safe and tactical race,” Shrestha said after her victory. “Initially, I focused on finding my rhythm, and then I transitioned into a ‘team-play’ strategy.”

Shrestha added that the bitter experience of losing the Lumbini race was on the back of her mind before the race on Saturday. “I was not well-prepared for this race, I had lost lately in Lumbini,” she said, adding that she devised a new strategy this time. “I always used to run ahead of others, but I ran behind this time,” she said. “I only took the lead from Lokanthali.”

The Kantipur Half-Marathon course started from Tinkune and passed through Koteshwor, Jadibuti, Lokanthali, Gatthaghar, Thimi, Sallaghari and Jagati Chowk before looping back to finish at Tinkune.

“I also had a change in my running style today,” she said. “I have a habit of talking a lot while running. But I did not talk with anyone today. I even scolded those who tried to disturb me.”

Shrestha also shared that she stayed wary of Nisha Pal as she found her rhythm in the race. “Nisha and I have been running together since last year. She always does better when she is running with me. She is always a great competitor,” Shrestha added. “Nisha was with me when I went ahead after running together with others for the first seven to eight kilometres.”

Had Shrestha lost her rhythm anywhere, Pal would have handed her a second straight defeat. Pal, who finished second, crossed the finish line at Tinkune only 15 seconds after Shrestha.

Neupane, who defeated Shrestha in Lumbini, finished third at 1:23:13.

“I was running to test myself,” Shrestha continued, “to understand my limits, to see what kind of performance I could give, how much I could use my mind, with such a practice schedule, such training, and fatigue.”

Shrestha had recently competed at the 3,000-metre race in the Pokhara Open Athletics Meet on April 13. Shrestha clocked 9:43:19, breaking a 35-year-old record of 9:48:14 set by Raj Kumari Pandey at the 1990 Asian Games.

A record performance in Pokhara was, however, not enough for Shrestha to bounce back from the loss in Lumbini.

“Running 3,000 meters on the track and then running in a half-marathon is no joke,” she said. “That’s why there was some fear and doubt today.

“I was running on the track wearing spikes some days ago, and now I have to run in a marathon. I am not a machine, and my body was in doubt.”

Shrestha faced some hardship when she crossed Suryabinayak as the road has been under construction for long. “The road was dusty,” she said. “I am allergic to dust.”

Shrestha beat fear and doubt, dust and fatigue to reclaim the Kantipur Half-Marathon title and it showed when she staggered to the stage to receive a dummy cheque of Rs150,000 and a trophy for the win.

Shrestha said that she was happy to have set another record. She has now added yet another feather to her illustrious cap. She has national records in 3,000-metre, 5,000-metre, 10,000-metre, 25,000-metre and 30,000-metre races.

Shrestha had participated in the Kantipur Half Marathon twice when she began her running career around a decade ago. She had finished second in both instances.

“When I participated in the Kantipur Half-Marathon several years ago, the winner used to get a scooter,” Shrestha recalled. “I remember training rigorously for the two-wheeler back then.”

She returned to the Kantipur Half-Marathon after a long gap in the 13th edition last year. “The race has gotten better over the years,” she said.

Shrestha added that she is not done setting records. “I have a couple of dreams I want to fulfil,” Shrestha said with a grin, and walked away.