Hemant Limbu is no stranger to these trails. He has been racing on The Hell Race circuit for years, building a reputation as one of the most talented young mountain runners in India. At The Buddha Trails 2024, he won the 65 km category in 6 hours and 51 minutes — a performance that drew awe from those who witnessed it. In the 2022 edition, he stood on the podium in the 65 km race, finishing third behind the record-breaking Som Bahadur Thami. And back in 2021, a teenage Hemant claimed the 12 km race in just 44 minutes and 37 seconds, hinting at the potential that has since been so spectacularly fulfilled.
What makes Hemant’s trajectory so compelling is its consistency. Each year, across different distances and different courses, he finds another gear. The 2025 course record in the 30 km suggests a runner who is now at the height of his powers — purposefully selecting distances, targeting records, and delivering on race day.
FINISH TIME
2:15:29
New Course Record
DISTANCE
2:15:29
The Buddha Trails
PREVIOUS RECORD
2:20:46
Course Record
Image credits: Instagram
What makes this record special
Course records on mountain trails are not set on the flat. The Buddha Trails 30 km climbs through dense forest, contours along exposed ridgelines, and drops back to valley floors — all at elevation, all on technical terrain. A time of 2:15:29 over such a course demands not just physical fitness but supreme technical ability, altitude adaptation, and the mental fortitude to push when every instinct says to conserve.
The race also carries UTMB Index accreditation, meaning Hemant’s performance will be recognized internationally in the global trail running ranking system. For a runner from the Himalayan foothills, this is the kind of result that opens doors — to bigger races, international fields, and a stage worthy of his talent.
The race
At the 2026th edition of The Buddha Trails by The Hell Race, held in the forests of the Sandakphu region near Rimbick, Darjeeling, one name stood above the rest: Hemant Limbu. The Indian trail runner crossed the finish line of the 30 km category in a breathtaking 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 29 seconds — a new course record, and a margin of victory so commanding it left the field more than half an hour behind.
It was the kind of performance that announces a runner’s arrival in emphatic terms. While the trails wound through rhododendron-drenched forests, crossed the Indo-Nepal border multiple times, and climbed toward a ridge where four mountains above 8,000 metres watch over the proceedings, Hemant simply ran — faster than anyone had ever run this course before.
The Buddha Trails is no ordinary race. Organised by The Hell Race — India’s premier trail running series — it earns its name from the Kanchenjunga range, which, seen from the Singalila Ridge, takes the shape of a sleeping Buddha. With Sandakphu as the highest point in West Bengal at 3,636 metres, this is high-altitude, high-effort, high-stakes running. The 30 km route traces a demanding course from Rimbick to Srikhola Bridge, up through Gurdum and Kalyan, then back again — carrying an ITRA rating of 2 points, which tells you all you need to know about its character.
“The trap is laid, fall for it or perish.” — The Hell Race motto
Hemant didn’t just avoid the trap. He set one of his own, going out at a pace the field couldn’t match and never relenting. His winning time of 2:15:29 eclipsed the previous best for the 30 km category, which is by him of 2:20:46. In a sport where margins of a few minutes separate champions from contenders, this was dominance of a different order.
