Professional Runner
Jyotsana Rawat

Class XII - Doon International School, Dehradun

Jyotsana Rawat, a 17-year-old student from Dehradun, has become the first Indian woman and the youngest person in the world to complete La Ultra ("La Ultra-The High is one of the toughest runs in the world and tests a person's endurance), The High, a high-altitude marathon that is counted among the toughest and most challenging endurance races. The run starts from Nubra Valley and ends at Leh after passing through Khardung La pass covering a distance of 111 km. She completed the marathon in 19 hours 46 minutes on August 18 after the qualifier run earlier this year from Dehradun to Dhanaulti.

She is the student of 12th grade at a private school in the city competed against 31 other participants, including those from Germany and the US. Twenty participants finished the run with jawans of Ladakh Scouts being the first to do so. The ultramarathon involves three categories - 111, 222 and 333 km - through three mountain passes.