Kathmandu, June 5 -- Asma BK has been running all her life: she ran away from her home in Rolpa at age 13, became a child worker in a brick kiln in Kathmandu, ran from job to job. Rescued by a child shelter, she now runs marathons.

On 27 April, Asma finished the London Marathon in 3 hours and 27 minutes and was in the top 15% of 56,640 runners. She was representing Nepal and the organisation that helped transform her life, Child Rescue Nepal (CRN).

"This was my first time outside Nepal, and I was nervous because I had not run in a race with so many participants," Asma told us after returning to Kathmandu. "Everyone was so much taller than me."

Today at 22, Asma is already a high-level trail runner. In 2022, she completed the Manjushre...