Rinzin Dorji (born 1976) also known as Rinzin Rinzin, is a runner from Pam village in
Trashigang
Trashigang ( dz, བཀྲ་ཤིས་སྒང་།), or Tashigang, meaning "fortress of auspicious mount," is a town in eastern Bhutan and the district capital of the Trashigang Dzongkhag (district).
The town lies to the east side of th ...
,
Bhutan. He is the first Bhutanese runner to participate in the
New York Marathon
The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...
.
He is not related to Rinzin Dorji who is a member of the
National Council of Bhutan which is the upper house of Bhutan bicameral
Parliament. Rinzin worked for Amankora resort as a guide in
Paro and would sometimes accompany his guests in the short run. He worked at Amankora from 2004 to May 2010 and quit to pursue a
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
because he felt running provided an opportunity for him. His passion to run was identified by a tourist named Ynaar who is an active member of
New York Road Runners, the organizers of the
New York City Marathon. Ynaar and Rinzin Dorji used to run together in Bhutan distances up to 20 km. In May 2010, Rinzin Dorji went to New York on invitation from Ynaar to qualify for the
New York City Marathon, which he succeeded. Ynaar trained him every day using various routines, which even included cycling and swimming. A coach from Bhutan came to help them before the marathon. Rinzin finished the run in four hours and received a medal and certificate for his participation. He dedicated his run to the coronation of the new king of Bhutan and tsa-wa-sum.
After the race he went back to Bhutan to train for next year's marathon.
Bhutan Olympic Committee
The Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC) was created on 23 November 1983 with the 4th Druk Gyalpo, King of Bhutan as its President, with its headquarters at Thimphu, Bhutan. Following this recognition, Bhutan participated for the first time in the 1984 ...
has not officially recognized him. Bhutan has been in the Olympics seven times since the
Olympic Committee formation. Bhutan has not yet sent a runner to compete in track in the field as Bhutan only sends archers and has never won a medal in any games.
Mary Wittenberg
Mary Wittenberg ( Robertson; born July 17, 1962) is an American sports executive who serves as president of professional women's soccer club NJ/NY Gotham FC. She was previously the president of the cycling team, and president and chief exec ...
the President of the
New York City Road Runners who organize the race sent her congratulations to Rinzin for representing Bhutan and finishing.
References
Bhutanese male marathon runners
Living people
1976 births
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