Snowman Race 2026 took place over five days of racing in Bhutanese Himalayas, along the route of the legendary Snowman Trek. Bhutanese runners Pema Choki and Jamphel Choda won the event, following a competition that presents the course as more than just a sporting fixture.
Promoted as a stage race, the event covered 185 kilometres in total. The start was given in the north-west village of Laya on 24 October, before a finish in Bumthang on 28 October, on a route crossing Bhutan’s rugged highlands.
The format links the race to a section of the Snowman Trek, described as a road connecting historical paths through Bhutan’s highlands. The text specifies that the race covered the eastern two thirds of a 300-kilometre itinerary, giving the event a geographic and cultural grounding beyond the competition itself.
On the sporting side, Pema Choki wins the women’s race in 29:56:32. She takes the lead by winning four of the five stages and had already finished second at the 2024 edition, while Dawa Chozom takes second place in 31:41:15 and Rachel Entrekin third in 31:52:07.
In the men’s race, Jamphel Choda wins in 26:06:20 after taking the lead on the third day and keeping it through the final two stages. Tashi Norbu finishes second in 26:31:39, for his second consecutive second place, and Cody Lind takes third in 28:31:39, matching his 2024 placing.
