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Over 550 runners participate in third Patnitop marathon
Akshay Sharma and Rimpy Sharma emerged as the fastest male and female runners in the 21.09-km category. Raghav Sharma and Avny Lavasa were the winners in the 10-km run, while Sunil Kumar and Ayushi Gupta came out on top in the 5-km category.
The third edition of the Patnitop Marathon organised at the namesake tourist resort town on Sunday witnessed participation of more than 550 enthusiastic runners and fitness lovers from across the country.
Billed as India’s most “beautiful” hill race, Patnitop Marathon is an initiative of IronMan Kapil Arora, an international tri-athlete, ultramarathoner and a Fit India ambassador. The marathon is supported by Patnitop Development Authority (PDA), directorate of tourism Jammu, district administrations of Ramban, Udhampur and Skyview by Empyrean, Patnitop, an official spokesperson said.
Being organised under the “Visit Patnitop” event series, there were four categories of the run viz, 21.09 km, 10 km, 5 km and 1 km. The 1-km category was introduced this time for children.
The participants were divided in age groups like 10-14 years, 14-18 years, 18-35 years, 35-45 years, 45-55 years and above 55 years.
The half marathon (21.097 km) was flagged off by Udhampur deputy magistrate Sachin Kumar Vaishy, Udhampur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Dr Vinod Kumar, PDA chief executive Thakur Sher Singh and Kapil Arora at 6 a from Skyview Terrace Patnitop. They too ran with the participants towards Nathatop as did Jammu deputy magistrate Avny Lavasa.
The participants of the three other categories were flagged off at 6.15 am, 6.30 am and 7 am, respectively.
“Winding trails, scenic views and cool breeze all through the marathon route made it special for the participants across ages ranging from five to above 60 years, and coming from different states such as Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab,” the spokesperson said.
Akshay Sharma and Rimpy Sharma emerged as the fastest male and female runners in the 21.09-km category. Raghav Sharma and Lavasa were the winners in the 10-km run, while Sunil Kumar and Ayushi Gupta came out on top in the 5-km category.
The event was supported and participated by some of the notable members of India’s runners’ community, including Ramanjeet Oberoi, who started his running journey at the age of 54 and has completed 140 marathons in the last 10 years, and Dr Pallavi Vengurlerkar, an IronMan athlete.
“Getting breathless while running in a breathtaking place is a thrill. Patnitop should host more such events,” an athlete from Andhra Pradesh said.
Sher Singh, meanwhile said, “The Patnitop Marathon is growing with every edition and bringing together the acclaimed running community from all over the country. A lot of the participants in today’s event were visiting and experiencing Patnitop for the first time. Sporting events like these reiterate our commitment to wellness and sustainable tourism.”
