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In the first high altitude Ultra Marathon of Jammu province held in Patnitop, Nathatop,7,000ft msl and Sanasar on Sunday, it showed that if the young ones show grit and endurance, the oldies set an example of fitness and discipline for the youth.
In the 50 km 18-35 age category, Akshay Sharma stood first with 3:57:32hr timing; Sqn Leader Neha Devi was first among women who covered it in 4:23:58 hr. Sonaram Hasse and Pragati Garg covered 50Km in 3:57:28 hr and 5:16:33 hours in the 35-45 age category, respectively. Balraj Kaushik and Anuradha did it in 5:16:33 hr & 7:02:21 hr in the 45-55 age category. Ajay Gandotra did it in 5:54:49 hr in the 55-65 age category. OP Sharma and Manmohan,69, did it in 6:15:51 hr & 6:41:30 hr for the 65-plus category, respectively. In the same category, Shamala, 65, wife of Manmohan, was the only runner. The event organised by an NGO, IKA Sports & Events, in collaboration with the Patnitop Development Authority(PDA), Department of Tourism and Patnitop Hoteliers Association, besides administrations of Udhampur and Ramban, was flagged off by the organiser and founder of IKA Sports & Events, Kapil Arora, at 4.30 am. "I have come from Pathankot. I have got this award for finishing a 5km run in the marathon. I am 75 years old, and I started running just 5 years ago. I have run marathons at Chandigarh, Delhi, and Jabalpur as well," Kulwant Singh Bajwa told ANI. After that, Chief Executive Officer, Patnitop Development Authority(PDA), Virender Manyal, flagged off 22Km,10 km, and 5 Km runs at 6 am,6.30 am and 6.40 am respectively in the presence of Deputy Director, Department of Tourism, Pankaj Sasan and Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Chenani, Ranjit Singh. According to Kapil Arora, more than 750 runners, including women and children from various parts of India and even from Japan and the UK, participated in the Marathon in 50Km,21Km,10 Km and 5 Km marathons. For the 50 km Ultra Marathon, the runners, starting from the Youth Hostel, Patnitop, first went to Kud and from there went to Sanasar and returned to the starting point. "We are organising different activities in every district and tehsil under the Nasha Mukt Jammu and Kashmir Abhiyan...we have been organising this marathon for the past 6 years in Udhampur...there were 4 categories this year - 50km, 21km, 10km, and 5km. People from all over India have come. The motive behind this event was to send the message to people to keep themselves physically fit and stay away from addiction. This event benefits tourism in Patnitop the most," CEO of Patnitop Development Authority, Virender Manyal said. The participants were all praise for the scenic beauty and the pleasant weather most suitable for a Marathon and expressed their satisfaction with the arrangements by the organisers and concerning departments. At last, the chief guest, Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Mohammed Alyas Khan, after welcoming the runners, gave away the prizes to the winners in the presence of other dignitaries. (ANI)
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