Dehradun holds first certified marathon in Uttarakhand

Around 600 runners from all states of India and a few foreign runners from Canada, USA, Poland, Ethiopia, Japan, Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh participated in the four races: marathon, half marathon, 10 km and 5 km. Runners from various defence institutions like the Indian Army, Indian Navy, ITBP, Police and BSF also participated in the marathon.

The marathon races were flagged off by Brigader Anirban Dutta, Rear Admiral Pathania and Olympian Manish Rawat, The winners were awarded with trophies by world railway gold medallist and Asian track and field medallist Vinod Pokhriyal. Ex Sports Authority of India coach Gurphool Singh addressed the runners and shared his marathon coaching experiences.

The masters runners (above 35 years of age) finishing the full marathon are eligible for the Abbott World Marathon Majors WANDA Age Group World Ranking. The race director is Anil Mohan, the founder of Sarmang Adventure Tours.

The outstation runners enjoyed running in the pleasant weather of Dehradun and the scenic natural beauty throughout the route. The main attraction was running along the road along through dense sal forest on both sides with the sun’s rays coming through the trees. The route was so scenic that some foreign participants stopped to click pictures along the course.

The marathon followed various green initiatives and tried to reduce the waste generated during the execution of the event. The team of nature’s buddies, a local NGO, supported the event by making the event zero waste.

Race director Anil Mohan said that having such big international events in Dehradun will boost tourism and give a new identity to the city. Having such international events in Uttarakhand will allow young athletes to learn from the international level athletes and realise the race slogan: “Run, Make a Mark”.