SRINAGAR: Kashmir’s first International Marathon wrapped up on Sunday with 56 runners winning across various categories. The event featured a 21 km Half Marathon and a 42 km Full Marathon, divided by age and gender, making a total of eight categories.
In the Overall Male category of Full Marathon, Emmanuel Sikuku Ndiwa emerged at the first rank with finishing time of 02:15:25. In Females of Overall category, Sheila Jepkosgei Chesang clinched the first spot in the time of 02:38:21. The prize money for this spot was Twenty-Five Lakh Rupees.
The four runners up in Overall male category are Hammington Kimaiyo Cherop, Mwangi Simon Maina, Anderson Saitoti Seroi, and Anish Thapa Magar. In the female category, the runners up are Viola Munerya Chemos, Truphena Chepchirchir, Ziporah Wanjiru Kingori, and Ashvini Jadhav. The prize money for these ranks is Twenty Lakh, Eighteen Lakh, Fifteen Lakh and Twelve Lakh.
| Sheila Jepkosgei Chesang | Overall Female | 02:38:21 |
| Viola Munerya Chemos | 02:38:30 | |
| Truphena Chepchirchir | 02:42:50 | |
| Ziporah Wanjiru Kingori | 02:46:08 | |
| Ashvini Jadhav | 03:03:28 | |
| Emmanuel Sikuku Ndiwa | Overall Male | 02:15:25 |
| Hammington Kimaiyo Cherop | 02:15:32 | |
| Mwangi Simon Maina | 02:15:35 | |
| Anderson Saitoti Seroi | 02:17:48 | |
| Anish Thapa Magar | 02:20:52 |
In the 18-35 age category of Full Marathon, Sher Singh clocked 2:23:22 to emerge the winner, one minute and 42 seconds ahead of second-placed Mann Singh. In the women’s event in the same age group, Tamsi Singh finished with a timing of 3:03:25, while Bhagirathi Bisht finished a close second clocking 3:04:11. The prize money for this position was One Lakh Rupees.
There were 18 athletes who won the prize money in Full Marathon in age groups of 18-35 years age, 36-50 years age and above 50 age categories having Males and Females win separately. The prize money for second and third rank was Seventy-Five Thousand and Fifty Thousand for all age and gender categories.
| Sher Singh | Male | 18 to 35 yrs Male | 02:23:22 |
| Man Singh | Male | 02:25:04 | |
| Changdev Late | Male | 02:28:37 | |
| Tamsi Singh | Female | 18 to 35 yrs Female | 03:03:25 |
| Bhagirathi Bisht | Female | 03:04:11 | |
| Bharti . | Female | 03:04:52 | |
| Kiprop Tonui | Male | 36 to 50 yrs Male | 02:30:11 |
| Hillary Kirwa Kipkoskei | Male | 02:35:21 | |
| Gopi Thonakal | Male | 02:35:26 | |
| Jyoti Gawate | Female | 36 to 50 yrs Female | 03:08:53 |
| Tenzin Dolma | Female | 03:24:34 | |
| Mukesh Kumari | Female | 03:41:28 | |
| Dharma Maharjan | Male | 50+ yrs Male | 02:47:21 |
| Raibat Bahadur Dahal | Male | 02:51:21 | |
| Nathuram . | Male | 03:13:54 | |
| Nivedita Kapoor | Female | 50+ yrs Female | 03:45:48 |
| Pooja Varma | Female | 04:35:17 | |
| Maja Kroeger | Female | 05:17:46 |
In Overall Female’s category of Half Marathon, Emebet Getawy Beyene emerged victorious finishing the run in 01:15:15. In the same category for Males, Abraham Kasongwor Akopesha claimed the first rank by finishing the marathon in 01:03:58. The prize money for this spot was Fifteen Lakh Rupees. The other four ranks in the category awarded Twelve Lakh, Six Lakh and Three Lakh to athletes.
| Emebet Getawy Beyene | Overall Female | 01:15:15 |
| Poonam Sounune | 01:15:33 | |
| Lucy Nthenya Ndambuki | 01:15:36 | |
| Bharti . | 01:16:47 | |
| Ujala . | 01:17:31 | |
| Abraham Kasongwor Akopesha | Overall Male | 01:03:58 |
| Lovepreet Singh | 01:03:58 | |
| Alex Oloitiptip Korio | 01:04:00 | |
| Abhishek . | 01:05:48 | |
| Ravi Chaudhary | 01:05:49 |
The Half Marathon also had categories of 18-35 years, 36-50 years and above 50 years age for both males and females. It had 18 awards having prize money of Seventy-Five Thousand, Fifty Thousand and Twenty-Five Thousand across age and genders.
| Ankit Deshwal | Male | 18 to 35 yrs Male | 01:05:57 |
| Shubham Baliyan | Male | 18 to 35 yrs Male | 01:07:48 |
| Abdhesh Chaudhary | Male | 18 to 35 yrs Male | 01:08:02 |
| Ruby Kashyap | Female | 18 to 35 yrs Female | 01:20:25 |
| Amrita Patel | Female | 18 to 35 yrs Female | 01:22:24 |
| Tashi Ladol | Female | 18 to 35 yrs Female | 01:23:20 |
| Joseph Maina | Male | 36 to 50 yrs Male | 01:22:41 |
| Hemantkumar Sonwane | Male | 36 to 50 yrs Male | 01:29:12 |
| Uttam Singh | Male | 36 to 50 yrs Male | 01:30:40 |
| Pratima Tudu | Female | 36 to 50 yrs Female | 01:36:40 |
| Rimal Sita | Female | 36 to 50 yrs Female | 02:11:33 |
| Anu Radha | Female | 36 to 50 yrs Female | 02:20:26 |
| Rajkumar . | Male | 50+ yrs Male | 01:26:12 |
| Balbir Singh | Male | 50+ yrs Male | 01:35:28 |
| Balakrishnan T | Male | 50+ yrs Male | 01:37:32 |
| Manminder Kaur | Female | 50+ yrs Female | 01:47:17 |
| Sumita Balooni | Female | 50+ yrs Female | 02:06:23 |
| Cheena Devi | Female | 50+ yrs Female | 02:09:02 |
JK Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha gave away the prizes to the winners.
Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took the centre stage as he led the way by running the half-marathon after flagging off the event accompanied by Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty.
A fitness enthusiast himself, Abdullah (54) expressed optimism for the Kashmir Marathon’s future, envisioning it as a prominent fixture in the global athletic calendar.
“I am thankful to the people of Srinagar for the way they came out to encourage the runners. I hope that the Kashmir Marathon becomes one of the top events in the world.”
Sunil Shetty lauded the event and said the participants had come in good numbers.
He also marvelled at the opportunity to run 42 km in the picturesque surroundings of Kashmir, dubbing it a “paradise for marathon enthusiasts”.
The Department of Tourism organised the event with the objective of showcasing the “improved” situation in the Valley and promoting Kashmir as a tourist-friendly destination. (With inputs from PTI)
