Pithoragarh, October 24 (PTI) The ‘Adi Kailash High Altitude Ultra Marathon-2’ commenced on Saturday in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district at an altitude of 15,200 feet, officials said.
Pithoragarh District Information Officer Santosh Chand said the state’s Tourism Secretary Dheeraj Singh Garbyal inaugurated the 70-kilometre marathon at Jolingkong. A total of 109 athletes from across the country participated in this race.
Chand added that a 42-kilometre marathon starting from Gunji was also flagged off by Uttarakhand Minister of State Ashok Nabiyal. A total of 73 participants took part in this event.
According to Chand, the second day of the marathon will feature three races covering distances of 21 km, 10 km, and 5 km, while the final day (October 26) will host a ‘Mountain Terrain Biking Event.’
Pithoragarh Chief Development Officer (CDO) Deepak Saini stated that more than 1,100 participants from 26 states are taking part across all five events of the marathon.
The CDO noted that in the inaugural edition of the Adi Kailash marathon, 750 individuals from 12 states participated in the race. “This is an extremely challenging race,” he said, “as the runners navigate areas characterised by low temperatures, low oxygen levels, winding paths, and demanding geographical conditions.”
According to the organisers, the event gained significant success after Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned it in his weekly radio programme, ‘Mann Ki Baat’.
Saini noted that before the event commenced at 6:40 AM on Saturday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami encouraged the participants via an online session. PTI DPT AMJ
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