Snow marathon: Runners brave freezing temperatures, icy course in test of human spirit

Kullu (Himachal Pradesh): What's the picture that one would have in mind when thinking about a marathon? Certainly not an icy course, sub-zero temperatures and snow-clad terrain.

But this is exactly what participants braved at the third annual Snow Marathon, which had to be shifted from Sissu to the Jana Waterfalls trail in Manali due to a spate of avalanches at the regular venue.

Over 200 runners competed, including those from the USA, Russia and Ethiopia. But it was hardly a surprise that the battle-hardened participants from the Indian Armed forces dominated the proceedings on Sunday.

Shabir Hussain of Ladakh Scouts, which is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, claimed the top honours in the men's full marathon (42 km) by clocking 03:58:21. The Ladakh Scouts are incidentally nicknamed 'Snow Warriors' or 'Snow Leopards'.

In the women's competition, two-time defending champion and local favourite Tenzin Dolma claimed the title with her best timing of 04:35:13.

She was expectedly elated.

"I am happy, as I practised hard for the event. I never expected that I will complete my hat-trick of wins here. There was a lot of elevation on the trail but I usually practice on such routes. So never really felt any difficulties," Dolma told PTI Video.

"I want to prepare myself for the World Championship and later this year will compete in the Ladakh Silk route marathon as well," she said.

Aside from snow, another challenge for the runners was having to run through a jungle on an uphill path. But the participants enjoyed the experience.

"I urge that lots and lots of people should participate in this tournament. People should keep challenging themselves and push themselves towards accepting such challenges," said 55-year-old Suresh, a Kargil war veteran who was running his second marathon.

Navy officer Ameya, who is 21, also enjoyed his first race despite the difficulty he is faced in acclimatising to the conditions.

"I have never been to this altitude before. This is my first experience of such an event but I am not happy with the time I took. I just want to thank god that I was at least able to complete the race," he said.

The organisers expressed their gratitude to the Indian Army and Navy for helping them make the 2024 edition possible.

"We would like to express gratitude towards the efforts put in by the Indian Army and Navy. They made the third edition possible. We expect to get 400-plus participants next year.

"The participating athletes did well in training and acclimatisation sessions. They never lost the will despite this route being more difficult and the altitude (approx 2200 ft from sea level) being so high. Their sincere efforts made the event a grand success," marathon's CEO Rajiv Kumar said.