J-K: Patnitop hosts first-ever Ultra-Marathon

RAMBAN: In the first-ever Ultra-Marathon (50Km) organised in Patnitop on Sunday, Sachin Singh Kuntal was the winner in the Male category and Kirti in the Female category by covering the 50Km distance in 5:25:59 hours and 06:58:00 hours between Patnitop and Sanasar, respectively.

To mark the 150th anniversary of India’s national song ‘Vande Matram’as many as 430 runners from several parts of India ran 50Km ( ultra- marathon);21 Km (half-marathon,); 10Km( marathon) and Walkathon (5Km) in 18 to Under -35years; 35 to U45 years; 45 to U 55 years;55 to U 65 years and 65 years plus categories in the event organized by the Department of Tourism in collaboration with the Patnitop Development Authority (PDA), Udhampur District Administration and IKA Sports & Events Pvt Limited of Jammu.

Rajesh Kumar and Rimpi Devi won the Half Marathon (21Km) in the Male and Female categories in the 18-Under 35-year age categories by covering it in 1:30:30 hours and 2:32:40 hours, respectively. Abhishek Sharma and Avneet Kour Soni were winners in the 35-U45 category, clocking 01:51:27 hours and 02:48:37 hours, respectively.

Hemanshu Parkash and Bhavna Slathia won the 45-U55 category by covering it in 2:03:58 and 2:57:09 hours, respectively. In the 55-65 category, Krishen Kumar was the winner by covering 21Km in 02:03:37 hours, while in the 65+ category, OP Sharma covered the same distance in 02:14:54 hours, and Lata Alimchandani of Mumbai in 02:50:55hours.

Flagged off the 5th Patnitop Marathon this morning amidst the chill & charm of Patnitop highlands with over 500 spirited runners.

Good to see this event grow not just as a sporting spectacle but as a platform putting Patnitop on tourism map and fueling the local economy pic.twitter.com/8UE0acX45m

— Aiجaz Qaiser (@AijazQaiser) November 9, 2025

The races (marathons) were jointly flagged off by the Joint Director of J-K Tourism, Aijaz Qaisar, and the Chief Executive Officer of PDA, Virender Kumar Manyal, from Patnitop. The Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Mohammed Alyas Khan, alongwith Aijaz Kesar and Virender Manyal, gave away the prizes to the winners.

The Joint Director of the Department of Tourism, Aijaz Kesar, stated that such events will promote tourism in Patnitop and boost the local economy. The CEO, PDA, Virender, said that this Ultra-Marathon was held to mark the 150th anniversary of our national song ‘Vande Matram’, and such an event was held consecutively for the fifth year.

He informed that more than 400 athletes from several states participated in the event. He thanked all the Department of Tourism, Udhampur district administration and Kapil Arora of IKA Sports & Events Co.Ltd for organising the event successfully.

Kapil Arora, MD, IKA Sports & Events, claimed that this 50Km long Ultra-Marathon was the first to be held in J-K and in the special category of 65 plus, included for the first time in the event many 65 plus aged males and females, including Lata Alimchandani,70 years of Mumbai, who participated from many states. (ANI)