Gurung was the first tourism minister of Nepal and Herzog was the first person to climb Mount Annapurna on June 3, 1950.[break]
Olympian and South Asian Games record holder marathoner Baikuntha manandhar, who is the technical director of the marathon, said that the task for the athletes is quite challenging. “It´s very tough. The athletes will have to toil hard to complete the marathon,” said Manandhar, who will also assume the role of a judge in the marathon.
All the athletes will have to cover the distance of 42.195 kilometers from the base camp at the height of 4550 meters and finish at Dhampus situated at 1,770 meters above the sea level. The athletes will have to pass through Sinuwa Danda, Chomrong, Landruk, Tolka and Pothana to complete the race which has six downhills and five uphills.
Altogether 50 athletes, including 13 women and two foreigners, have confirmed their participation in the marathon. The list also includes six athletes from Army and Armed Police Force.
The title favorite of the marathon is Sudip Kulung from Solukhumbu who just won the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon with a timing of 3 hours 45 minutes on May 29.
Among the female participants, Yangdi Lama Sherpa is the favorite to win the title as she is the three-time winner of the Everest Marathon with her personal best record of 5 hours 22 minutes.
“I hope to finish the marathon within six hours because it is technically difficult and dangerous,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lee Won Jin from South Korea said that he was here for trekking but decided to participate in the marathon after he came to know about the event.
“I like participating in marathons,” said Lee, who has 10 marathons to his credit with the best position during the Jong Ang International Marathon in which he finished third.
“But this is the first time that I am participating in a high-altitude marathon,” he added.
The race is expected to promote the scope of sports tourism and adventure sports. According to race coordinator Khadga Bahadhur Ranabhat, promoting June 3 as a tourism festival is the objective behind organizing the race.
The winner will receive Rs 50,000 in the open male category while the second and third position holders will receive Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively. In the women´s category the first position holder will bag a purse of Rs 25,000 and the second and third position holder will bag Rs 20,000 and Rs 15,000.
The race is being organized by Adventure Sports Tourism Society, Nepal Trekking Association Pokhara Chapter, Pokhara Tourism Council, Nepal Mountaineering Association Annapurna Charter, Western Hotel Association Pokhara, Syanchuri Tourism Association, Lali Guras Youth Club, Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon, Himalayan Expeditions, Western Region Development Committee, District Sports Development Committee, Kaski and We the Annapurnas.
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