Bharat Khatri of Tribhuvan Army Club and local runner Ful Maya Syangba claimed the Langtang-Gosaikunda Half Marathon titles here on Sunday.

The two runners, making their debut in 21km race, braved consistent snowfall and a tough route to win competition, organised to give a message that the area has recovered from the devastating April 25 Great Quake last year.

Khatri clocked one hour 22 minutes and 55 seconds to win ahead of clubmate Hom Lal Shrestha, who suffered thigh cramp after 15 kilometres. Shrestha timed 1:23:35 and behind him was Govinda Bahadur Adhikari of Jumla, who clocked 1:23:46. The race began from Gosaikunda at an altitude of 4,380-metre and passed through Lauribina (3,900m), Cholang Pati (3,584m), Chandanbari (3,300m), Deurali (2,625m) before ending at Dhunche (1,960m).

“The route was really tough and consistent snowfall was making the track very slippery. I had completed the route in just 45 minutes four or five days earlier but then there was no snow, said the 28-year old runner from Ramechhap. Khatri, normally a middle distance runner, believed the event will give a boost to tourism in the region. “Tourism here has been in a decline in the aftermath of earthquake. Event like this will definitely help in reviving it,” added the champion.

Shrestha had been a well-known runner in his recent past but on a difficult terrain, he was outrun by Khatri. “This is not the track that I am used to running. I didn’t have enough training for this race and since I am used to running in flat surface, competing here was pretty difficult. I had to battle with thigh cramp after 15km,” said Shrestha.

Local runner Syangba was making a switch to a different sport having been a martial arts player and she triumphed in her first ever running competition. Syangba completed the race in 2:07:26 ahead of Kamala Tamang (2:18:53) of Sindhupalchowk and another local runner Binda BK (2:21:17).  “It was difficult in the beginning but since there were lesser number of participants, I decided to slow down and I was successful,” said Syangbo who is also a radio presenter with Radio Langtang.

Austrian Patrick Kegler was the first foreigner to complete the race and received a warm reception despite finishing 25th overall. “It was really tough and very slippery due to rain and snow. The race was for a good cause because we wanted to give a message that this place is safe after the earthquake and we delivered that,” said Kigler who works as a teacher at Moonlight School in Kathmandu.