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Annapurna Marathon on June 3
The event will be held under four-day Annapurna Sanctuary Tourism Festival starting on May 31 before ending with the marathon raceSports Bureau
Annapurna Sanctuary Tourism Committee is organising the annual Annapurna Marathon on June 3. The race starts from Annapurna base camp and finishes in Ghandruk, Kaski.
The event will be held under four-day Annapurna Sanctuary Tourism Festival starting on May 31 before ending with the marathon race. Rishiram Bhandari, the coordinator of the marathon and treasurer of the Society, the objective of the race is to promote the Annapurna region as tourism destination. It also seeks to restore facilities at the base camp which were destroyed by avalanche on March 9.
The Society, which comes under the Annapurna Rural Municipality, is organising the festival for the second year in a row. “The marathon is the major attraction of the festival and we hope it will pull foreign participants,” said Bhandari. Ram Hari Subedi, the secretary of the Society, said they were planning to establish the marathon as an international event. Subedi said they are coordinating with Nepal Athletics Association to lure international runners to the event. The organisers are expecting participation of around 100 athletes in the marathon. Tribhuvan Army Club athlete Hari Kumar Rimal is the defending champion.
Top three finishers will get Rs 105,000, Rs 75,000 and Rs 55,000. Others finishing inside top 10 are also assured of their share of cash rewards.