Kantipur Half-Marathon ends with message for a greener future
Dozens won awards in different categories of the 13th edition of the road race event in Kathmandu on Saturday. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli raises a red flag to kick off the wheelchair race; also pictured to his left is Kantipur Media Group Chairman Kailash Sirohiya. Photos: Hemanta Shrestha, Deepak KC & Mahesh Pradhan
Olympian Santoshi Shrestha and Nepali Army’s Khadak Bahadur Khadka won the women’s and men’s titles, respectively, at the 13th edition of the Kantipur Half Marathon on Saturday.
Shrestha, a former 5 km race champion, secured her maiden 21.1 km title with a timing of 1 hour 23 minutes 28 seconds. This was her third attempt in the half marathon category.
In the men’s event, Khadka completed the course in 1 hour 6 minutes 47 seconds, narrowly defeating Kenya’s Julius Muriuki, who clocked 1:06:56. The Nepali runner overtook Muriuki at the Maitighar bend, around 300 metres ahead of the finish line, to seal victory in his second appearance at the event.
Participants pictured at the start of the race.
Meanwhile, Gopi Chandra Parki of Armed Police Force (APF) finished third for the second consecutive edition with a timing of 1:08:48. The fourth to sixth positions were all secured by Army runners—Rajan Rokaya (1:09:45), Sanjay Shrestha (1:10:32) and Ramji Basnet (1:10:52).
In the women’s category, Army’s Purnalaxmi Neupane came second (1:25:57), improving from her fourth-place finish last year. Pushpa Bhandari of APF, last year’s runner-up, finished third (1:26:43). Sirjana Pandey (1:30:57), Asha TP (1:34:01) from India and Manju Sunuwar (1:51:48) were in the top six.
A participant poses for a photo.
The half-marathon winners received Rs150,000 each, while second- to sixth-place finishers earned Rs75,000, Rs50,000, Rs30,000, Rs20,000, and Rs10,000, respectively.
Likewise, in the 7 km college run, Ajay Pandey (21:24.22) won the boys’ category, followed by Amrit Bishwakarma (21:31.25) and Bishwa Ram Kunwar (21:56.57). In the girls’ category, Susan Karki defended her title with a timing of 29:07, ahead of Ayusha Acharya and Manisha Thapa.
Category winners pose for a group photo.
The 5 km corporate and celebrity run saw Bikesh Ghimire retain his men’s title (18:38), while Rewat Dahal (19:16) and Sher Bahadur Tharu (19:22) came second and third. In the women’s event, Rejina Dulal (24:10) was the winner, followed by Balika KC (24:38) and Kalpana Maharjan (26:22).
In the 3 km wheelchair race, Prem BK and Aishwarya Kumal claimed top honours. Prem secured his first win, while Aishwarya continued her dominance with a third consecutive title.
Wheelchair users pictured at the start of the race.
Ram Kaji Mijar and former champion Ramesh Khatri finished second and third, respectively, in the men’s category. In the women’s division, Yami Kumari Jhankri Magar and Rajani Rai came in second and third, repeating last year’s podium. Wheelchair race winners received Rs35,000, with second and third place finishers earning Rs25,000 and Rs15,000.
The half-marathon and other shorter races under the theme ‘Let’s Run for a Greener Tomorrow’ were organised by the Kantipur Media Group (KMG). The event started from the Central Business Park premises in Thapathali and was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
KMG Managing Director Sambhav Sirohiya (left) among other participants. Participants work their way on the race track. Winners of the half marathon Santoshi Shrestha and Khadak Bahadur Khadka with the trophy.
20.85°C Kathmandu
