Khagendra Ranabhat of Nepal Army claimed the title of Liglige Daud as athletes from the departmental teams swept the top three positions on Monday.

Ranabhat from Doti clocked 1 hour 2 minutes to to win the 13.5km race that started from Marshyangdi and finished at the Ligligkot of Gorkha.

He was rewarded with Rs 50,505. Ramji Basnet (1:04:00) ended up in second and Krishna Basnet (1:05:38) in third.

They were rewarded with Rs 30,305 and Rs 20,205. Altogether 105 runners competed in the event.

Santoshi Shrestha of Dhading defended the women’s title with the timings of 39 minutes to better her last year’s record by one minute.

Nepal Army’s Sanumaya Karki (45 minute) finished second and Mira Shrestha (48 minute) third. The top three finishers earned Rs 15,500, Rs 10,005 and Rs 5,005 respectively.  

According to the organiser Ligligkot Development Initiative (LDI), the race was imitation of 17th century tradition of the Ligligkot State of Gorkha District.

The LDI has been holding the race annually since 2010 with the objective of promoting domestic and international tourism.