Ex-players Forum Nepal is set to organise the 15th Pokhara International Marathon from February 13 to April 17 with the main events set to take place on the opening day.

The event will feature an open marathon and women's half marathon which will take place on February 13, the forum informed at a press conference on Wednesday.

The event will also have race formats dedicated for persons on wheelchairs and those who are visually imparied in both male and female categories. The races will take place on March 6. The race competition for 10 km and 5 km under male and female categories will also be held on March 27 and April 17 respectively.

According to Tej Gurung, the president of the Forum, they expect participation from around 150 runners in the marathon.

Athletes from 13 countries had participated in the last edition of the event.

"Though we are not expecting participation of runners from European and other countries in the current edition due to the pandemic, we hope to have runners from South Asian countries," said Gurung. "Women's half marathon is the new addition in the annual event included with the view to attract women towards the game and provide a platform to showcase their talent."

According to Gurung, the main objective of the marathon is to develop the concept of city marathons like those organised in major cities of Europe and other developed countries and to establish Pokhara in the global sports map.

"We want to establish April 17 as a festive day in the city,” said Gurung.

The expected cost of the event is around Rs 5 million out of which Rs 800,000 will be spent in cash prizes to the winners. The top three finishers of the marathon will walk home with
Rs 200,000, Rs 100,000 and Rs 75,000. The winners in the women's half marathon will get
Rs 100,000, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000.

The winners of other categories will also be awarded with cash prizes.