Tribhuvan Army Club’s Rajan Rokaya won the men’s title of the 21.1-kilometre Kantipur Half Marathon, the main event of the 14th edition held on Saturday.

This is Rokaya’s first Kantipur Half Marathon title. He completed the race in 1 hour 4 minutes 03 seconds, starting from in front of the Kantipur office at Tinkune and passing through Koteshwor, Jadibuti, Lokanthali, Gatthaghar, Thimi, Sallaghari, and Jagati Chowk before looping back via Koteshwor to finish at Tinkune.

Army athletes dominated the top three positions. Arjun Budha finished second in 1 hour 6 minutes 04 seconds, while Sushil Shahi finished third in 1 hour 6 minutes 05 seconds. Khadak Bahadur Khadka of the Army had won the previous edition.

In the women’s category, Santoshi Shrestha claimed the title for the second consecutive year. She completed the race in 1 hour 18 minutes 11 seconds. Originally from Dhading, Shrestha had finished last year’s race in 1 hour 23 minutes 28 seconds.

Nisha Pal finished second in 1 hour 18 minutes 26 seconds, while Purna Lakshmi Neupane came third in 1 hour 23 minutes 13 seconds.

Around 4,000 runners participated in this year’s event, including more than 1,500 in the half-marathon alone.

Rokaya and Shrestha received Rs 150,000 each. The second-place finishers received Rs 75,000, while the third-place finishers were awarded Rs 50,000 each.

In the wheelchair race, Ramesh Khatri and Aishwarya Kumal won the men’s and women’s titles, respectively. Ramesh completed the course in 9 minutes 29.22 seconds, while Kumal finished in 12 minutes 26.99 seconds. Dipak Alemagar finished second in the men’s category in 11 minutes 06.02 seconds, and Ramkaji Mijar came third in 11 minutes 57.05 seconds. All three men’s podium finishers are from Jorpati, Kathmandu.

In the women’s wheelchair category, Yami Jhakri Magar from Pyuthan finished second in 13 minutes 30.63 seconds, while Rajani Rai from Khotang came third in 15 minutes 50.08 seconds.

In the Extreme College Run (7 km), Ajay Pandey claimed the title, completing the distance in 25 minutes 35.14 seconds. Dharmendra Sharma finished second in 26 minutes 18.40 seconds, while Bishwaram Kunwar came third in 26 minutes 20.45 seconds.

In the girls’ category of the same race, Anusiya Tandukar won the title in 34 minutes 21.85 seconds. Sajina Ramdam finished second in 36 minutes 38.00 seconds, while Samjhana Kulung came third in 38 minutes 07.00 seconds. Around 1,000 participants took part in the race.

The top three finishers received cash prizes and gift hampers. Winners will also get the opportunity to watch the IPL final, with travel and accommodation arranged by Xtreme Energy.

Pukar Basnet and Kusum Tamang won the corporate and influencer run categories.

In the 5-kilometre race, Pukar of Mount Everest Secondary completed the distance in 17 minutes 42.60 seconds. Ramchandra Shrestha of Shree Sagarmatha Saving and Credit secured second place in 18 minutes 20 seconds, while Yun Rai of Jayamata Durga Transport finished third in 19 minutes 01 seconds.

In the women’s 5-kilometre category, Tamang won the title in 24 minutes 28.38 seconds. Kalpana Maharjan finished second in 24 minutes 30.01 seconds, while Bolibha KC secured third place in 24 minutes 54.68 seconds. Winners received gift hampers.

The Kantipur Half Marathon kicked off on Saturday morning, drawing a record number of participants in its 14th edition.

Record-holding runner Baikuntha Manandhar, a three-time South Asian Games gold medallist and four-time Olympian, inaugurated the race in front of the Kantipur office at Tinkune.

Kantipur Media Group chair Kailash Sirohiya, Chief Executive Officer Mahesh Swar, and Global IME Bank CEO Surendra Raj Regmi jointly flagged off the race.

This year’s event attracted around 4,000 runners, the highest participation so far. The race was held under the slogan “Run for Nepal.” The previous highest turnout was 2,560 runners in 2018.

Organised annually by Kantipur Media Group, the event featured four categories: half-marathon, corporate and influencer run (5 km), extreme college run (7 km), and wheelchair race (3 km).

Presented by Global IME Bank, the marathon had Xtreme Energy Drink as its powered-by partner. Swar said timing chips were introduced for half-marathon runners this year to ensure accurate results.

KFC and Pizza Hut were the event’s celebration partners, while the Nepal Athletics Association served as the technical partner. Frontline Hospital and the Food Management and Trading Company supported the hospital and food partners, respectively.