Chandigarh
25 September 2017
DIVYA AZAD
As many as 2,000 people from different walks of life took part in the 2nd edition of ‘Punjab half Marathon-2017’ for a cause ‘Say No to Drugs’ on Sunday morning. This mega event was hosted by the State Legal Services Authority, U.T. Chandigarh, Narcotics Control Bureau along with national level trust Thrill Zone .The marathon was flagged off by Sh. Balbir Singh, District and Sessions Judge, Chandigarh. Honble Mr Justice Surya Kant inspired the participants by giving away prizes to the winners and stressed on the need for Drug Free Society.
The marathon had three categories covering the distance of 21 km 10 km and 5 km. The marathon commenced from Chandigarh club at 5.30 am which crossed Rock Garden, Sukhna Lake, Kishangarh, and IT Park and ended at the point from where it had started. Asian Marathon Champion (1992), Dr Sunita Godara was the Marathon Ambassador for the event.
Mohinder Kaur Kataria, motivational speaker handled the arrangements of the marathon and motivated the participants to run for the cause as in case the demand of drugs goes down than the supply automatically get reduced.
In 21 km category for men in the age group of 18 to 30 years, Aindru Chemjong stood first who finished the race in 1:15:50 and Bishal Rai secured the second position who completed the race in 1:16:19 and Binosh Limbu took third position by ending the race in 1:16:22.
In the age group of 30-40 years, Amit Kumar stood first by finishing the race in 1:34:37 and Raminder Singh Bhatia stood second who took 1:35:40 and Amarjit Giri remained at the third position by finishing the race in 1:40:45.
In the age group of 40-50, Stephan Van Merwe stood first by finishing the race in 1:28: 25 and Sanjeev Chaudhary remained at second position by finishing in 1:41:10 and Rajesh Jain bagged third position in 1:43:55.
In the age group of above 50 Angrez Shekha stood first by finishing the race in 1:33: 25 and Vinit Kaura remained at second position by finishing in 1:46:30 and Subodh Saggi bagged third position in 1:48:05.
In the female category of 18 to 30 years, Arushi Gupta stood first by finishing the race in 2:29:32 Tanveen Lamba stood second by finishing the race in 2:30:00 and Alka Nupur secured the third position by ending the race in 2:31:31.
In the age group of 30-40, Meghana Vijaylaxmi Dutt stood first who finished the race in 01:53:40. Sarika Singh Chauhan took the second position by finishing the race in 1:59:07. Simran Kochhar stood third by finishing the race in 2:00:10
In the age group of 40-50, Archana Jain was the winner who finished the race in 02:17:45. In above 50 category, Anurdha Dhingra was declared the winner who finished the race in 2:13:21.
In the 10 km open category for men, Amanpreet Singh took the first position by finishing it in 00:43:53, Ankit Singh stood second by finishing it in 00:44:15 and Inderbir Singh bagged the third position by ending it in 00:44:24. In the female category, Deepali Garg stood first by finishing it in 00:53:25, Anandi Van Der Merwe remained at the second position by finishing it in 00:55:16 and Tanya Gaikwad bagged the third position by finishing it in 01:01:41.
Balbir Singh who was the chief guest on the occasion gave away the prizes to the winners. The winners were given trophies, shoes, T-shirts and certificates. While congratulating the winners, Founder of Thrill Zone, P C Kushwaha said, “The marathon witnessed overwhelming response. The support from Chandigarh police, Traffic department made it more successful. We will be back to the city beautiful with a new cause soon”.
