Lumbini, April 6: In April 6, 2024, the second day of first Lumbini International Peace Festival, successfully held a peace marathon in Lumbini, Nepal; the birth place of Sakyamnuni Lord Gautam Buddha.

Hundreds of runners from Nepal, China, India, Pakistan and other countries participated in the “Run for World Peace”program gathering  in Lumbini; one of the prominent world heritage site for people around the nation who regard Buddha.

"Run For World Peace" is basically a peace marathon symbolizing collective journey in a world filled with harmony and unity included 42.195-km full marathon organized for men, 21-km half marathon for women, three-km walkathon and five-km run which started early morning at 6. A music concert was also held at Lumbini Square in the evening where renowned artists including Ani Chowing Dolma and other international talents gave their performance to make the event truly memorable, more powerful and impactful.

Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal His Excellency Chen Song also participated in the program.

Tirtha Pun won the first place in men’s race and Santoshi Shrestha who won gold in the 13th South Asian Games stood first in Women’s half race by completing their targets in 2hr 30  minutes and 1 hr 18 minutes 45 seconds respectively.

Tirtha Pun emerged victorious in the Lumbini International Peace Marathon by completing the 42.195-km-long race in 2 hours 30 minutes and 49 seconds. Khadga Bahadur Khadka took 2hrs 20 minutes and 57 second appearing second in the race while Durga Bahadur Budha won the third place by covering the whole distance in 2 hours 22 minutes and 27 second.

Likewise, following the Santoshi Shrestha who stood first in women’s race, Purna Rajya Laxmi Neupane from Tribhuwan Army Club and APF Club’s Pushpa Bhandari completed the half marathon second and third respectively. Purna completed the race in 1 hour 19 minutes and 21 seconds while Pushpa completed it in 1 hour 25 minutes and 14 seconds.

Further, next 5km run marathon categorized the male and female during the race in which Nageshwar Aahir won the first place in men’s category while Sirjana Pandey stood first in women’s.  

Akkal Bahadur Pal and Ganesh Singh Raut in men’s 5km secured the second and third medals respectively while Asha Raut and Nirmala KC achieved the second and third place in women’s 5km respectively.

More, 3 km Walkathon was also organised for male and female students separately. Aruna Chaudhary, Kushum Thagunna and Bhuma Chaudhary came first, second and third in the female category respectively. Similarly, Umesh Barai, Sandesh Pandey and Ashish Kumar Chhetri came first, second and third in the male category respectively.

The winners of the full marathon received Rs. 5,00,000 , Rs. 3,00,000 and Rs. 2,00,000 for first, second and third position winners respectively. There were cash prizes for racers finishing up to 10th in the full marathon.

Only the top three racers of the half-marathon received cash prizes. The top three finishers of the half marathon were given Rs. 2,00,000, Rs. 1,60,000 and Rs. 1,20,000 respectively.

In the four 5-km categories, the first, second and third-placed racers of each category received Rs. 15,000, Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 5,000 respectively.

The competition was strongly supported by the 15th batch of Chinese medical team to Nepal. Greenford Logistics, as the main sponsor of the Peace Festival, not only provided financial support, but also provided logistics support to the race.

Overseas Chinese Association in Nepal not only participated in the event as runners, but also contributed to the success of the event through volunteer services, material donations and publicity.

Qin Zhifeng, Nepal Marketing Department of China Construction Seventh Engineering Bureau, participated in the 5km race. Although he did not win the award, he said he was very happy to compete with athletes from all over the world. His company has several projects being implemented in Nepal, and he hopes to complete the project as soon as possible and contribute to the infrastructure of Nepal.

The organization of this festival on the special occasion of International Meditation Day provided Nepal and China to bond with each other along with many other nationalities. The vibrant and energized race not just specialized the religious event in religious place but established itself as a way of cultural exchange, bonding and sharing between multiple nationalities.

Some other glimpses of the event captured in the camera of SATV are: