Puri:Despite of a cold and foggy morning, great cheer prevailed on a road near the sea beach here as over 4,000 people, including a large number of students and foreigners participated in the first edition of ‘Puri Mini Marathon’ held in the Pilgrim City on Thursday, on the occasion of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Jayanti.
Dressed in beautiful jerseys, running shoes and carrying a positive attitude, professional runners, amateurs, school students and senior citizens crossed the finish line with great pride and spirit.
The theme for this year’s event was ‘Disaster Resilient Heritage.’ Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Tusharkanti Behera flagged off the marathon that began from the District Sports Complex at Talabania covering around 8-km route culminated near the Beach Hotel Asiana Lagoon.
The mini marathon was organized by the District Administration in association with Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
A total prize money of Rs 1.90 lakh was distributed to the winners in all three categories.
In the male category, Mukund Banra secured first position while Rashmi Ranjan Nayak and Sudhansu Nayak got second and third spots respectively.
Similarly, Samsad Ara Begum secured first position while Sandhya Murmu and Saima Smile Mohanty took second and third spots respectively in female category.
The Puri Mini Marathon is an annual event which will be held on January 23 every year with a new theme and to provide a common platform to promote health and active lifestyles.
Security arrangements were personally monitored by Puri SP Umashankar Dash in order to avoid any untoward incident during the course of the event.
Puri Collector Balwant Singh and NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahedi presented mementos to all the guests present on the stage by appreciating their gesture.
