Gorkha youth icon Roshni 3rd in Tenzing Hillary Everest Half Marathon

6:50 PM

•

sports news

The Indian youth icon Roshni Rai also the founder of Run With Roshni came third/3rd in Tenzing Hillary Everest Half Marathon, the world's highest marathon.The Everest Marathon was started in 1985 by Jan Turner and Tony Hunt on a trek to and from Everest Base Camp.The even was organised by the Himalaya Expeditions, HimEX in short, which is an Adventure Travel and Expedition Company based in Nepal and founded by Nepalese Tourism Professionals.

Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon is an International High Altitude Adventure Sports Event held at Mt. Everest Base Camp every year on May 29 since 2003 to commemorate the historical ascent of Mount Everest by Late Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953. The trail crisscrosses the Sherpa heartlands of Khumbu Valley between the Everest Base Camp and Namche Bazaar.

Roshni Rai Receiving certificate from Indian Army Colonel, who lead the Indian Army Expedition to Everest 2016.

Roshni on her FB wall wrote the following
Universe loves me.I came 3rd in Tenzing Hillary Everest (THEM) Half Marathon & I won the cash prize of Rs.25000/- (NC).
Reached Everest Base Camp on 27th May & I got the high altitude sickness.I started suffering from lose motion & vomiting. Came down to low altitude in Dinboche yesterday by walking 21km. Today in the morning, I joined Half Marathon from Dinboche.It was tough but Bikram Pandey Kaji NuwaKott Sir has asked Deepak Rai, who is a three times winner of THEM to pace me today. It was with the support of Deepak Rai only, I managed to come third. My finish time for half marathon is 4hrs 2mins.
Now I understood God's plan to make me high altitude sick in Everest Base Camp :)
Thanks to Meenu Shrestha for all the beautiful pics. 
Will be updating more abt EBC trekking soon.

The top three runners in the half marathon have reached the finishing point. The timings of the top three runners are:
1st: Tenzing Dolmans (3:30:13 hrs)
2nd: Dominique Hopkins (3:32:18 hrs)
3rd: Roshani Rai (4:02:08 hrs)

Simarlarly The winners of Full Marathon Open Foreigners:
1. Mr. Robert Celinski from Poland - 4 hrs 24 mins 08 seconds
2. Mr. Fabrice Kah from France - 5 hrs 15 mins 04 seconds
3. Mr. Joseph Wynes from USA - 5 hrs 41 mins 12 seconds

This is indeed a great achievement by our own Roshni Rai and we on be half of the Indian Gorkha Community would like to congratulate her for her achievement. You made us proud again.

READ MORE

Kalimpong Half Marathon 2016

5:39 PM

•

sports news

Kalimpong Half Marathon 2016 was flagged off from Pedong by Mr. Dawa Lepcha, Sabhasaad and Mrs. Sarita Rai (MLA contestant from Kalimpong) at 7am. The finishing line of KHM was Kalimpong Mela Ground. Out of 100 registered runners only 94 runners turned up in the start line. 12 runners ran KHM without registration. Within the cut off time of 3hrs, 96 runners completed KHM.

Among boys Ajay Chettri came first in 1hr 13mins and 35secs, Rupen Chettri came second in 1hr 15mins 30sec and Praveen Chettri came third in1hr 17mins 9sec. All the winners ae from 2 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (BODYGURARD) and currently posted in 17th Mile, Algarah. All the winners are the residents of Darjeeling Districts.

Among Girls Dichen Sherpa from Pagang Gumpa School, Algarah came first in 1hr 52 mins 4 sec, Anjana Acharya came second in 1hr 54mins 33sec and Babita Acharya came third in 1hr 55mins 19sec. Anjana and Babita are sisters and both are the students of Gagotri School.

Winner of Kalimpong Half Marathon 2016

Winners were given medals, certificates and tshirt of Run with Roshni with slogan, ‘WE ARE GORKHAS AND PROUND TO BE INDIANS’ by the Chief Guest Mr. Amlan Ghosh, ASP Kalimpong, who was welcomed by the band of Kalimpong Girls HS School. All the registered runners, who completed the KHM within the cut off time of 3hrs were given medals and timing certificate by the designated Guests- Mr. Nabin Poudyel, Principal of Pedong Degree College, Capt Prakashmani Pradhan, Principal of Rockvale Academy, Mr. Dendup T. Bhutia, President of Kalimpong Sports Association and Mr. Nardhoj Rai, Father of Roshni Rai.

Mr. Piyush Shah came to participate in KHM, all the way from Ahmedabad driving his Alto Car. Mr. Shah has run 100 marathon i.e. 42km in 200 days. He has also run 24hrs on treadmill. It was an honour for the youngsters of Kalimpong to see him running KHM.
Mr. Roop Betala, Mrs. Manasi Samudra, Cdr. Sunil Handa, Mrs. Ritu Handa came from Mumbai to participate in KHM.

Lt. Col. Shri Krishna and Mr. Shireesh Anjal came from Bangalore.
It was very inspiring to see Dr. Ashok Pratap Singh, DFO ( IFS) Siliguri and Mr. GR Santosh, (IFS) Director, Forest Training Centre, Dowhill, Kurseong completing KHM.
The entire logistics of Kalimpong Half Marathon 2016 at the finish line in Kalimpong Half Marathon was managed by the teachers and students of SUMI School, under the leadership of Mr. Ganesh Dahal. KHM was a grand success with the support of entire public, different organisations, associations and schools from Pedong to Kalimpong.

Following are the main vision of Run with Roshni Foudation ;
1. to eliminate the identity crisis faced by Nepali speaking Indian in their own motherland.
2. Bringing awareness among Indians, how the Nepali speaking people are Indians.
3. To bring awareness all over India that Nepali is a recognized language under the Constitution of India and it is one of the languages mentioned in the Indian currency.

If our Gorkha runners get Gold Medal from Olympic Marathon, we will get the support of International medias to fulfill the above visions. Now by getting the winners of KHM from Army, we are confident to realise our vision very soon.

‘Run with Roshni’ is a mission to eliminate the identity Crisis faced by Nepali-Speaking Indians in their motherland, with or without Gorkhaland. Roshni is not an individual. Roshni means “enlightenment”. It is a mission for the enlightenment and empowerment. Our mission is to enlighten people, who do not know, how Nepali-Speaking people are Indian and to empower Gorkhas in India. Gorkhas, who can climb any mountain, will now run for their empowerment.

Darjeeling has received enough number of her sons with the tricolour on their chest; now she will start receiving her sons with the tricolour on their shoulders. Martyr returns home with the tricolour on their chest, whereas sportspersons return with tricolour on their shoulders.


Team Run with Roshni.

READ MORE

Heart patients, Gorkhas are in race to spread awareness

11:06 AM

•

sports

MUMBAI: Sunday's Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon will prove to be empowering in more ways than one.
A group of ten Gorkha boys and girls from far-flung villages of Darjeeling will be running the half-marathon in T-shirts that read: 'We are Gorkhas and proud to be Indians'. The Northeast has for years been fraught with cultural stereotyping and this campaign is the brainchild of Roshni Rai (35), a resident of Mumbai with roots in Pedong to assert their identity in public space.

Fed up with racial slurs, Roshni decided to change things around with a good run. An advocate with "no athletic background" Roshni ran her first marathon in 2007 as part of a leadership project to benefit her community. What started as her medium of self-expression has turned into a rallying cry of support for Gorkhas. "I formed a team of Gorkha runners and I have been using marathons as a platform to highlight grievances and identity issues," said Roshni, who has run 11 marathons across the country.
Her project 'Run with Roshni' has not been a shot in the dark. While it has inspired many from the hills to follow in her footsteps, individuals and running clubs have come forward to dole out the less privileged with registration money, train tickets, accommodation and sports gear. Some of the runners have also earned themselves a job in the Army.
"It has created an opportunity for Gorkhas to understand their potential and for non-Gorkhas to respect them," said Roshni. Talking of twin purposes, 18 sexagenarians will get on their mark on Sunday to prove that they can be happy and healthy even after an open-heart surgery. Called the 'Zippers Club' (taking off from the surgical scar left behind after a bypass that looks like a zipper running up and down the chest) these bravehearts hope to dispel the fears and doubts. "Running is liberating and for most heart surgery patients, it pulls them out of the physical and mental trauma," said Venkatraman Pichumani, who founded the cardiac support group.
Another runner to make a statement at the marathon is 47-year-old Michelle Kakade. "Women are perceived as the weaker sex and physical demanding activities are not our cup of tea especially at my age. If you have the desire and determination no one can stop you," said Michelle whose state of mind helped shape her. With a trail of running records Michelle is aiming for the Guinness World Records for fastest time to travel the Indian golden quadrilateral on foot (female).

Source -Toi

READ MORE

Gorkha runner wins Amway Darjeeling Police Marathon - Triumphs Over Kenyan and Ethiopian Runners

8:04 AM

•

Tourism

Writes: Vivek Chhetri

The Amway Darjeeling Police Marathon had international participants, from as far away as Ethiopia and Kenya, but the winner in the male category was a Darjeeling runner.

Around 1,500 runners took part in the 21km half marathon which was flagged off at Sukhiapokhri today.

The event was organised by Darjeeling police in association with the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration to commemorate the 153th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

Ajay Chhetri, 22, from Shivgram in Darjeeling who started running after joining the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles two years ago, stole the show by winning in the male category. Punjab's Kiranjeet Kaur, 22, won in the women's category.

"When I joined the Army, the officers asked me to concentrate on marathons after watching me do cross-country running during training. It is then that I put on my running shoes. I came fourth in this marathon last year. I am happy to win this year," said Chhetri.

Ajay Chhetri, 22, from Shivgram in Darjeeling

In the past two years, Chhetri has run six half marathons across India.

Today, he completed the run, from Sukhiapokhri to Chowrasta, in 1 hour 10 minutes and 39 seconds.

From the start to the finish line, Chhetri held the lead with two Ethiopian and two Kenyan runners following him closely.

Tewodros Haile, 32, from Ethiopia, came second clocking 1 hour, 11 minutes and 5 seconds. "The run was beautiful, but I had never trained for a marathon in a hilly terrain. After 18km, I was extremely tired," he said.

Haile added that he has taken part in 11 marathons across the world. "I have run in Ukraine and United States among other countries. Even in India, I have participated in six marathons so far," he said.

The four Ethiopian and Kenyans runners came to know about the event from the Internet. "We usually browse the net to find out about marathons and that is how we came to Darjeeling," Haile said.

Vikash Kumar from Delhi was the second runner-up in the men's catergory.

In the women category, Kiranjeet clocked 1 hour 25 minutes 8 seconds. Seema Khatoon, from Delhi, and Monika Chowdhury, from Uttar Pradesh, were the first and second runners-up, respectively.

The winners in both men and women categories got a cash prize of Rs 1.5 lakh each.

The first and second runners-up won a Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 each, respectively.

Darjeeling superintendent of police, Amit P. Javalgi, said: "This year, we had runners from Ethiopia and Kenya and different parts of our country. Nearly 1,500 people ran, including 200 women. The event is organised to promote peace and harmony between the plains and the hills and promote Darjeeling as an environment-friendly tourist place. We are happy with the turnout.

Source: Telegraph

READ MORE

Darjeeling half marathon to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda

9:07 AM

•

sports news

Darjeeling district police will organise a 21km-long half marathon to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on January 12, an event which is likely to see the participation of international runners.

Amit P. Javalgi, the superintendent of police, Darjeeling, said here today that the main objective of organising the event was to promote tourism in the Darjeeling hills. "We would like to impart a message that Darjeeling is the place where peace and harmony prevail."

He said former Indian athlete Shiny Wilson would inaugurate the half-marathon at Sukhiapokhri.

According to him, around 1,000 people had participated in the race last year. This year, the organisers are expecting a higher turnout. "Registration for participating in the race has started and will continue till January 11. The registration fee is Rs 250. However, on January 12, we will allow any sports enthusiast to take part in the run without registration. Prizes will be given only to those who register their names," said Javalgi.

Ahead of the Darjeeling run, another half-marathon will be held in Siliguri on January 10 as part of the ongoing Uttarbanga Utsav. The Siliguri Marathon will be organised jointly by the north Bengal development department and Agrani Sangha, a local club.

The 21-km long run will be flagged off from Hashmi Chowk and end at the Agrani Sangha club.

Two more events, an 8km mini marathon and a 4km dream run will also be organised simultaneously. In the half-marathon, the winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, while the first runner-up will be given Rs 50,000.

Source: Telegraph

READ MORE

Roshni‬ Rai selected as the ‪‎Ambassador ‬of ‪‎Everest‬ Marathon, 2016

9:06 AM

•

sports news

Ultra Marathon runner, Ms‪ ‎Roshni‬ Rai for being selected as the ‪  ‎Ambassador ‬of ‪‎Everest‬ Marathon, 2016 along with ‪Meera‬ Rai of Nepal. The Everest Marathon, an annual International high altitude marathon run will take place on May 29, 2016 in Nepal. It is one of the most difficult runs in the unforgiving terrains of the ‪‎Himalayas‬.

The ambassadors for the Everest Run 2016 was announced during the event “Cross Border Tourism in the Himalayan Region”, organized by National Tourism Foundation on 6th January 2016 at Heritage Hotel Shankar in Kathmandu. The event was also attended by representatives from Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation.

Roshni Rai was invited to the event by Bikram Pandey, the founder of the National Tourism Foundation which organizes the Everest Run. Roshni’s book “From the Mountains to the Ocean” was also released during the event.

Via GYASA

READ MORE

Sikkim to Host marathon at altitude of 16,400ft

9:22 AM

•

sports news

Gangtok, Oct. 27: Sikkim will host a marathon at an altitude of 16,400ft on November 5.

The marathon has been christened the Kanchenjungha Marathon and would be followed by a trek from Yuksom in West Sikkim.

The marathon will begin at 6am from Goechala which is a popular trekking route for adventure lovers located in the foothills of the Kanchenjungha and will conclude at Yuksom village in West Sikkim.

There will also be a team of doctors and paramedics accompanying the runners.

The process of participation is through online registration which is closed now and the registration fees for marathon and trek is Rs 12,000 for Sikkim residents, Rs 32,000 for other Indians and Rs 42,000 for foreigners.

There are fourteen runners participating, among them one from Germany, two from Bangalore and Odisha. The youngest participant is 14-year-old Aashiv Subba from Darap.

The event will be organised jointly by the Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation and the Sikkim Amateur Mountaineering Association (SAMA).

"The idea of the marathon was conceived in 2008 but somehow could not materialise. It is a line of Everest marathon that is held annually in the Everest base camp. SAMA is providing the technical and other supports to organise the event," said Kunzang Gyatso, the president of SAMA.

The chief executive officer of the state tourism corporation, Binita Rai, said that the Kanchenjungha marathon would be an annual event and will be also listed in the tourism calendar.

The winner will get a cash prize of Rs 75,000.

Source Telegraph

READ MORE

Amway Darjeeling Police Marathon — Let’s Run for Peace.

11:05 AM

•

Winners of

Darjeeling, Jan. 12: Darjeeling came to a standstill this morning, but this time 17-year-old Raksha and her mother Asha were not confined indoors.

They were out on the streets at 7am and running in the first-of-its-kind marathon in the hills.

Winners of Amway Darjeeling Police Marathon 2014

After the prolonged statehood agitation that had crippled the hill town last year, Darjeeling put on its running shoes for peace and harmony.

Raksha and Asha Tamang were among the 2,000 participants from the hill town and around the country who braved the cold — 10-12°C — and lined up at the starting point of the first Amway Darjeeling Police Marathon — Let’s Run for Peace.

The 13km run was held in association with The Telegraph.

Actress Subhashree at Chowrasta.
She gave away prizes. Picture by Suman Tamang.jpg

As the run was held on the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, Swami Nityasatyananda, secretary of Darjeeling’s Ramkrishna Mission Nivedita Educational and Cultural Research Centre, was present at the prize-giving ceremony at Chowrasta. “On seeing such enthusiastic participation, I am reminded of a quote of Swamiji. ‘Be a hero, always say I have no fear’,” the monk said.

Toddlers to teenagers, homemakers to honchos, athletes to the aged, schoolchildren to soccer stars and the odd starlet, everyone was there for Sunday morning’s run to “give peace a chance” as The Beatles would have put it.

About 2,000 people ran and an equal number cheered them. The weather gods allowed for a clear, sunny sky.

“We just had to be here today. My mother and I wanted to be part of this historic run together,” said a beaming Raksha, a Class X student of Sukhiapokhri High School.

Some came wrapped in mufflers, others in thick woollens and some came in just T-shirts.

But everyone was in sneakers and brimming with enthusiasm when they assembled at Ghoombhanjyang, just outside the Ghoom railway station.

In August, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had called stay-at-home protests and the people had stayed in.

While the seasoned runners did their stretches in a corner, the late-risers were seen trying to get alert with steaming cups of tea.

Ministers Madan Mitra and Gautam Deb were not there at the starting line. But Bhaichung Bhutia was.

At 9.15am, after the Darjeeling police band played the national anthem, former Indian football captain Bhaichung let loose a bunch of Tri-colour balloons to loud cheers and flagged off the marathon.

Although 13km is much shorter than the official marathon distance of 42.19km, the organisers felt that a 42km run on hilly terrain would have been daunting.

Each participant was given a white T-shirt. The route was lined with tourists and local people who clapped and cheered the participants.

Bhaichung, in a navy blue tracksuit gifted by the police, did not run but encouraged the runners. “It is great to see such a massive turnout. I hope the marathon spreads to Sikkim and other northeast states,” he told Metro while posing for photographs.

The behind-the-scenes team was led by Kunal Aggarwal, superintendent of police, Darjeeling.

Dressed in a tracksuit identical to Bhaichung’s, he made sure the run was completed without a glitch. “We are overwhelmed by the response. We were hoping to attract about 800 people but the turnout of 2,000 has taken us by surprise. This has motivated us to organise the marathon next year, in a bigger and better way.”

In all, 1,500 men and 500 women from Bengal, Assam, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Sikkim and Karnataka participated.

The runners started from Ghoombhanjyang and passed Ghoom station through Sukhia Road, Tenzing Norgay Road (NH55), 18th Lebong Cart Road, Birch Hill Road, Mall Road, past the zoo and ended the run at Chowrasta — the main square of the town.

Hari Shankar Sharma, 30, from Rajasthan was the first to cross the finishing line among the men. He completed the run in 41 minutes. Shyamali Singh from Asansol was first in the female category.

Sharma wrapped himself up in a thick blanket as soon as he finished, taking it off only when he was called to receive the medal. He ran the marathon in Calcutta on January 5. It is there that he learnt about the Darjeeling event and took a train to the hill town.

“In recent times, Darjeeling has been in the news for all the wrong reasons but I hope today’s marathon sends a strong signal that the people of Darjeeling want nothing but peace,” Bhaichung said after the prize distribution.

Source:The Telegraph

READ MORE