The annually recurring Great Tibetan Marathon is a marathon that takes place on the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the ...

in northern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

– also known as little Tibet. The Great Tibetan Marathon is unusual in that it happens in an elevation of 3,500 meters in spiritual

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

surroundings. The high elevation makes the

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

level extremely low and the marathon equally more physically challenging. But the position in the Himalayan mountains also gives an unparalleled dimension of beauty to the marathon. An extra feature is the atmosphere of the

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

that rubs off on the whole adventure. The start of the marathon will be blown on long Buddhist horns, instead of the traditional shot by a starting pistol, and all runners are blessed by

Buddhist monks A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

, who also serve as helpers along the way. The Great Tibetan Marathon 2007, runners participated from all over the world. The runners were competing in the distances: marathon,

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

, 10K and 5K. Rigzin Khandap was one of the top finishers who were invited with the other runners for dinner at The Honorable minister of

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

, Mr. Jora Rigzin. In 2009, 74 runners from all over the world finished the three distances: marathon, half marathon and 10 km. Majority of runners came from India and Europe with a minority coming from Southeast Asia and North Asia including Kenny Ng from Singapore who participated in the full marathon twice in 2007 and 2008. The event did not take place in 2010. Preparation: As it is a high elevation race, organizers recommend that participants arrive in Ladakh a week before the race to get acclimatized to the conditions. As part of the race schedule, the organizers also include a trial run and a trek in the 2 days prior to race day to ensure runners get a sense of the task at hand. The medical team also checks the runners after the trial runs to see whether their bodies have acclimatized to the conditions.

Past winners

External links

Official website
Marathons in India Sport in Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Sport in Ladakh Year of establishment missing {{marathon-stub

Past winners

See also

External links