WINNER OF HEARTS IN HILL MARATHON: EDMUND HILLARY'S SONDarjeeling keeps pace with spirit

VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, 11 Nov 2019, Darjeeling: An Everest of races in the region, the Darjeeling Hill Marathon 2019 helped the town reconnect with the family of Edmund Hillary, showcased the triumph of will over physical challenges and turned Chowrasta into a big carnival square.

Organised by Darjeeling Police, in association with The Telegraph, the event drew more than 3,500 participants, making it the biggest run ever in the hills.

The weather was perfect with the glistening Mount Kanchenjunga watching over the runners. At 6am, Darjeeling was pleasantly surprised when Peter Hillary, son of the legendary Edmund Hillary, walked on to the stage.

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa had brought Darjeeling to the world map when the duo had conquered Mount Everest for the first time in 1953. 

Peter said: "This is such a wonderful event. Such events not only help the community stay fitter but also bring rich dividends for tourism." 

Peter could not meet Tenzing's son, Jamling, as he was out of station. "But I did receive an email from him last evening," said Peter.

Going by the number of people wanting to be photographed with Peter, it was clear that Darjeeling was relishing its 66-year-old link with the family. 

"We had a number of teachers from this region at our school in Nepal (that Hillary had set up for the Sherpas)," said the son of the Everester."

Darjeeling police chief Amarnath K. said: "We had over 3,500 participants and our aim was not just to get international and national runners but also to promote local people. We kept a number of categories just for the locals.

The total amount of prizes stood at Rs 10 lakh The marathon, however, brought different facets of the town together.

Triumph of will 

Dawa Sherpa, 69, a retired policeman, proved that age is just a number. 

"I not only completed my run in 1 hour 34 minutes but bettered it by two minutes compared to my last year's timing," said Sherpa. "I plan to participate in more runs and will be participating in 25K marathon in Calcutta soon." 

And from Calcutta, Uday Kumar, 30, had come to Darjeeling to demonstrate a similar will. 

"I am running this marathon with 91 per cent disability," said Kumar, whose life changed after a train accident in Calcutta in 2015.

"I started running from November 2018 and this is my 24th race. I want to compete in the Olympics," the yoga teacher said before his 4km run.

The Darjeeling marathon had four categories, 21K, 10K and two 4K runs for students and the locals.

Passion 

D.J. Simon was performing in Siliguri till 11pm on Saturday night. "I left Siliguri around 1am in the morning and drove through the night on my bike to be here. I am getting paid here but it is not the money that pulled me. I am very passionate and I had to be here today. "

It was the same passion for running that brought Swastika Sarkar, 38, Rupa Das, 38, Sugata Mitra, 32, Amitava Mondal, 39, and Sourav Kasyap, 31, residents of Calcutta, to the event.

 "We came to know about the event through social media and decided to participate as we do not get to run in such terrain," said Rupa .

KENYANS REACH FIRST 

Podium finishers of Darjeeling Hill Marathon 

21K International 1 Nicodemus Kiprugut (1:09:18 hours) 2 Noah Kipsang Kemei (1:12: 16) 3 Caren Jebet Maiyo (1:23:38) (All from Kenya) 

21K Elite male (Indian) 1 Durga Budha (1:11:10) 2 Shankar Man Thapa (1:12:53) 3 Ajay Chhetri (1:15:05) 

21K Elite female (Indian) 1 Arpita Saini (1:30:06) 2 Kirenjith Kaur (1:30:12) 3 Chandrakala Sharma (1:36:23) 

21K Local male (18-44 years) 1 Rohit Harijan (1:16:53) 2 Nabin Purja (1:19:21) 3 Surat Raj Subba (1:19:24) 

21K Local female (18-44 years) 1 Preity Rai (1:32:49) 2 Anjuli Subba (1:39:52) 3 Sabina Rai (1:47:29) 

21K Male (45-plus) 1 Premius Bhutia (1:24:27) 2 Karma Sherpa (1:32:18) 3 Dawa Lama (1:34:06) 

21K Female (45-plus) 1 Subarna Subba (2:00:29) 2 Jyoti Dutta Khanikar (2:28:05) 3 Kaushhilya Pradhan (2:31:03) 

10K Male 1 Bikash Bhujel (38:09) 2 Bibek Chhetri (38:53) 3 Raphael Thapa (38:59) 

10K Female 1 Siksha Rai (51:57) 2 Samjhana Subba (52:13) 3 Bindhya Tamang (54:07)