Darjeeling Hill Marathon Celebrates Spirit: Cancer Survivor and Young Runner Inspire Many

At the Darjeeling hill marathon on Sunday, eight-year-old Srshty Swami and septuagenarian Pratap Singh Rai crossed the finish line last, but many saw them as the real winners.

75-year-old Rai is a cancer survivor. It was Srshty's second marathon ever.

The pair needed over four hours to finish the 21-kilometer run. On the other hand, the race was finished in an hour, eight minutes, and forty-one seconds by Kenya's Henry Kiprono Togom, who finished first.

"I run to demonstrate to the next generation the importance of staying in shape. The simplest and least expensive way to do this is to run," stated Rai, the creator of Darjeeling's Bhadra Sheela Memorial Institution (BSMI).

Rai has been running since 1968, but starting in 2010, he had to take a five-year hiatus.

Rai, who underwent chemotherapy, said, "I used to have stomach aches from 2008 but it wasn't until 2010 that I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a cricket ball-sized tumor in my colon." The gregarious seventy-nine-year-old stated, "I, however, did not experience any adverse effects, not even hair loss."

During the run, Rai and Srshty did not walk at all. "Anyone who decides to walk during a marathon should automatically be eliminated. While running the entire distance is encouraged, speed is not a concern, according to Rai.

Srshty claimed that when the ascent got difficult, she clung to Rai's backpack. But the run was enjoyable, she said with a big smile.

The hilly terrain of the Darjeeling run makes it difficult, even for experts.

"We have high altitude runs in Kenya too, but this is definitely one of the most difficult because of the hilly terrain and the cold," Togom, the male 21-kilometer winner, remarked.

Togom had never run in Darjeeling before. "I have participated in the majority of Indian runs." When I'm competing in races in India, I usually base myself in Bangalore," Togom, a 2009 graduate, said.

Many runners from all over India, as well as from Bangladesh and Nepal, finished the race.

Darjeeling's running standards are improving, according to 73-year-old Raghu Raj Onta, a former Olympian from Nepal who now coaches long-distance runners. Onta competed in the 100-meter sprint at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

"I came here from Nepal with a group of seven runners. The standard of living here, as well as the craze for running in Darjeeling, is improving, according to Onta, a retired economics professor from Tribhuwan University in Kathmandu.

Approximately 2,500 runners participated in this year's 10 run categories, which included 10km and 21km. A 4.5k fun walk was also offered. The 9.8 lakh rupee prize money was the total.

honors in music

The three-day MELOtea fest was concluded by the marathon. There was a band competition last night with a Rs 10 lakh prize fund. The winners were Guns from Countryside from Sikkim, Ambush from Guwahati, and Chromatic from Darjeeling.

The band Mana of Sikkim's Awakash Yonzone was chosen as the best guitarist. The category was created in memory of Parikrama band member Sonam Sherpa, who passed away in 2020.

On Saturday night Parikrama gave a performance as well.

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