Geeta Phogat to grace half marathon on December 16

PATNA: Freestyle wrestler Geeta Phogat, who won India’s first ever gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, will be the brand ambassador of the second edition of half marathon to be held in the city on December 16. Though Phogat will be in the city on the day of half marathon, the district administration has so far not confirmed whether she will run with the participants or not.

Patna divisional commissioner R L Chongthu officially released the t-shirts and medals for the half marathon on Saturday. Milkha Singh, popularly known as ‘The Flying Sikh’, had graced the event last year.

The tag line for this year’s event is ‘SochoMatDaudo’. The half marathon will start from Gandhi Maidan and touch Dak Bungalow, Income-Tax roundabout, Patna high court, Eco Park, Raja Bazar flyover before taking a U-turn after covering the flyover. It will then return to Gandhi Maidan via the same route.

The event is being organised by the Patna district administration and tourism department in association with some private agencies. “Sporting culture is very important in one’s life. Hence, we are organising the second edition of half marathon in the city. Such events boost physical and mental fitness of participants,” Chongthu said.

Meanwhile, deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and energy department principal secretary Pratyaya Amrit have appealed to the people to participate in the half marathon in large number.

The half marathon has been divided into three categories – 21.1km with a registration fee of Rs 900 (for people aged 18 years and above), 10km with a registration fee of Rs 800 (for people aged 15 years and above) and 4km with a registration fee of Rs 400 (for people aged 13 years and above).

One can register for the event online by visiting www.patnamarathonbihar.com. Enthusiasts can also do offline registration at two centres of a popular gym and at a restaurant at the cricket stadium at Rajvanshi Nagar. Only registered candidates will be allowed to participate in the event and no registration will be done on the day of the event.

Yashwant Giri, an organising committee member, said at least 2,500 people have already registered for the event. “The number will rise significantly as people from other states are also expected to participate. Two Kenyan citizens have also evinced interest to take part in the event,” he added.


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