GUWAHATI: Stepping into its 24th year of technical celebration, Techniche of IIT Guwahati, in association with UNICEF Assam, on Sunday organized the 12th edition of the Guwahati Half Marathon, a running event organized to promote a better social and human interaction amongst the residents in and around Guwahati.
A press release stated that it is one of the largest events of its kind to be managed entirely by a student body. The marathon has evolved over the years since its inception in 2009 to become the largest half marathon in North-East India.
This year, the marathon witnessed the participation of over 1,500 people from different walks of life to come and spread their awareness and sense of concern for a better society. The theme of today's 12th edition of the marathon was 'Run for Child Protection, Stand up with #Youth4Suraksha'.
The Guwahati Half Marathon 22 appealed to people to be a part of the change for the prosperity of society. It urged people to become more responsible for prevalent issues in society, like child labour, child abuse, child trafficking, cyber crimes against children, illiteracy, hunger and lack of development. The Guwahati Half Marathon 22 gave everyone a platform to think about these issues and brought a little bit of change in the general public's perception.
Ashok Kumar Bharali, the general secretary of Assam Athletic Academy, was the marathon's formal guest of honour. He was joined by Dipak Kumar, Regional Director of NSS, who was the guest of honour in felicitating the winners during the prize ceremony. The event was also graced by the presence of the special guest Nibedan Das Patowary, ACS.
Keeping in mind the vast participation from various walks of life, the Guwahati Half Marathon was conducted as three events: Glory Run, the flagship race of the half marathon, was a 21 km race meant mainly to quench professional runners' thirst. Participants from all around India participated in this category.
The Spirit Run was a 6 km race specially designed for the citizens of Guwahati. People from all age groups participated in this event, encouraging all citizens to come together and run a race for the cause.
The General Championship was an event exclusive for schools and colleges, where the battle was out for that one trophy. The top three institutes carried home the trophy and exciting goodies.
The event started with the professional marathon of 21 km run in the morning at ABITA Stadium Guwahati, Gandhi Basti. This was soon followed by the 6 km run for the general public.
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