Ladakh Marathon: Odisha Boy Conquers Great Heights

Bhubaneswar: Soubhagya Kumar Rath has become the first from Odisha to have completed Ladakh Marathon (eighth edition) the highest and one of the toughest marathons of the world. Soubhagya completed the feat at a height of 1500 ft above mean sea level with his steely strength and grit, completing it before the cut off time of 6:30 hours, on Sunday.

More than 6000 runners from India and abroad participated in this ultra-endurance race. Conducted in 4 different categories, i.e. Ladakh Ultra – KhardungLa Challenge (72km), Ladakh Marathon (42.195km), Ladakh Half-Marathon (21.9km) and Run Ladakh for Fun (7km), this running event is claimed to be the highest in the world. Gravel roads, stiff climbs, sharp turns, ultra-high terrains, adverse weather conditions and low oxygen level make this running event one of the toughest in the world.

A member of the Bhubaneswar Cycling and Adventure Club, Soubhagya participated in the Full-Marathon category. Although, Soubhagya completed the half-way mark in almost 2 hours, the lack of oxygen, adverse weather and induced muscle cramps forced this barefoot runner to slow down in the second half-way distance. Strong determination, willpower to win mind over the body and commitment to touch the finishing-line pushed Soubhagya to keep going.

Having run Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM-2018), Kolkata Marathon 2018, Satara Marathon 2018 and Thunnur Triathlon, Soubhagya is aiming for the Ironman title in the near future.

Sagarika Mishra, Soubhagya’s wife also completed the seven kilometer “Run Ladakh for Fun” event as a category of the Ladakh Marathon.

Recently, a 13-member team of cyclists from BCAC had completed the Manali-Leh-KhardungLa (MLK) Challange climbing a height of 17982ft (at KhardungLa).