Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang flagged off the NaMo Marathon at Ridge Park on Thursday. The event, organized by the Sports and Youth Affairs Department (SYAD), is part of the Sewa Pakhwada observance and aims to promote physical fitness and community participation, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Fit India, Healthy India” initiative.

SYAD Secretary Yangchen Doma Tamang said the marathon was held to commemorate the Prime Minister’s birth anniversary and encourage citizens to adopt an active lifestyle. Out of 711 registered participants, 501 took part, including participants from other states.

The marathon featured several categories with cash prizes:

21 Km Open (Men & Women): 1st – ₹1,00,000, 2nd – ₹75,000, 3rd – ₹50,000; 5 consolation prizes of ₹10,000 each.

21 Km Masters/Veterans (Above 45 years): 1st – ₹30,000, 2nd – ₹20,000, 3rd – ₹10,000; 5 consolation prizes of ₹5,000 each.

3 Km School Children (Age 10–12 years): 1st – ₹5,000, 2nd – ₹3,000, 3rd – ₹2,000; 3 consolation prizes of ₹1,000 each.

3 Km School Children (Age 13–16 years): 1st – ₹30,000, 2nd – ₹20,000, 3rd – ₹10,000; 3 consolation prizes of ₹4,000 each.

Winners of the marathon included:

3 Km (Age 10–12): Boys – Chewang K Tamang, Roshan Bhandari, Benjamin Chettri; Girls – Sagun Rai, Nima Gyalpo, Alphansha Gurung.

3 Km (Age 13–16): Boys – Safal Gurung, Puran Chettri, Sujit Tamang; Girls – Apsara Chettri, Ruman Yadav, Kumari Sneha.

21 Km Open: Men – Prince Raj Yadav, Ravi, Durga Bdr Buddha; Women – Muni, Tamchi Singh, Anjali Subba.

21 Km Masters/Veterans: Men – Pravesh Tamang, Subarna Subba, Seden Rai; Women – Saraswati Rai, Anuja Tamang, Pinky Lepcha.

The event saw the presence of dignitaries, including Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs, Education, and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raju Basnet; MLAs Delay Namgyal Barfungpa, Tenzing Norbu Lamtha, and Aditya Golay; SYAD Advisor Bikram Pradhan; and other officials. The vote of thanks was delivered by Joint Director SYAD Sonam Paljor Lepcha.