Jammu, March 29 (IANS) To promote a drug-free lifestyle among youths, a 21-km Jammu half-marathon, the city’s first-ever international marathon, was organised on Sunday, which was joined by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Bollywood stars and several international athletes.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah flagged off the half-marathon and also ran the 21-km race alongside other participants.

The event was organised jointly by the J&K Tourism Department and the Sports Council. It featured 21-km, 10-km and 5-km races to promote a drug-free lifestyle among youth.

Ahead of the marathon, actor and model Milind Soman said, “It’s exciting! Surprisingly, it’s raining — I’m sure it’ll be fun”. Bollywood actress Gul Panag said, “The message of every marathon is to promote running, but the agenda of this marathon is peace. I would like to congratulate all the residents of Jammu”.

J&K Minister, Satish Sharma said, “Tourism will be promoted, and there will be a message of brotherhood, encouraging people to stay healthy and fit”.

Nuzhat Gul, secretary of J&K Sports Council, said the biggest challenge was the rain, yet people came, participated and ran while volunteers supported the event.

Joint Director of Tourism Aijaz Qaiser spoke about the change in weather, causing a little hiccup in the event. He said there was no challenge until 1 a.m. as everything was perfectly lined up, placed, and programmed. However, in the morning, the weather caused a slight disruption.

He said, “Despite that, we managed to start on time and sent all the runners onto their routes…”

Qaiser added that the enthusiasm of the people of Jammu, their spirit, and the participation of both national and international athletes are highly encouraging.

It must be mentioned that the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, is himself a fitness enthusiast and whenever he gets time from his busy schedule, his first preference is to ensure physical fitness.

–IANS

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