2nd Bhutan International Marathon

Punakha, Bhutan: Lightning struck twice at the Bhutan International Marathon today with last year’s winner of the full marathon, Sangay Wangchuk, 31, out running his competition once again. Sangay woke up at 3am feeling very anxious today, he said, but little did he know he would come out first from the 58 participants who had registered for the full marathon. A Physical Instructor at the Royal Bhutan Army, he has always been a keen runner.

“I felt good although it took me some time to get into my rhythm. My hopes of breaking the previous record kept me going and I am very happy with today’s results.” Sangay Wangchuk.

In the women’s category, Celene Loo from Hong Kong came first with a time of 4:27:45. Last year, in the women’s category, Reika Yoshii from Japan finished in 3 hours 42 minutes 38 seconds.

In the half marathon, two Bhutanese teenagers out ran their competitors. Tenzin Thinley, 19, clocked a time of 1:17:33 seconds to win the half marathon of 21kms in the men’s category. Chimi Dema, 17, came first in the women’s category with a time of 1:45:23 seconds.

In this edition of the Bhutan International Marathon, there were 181 participants, 123 for the half marathon and 58 for the full marathon. As the country has declared 2015 as “Visit Bhutan” year in celebration of the 60th Birth Anniversary of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the race was well received internationally and there were nearly twice as many international participants this last year edition. 4M5A2721

The Bhutan International Marathon was organized to provide a unique running experience for the international participants and also to promote running as a sport in the country for the youth and give them an opportunity to compete with international runners.

The Bhutan Amateur Athletics Federation also used the opportunity to identify potential runners who they could train to represent the country at the international level. “Our runners are raw, but with a little coaching and guidance we feel that they might be able to adequately represent Bhutan at international competitions. This is a very good platform for our runners and for us to identify potential talent,” stated Dorji Tenzin, General Secretary, BAAF.

The winners of the full marathon were awarded a cash prize of Nu. 40,000 and a round trip air ticket to Bangkok, Thailand courtesy of Bhutan Airlines and the winners of the half marathon were awarded a cash prize of Nu. 20,000 and one night stay at the Uma Resorts, Punakha. In addition to this, the BAAF President, Mr. Tshewang Ringzin, proprietor of Sakteng Tours and Travels has agreed to award a special prize of nu. 10,000 to both the winners of the half marathon.

The race was organized in partnership  with the Tourism Council of Bhutan, and sponsored by the Bhutan International Festival, Chirpal Group, LS Sports, Terri Schneider and with support from our travel partners Global Happiness Travels and Bhutan Airlines, merchandise partners Road ID, media partners BBS and Radio Valley and hospitality partners Amakora Bhutan, Uma by Como and Densa Boutique Resorts.

“We would like to thank all the stakeholders and our sponsors who helped in making this event a success, for without them, the Bhutan International Marathon would not have been possible. We at the BOC would also like to convey our deepest gratitude and acknowledge the courage of all the participants and we hope to engage with everyone, once again at the next edition of the Bhutan International Marathon,” said Sonam Karma Tshering, Secretary General, BOC.

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