Chief Minister Omar Abdullah flagged off the half-marathon and also ran the 21-km race alongside other participants.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ahead of the marathon, actor and model Milind Soman said, \"It's exciting! Surprisingly, it's raining -- I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll be fun\u201d. Bollywood actress Gul Panag said, \u201cThe 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\u201d.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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\u201d.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He said, \u201cDespite that, we managed to start on time and sent all the runners onto their routes...\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n