Bhopal duo completed toughest Frozen Lake Marathon

Pangong Frozen Lake Marathon 2024 was held in Leh-Ladakh, India on 20 February 2024. Bhagwan Singh and Mahesh Khurana, two men from Bhopal, have joined the select group of athletes after completing the Pangong Frozen Lake Marathon.

• The marathon was inaugurated by Sports Secretary Ravinder Kumar and Chushul Constituency councilor Konchok Stanzin.

World's Highest Frozen Lake Marathon:

• Ladakh's Pangong Frozen Lake is the second edition of the marathon. It is known as the 'world's highest frozen lake marathon'.
• The race was held amidst heavy snowfall at an altitude of 14,273 feet. The temperature here dropped to -15 degrees Celsius, making it one of the toughest marathons in the world.
• Bhagwan, a sports department employee, mentioned that all participants underwent rigorous tests prior to the marathon. During the preparation, the participants were medically examined daily.

Half marathon canceled due to bad weather:

• Due to bad weather, the 42 kilometer marathon was reduced to a 21 kilometer half marathon.

Bhagwan Singh has conquered Mount Everest:

• Bhagwan is also the first mountaineer from Madhya Pradesh to scale the world's highest peak, Mount Everest.
• The event was organized by the Adventure Sports Foundation of Ladakh in collaboration with the administration of Union Territory Ladakh and 14 Corps of the Indian Army.
• 120 runners from seven different countries participated in two categories, 21 km and 10 km.

Objective of the Frozen Lake Marathon:

• The Frozen Lake Marathon aims to spread awareness about the rapidly melting Himalayan glaciers. During this, it is explained how the environment can be saved by controlling human activities.
• This awareness campaign being run to save the Himalayan glaciers has been titled Theastron. This means that this could be the last race on the frozen Pangong Lake due to the effects of global warming. Also, winter tourism has to be promoted in places like Changthang.
• On this occasion, people of the Pangong areas of Mann, Mrak, Spangmik and Phobrang participated in the event along with hosting the runners. Also on this occasion they also showcased their different cultures.