Just as every person has their own story, competitions also have their own journeys of happiness and sorrow. Moreover, stories have their own ladders. Although dozens of marathons have been organized in Nepal, only competitions have managed to survive.

The marathons and half marathons organized in Nepalgunj, Pokhara, Lumbini and Kathmandu Valley have tried to give an original message by carrying different languages. But all these competitions have not been able to become professional. The reason is that they cannot be included in any pyramid or sports structure. The Athletics Association has supported marathons and half marathons, but it has not been able to create clear criteria for the competition and divide it into categories.

Due to the lack of a structure like in football and cricket, even though there is a running competition, it has not been able to develop. ‘The association now aims to classify the competitions by looking at the level of the competition,’ said Athletics Association Secretary RK Bista, ‘So far, Kathmandu, Pokhara and Nepalgunj Marathons have become members of AIIMS. The Kantipur Half Marathon and Pradhansenapati Marathon are also big competitions in Nepal, so the association has included these races in the calendar.’

Despite the small sponsorship market, each competition has its own wide and deep identity.

Kathmandu Marathon
While running the Frankfurt Marathon in Germany in 1987, Neelendra Raj Shrestha thought – ‘I could organize such a competition in Kathmandu!’

Many foreigners used to come to Frankfurt every year for the race. In Nepal, which has great potential for tourism, this is also a possibility. But at that time, Neelendra did not have the courage to come to Kathmandu and organize a running competition. He founded the Kathmandu Marathon in 2007 with the aim of attracting more foreign participants.

‘We have a vision to make the Kathmandu Marathon like the Boston Marathon in America. We have a dream that one day the entire Kathmandu Valley will support the marathon,’ Shrestha had said at a press conference in 2007. In the first edition of the competition, the total prize money was 4 million. There was an arrangement to get 10 thousand dollars for the winning athlete. Since then, after the bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013, the marathon has become weak. Meanwhile, the Kathmandu Marathon has a sad story of the widespread nature and the reduction in the prize money.

‘We are following all international standards for organizing the competition. The continuity of the marathon is the main thing. "If we forget the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not failed in organizing," Shrestha, who is also the chairman of the organization organizing the competition, told Kantipur. "We are currently preparing for the 19th edition."

Due to the instability of the Nepal government, every marathon organizer, like the Kathmandu Marathon, has faced major problems in traffic and parking management on the route every year. "Such big competitions are not possible without clearing the entire road. It seems that the problem of changing government officials every year has stopped us from making it bigger every year. Will there be any progress in this after a stable government is formed?" Shrestha said.

Pokhara Marathon
Who wouldn't like to run on the banks of Fewa Lake while watching the shadow of the fish? This is why visiting the tourist city of Pokhara is often a desire of Nepalis. If a competition can be organized that combines biodiversity, nature and culture, a new dimension will be added to Pokhara's tourism - 2 and a half decades ago, the former players' forum Pokhara had a dream of the Pokhara Marathon with a similar objective. The competition was established soon after. Currently, about 500 communal, ethnic and social organizations are supporting the Pokhara Marathon. The 20th edition of this marathon, which was established in 2001, was organized in Falgun this year. This competition, which organizes 21 events every year, is one of the oldest in South Asia.

'Pokhara Marathon is the oldest marathon in Nepal. We are older than the Mumbai Marathon. By becoming a member of AIIMS, we have opened the door to participation for international athletes,' said Dil Bahadur Gurung, president of the forum, 'There are many competitions in Pokhara. We are organizing a marathon that is the mother of sports.' We are also organizing the competition to promote Pokhara through sports and introduce its society, culture and nature. Pokhara has also provided the sensor machine purchased for the competition to other marathons and half marathons. It is also working to standardize the rest of the competitions in the country.

Pokhara Marathon is based on the concept of City Run. The marathon route touches 17 wards of the metropolis via Pokhara Stadium, Hallan Chowk, Lakeside, Pame. The marathon route includes all communities through temples, monasteries, churches and mosques. Many have felt that the marathon has also helped in the unity of Pokhara as people of different castes come along the way to encourage the athletes. Although it was established in 2001, it was not easy for Pokhara Marathon to reach this point. The competition was not organized for five years during the period of agitation, economic recession, conflict and epidemic. ‘The main income here is the hotel. Initially, due to the agitation, strike and other activities, continuous competition was not possible. Now, we are supporting all marathons in Nepal as guardians,’ said Gurung. The route of the Pokhara Marathon is not easy. But the beautiful view from the route has made the marathon glamorous.

Nepalgunj Marathon
When the constitution was being promulgated in 2072 BS, the Madhesh region was in agitation. On top of that, the Indian blockade put Nepal’s Terai region in a complicated situation. After the first Constituent Assembly elections, when issues of ethnic identity were being raised, not only was society divided, but mutual peace was also being disrupted. In such an environment, the Nepalgunj Peace Marathon was established with the aim of giving a message of peace through running. The Nepalgunj Peace Marathon began in the first week of November 2072, commemorating the peace agreement between the then Maoists and seven parties in Nepal on November 5, 2006.

‘Nepalgunj is a sensitive city in terms of peace. People from different communities live here.’ Moreover, we started this marathon a decade ago with the idea that we should promote city running,’ says TS Thakuri, organizer of the Nepalgunj Marathon, ‘At that time, there was a lot of money to be paid for peace.’ That is why we are organizing this marathon with the aim of making Nepalgunj a brand and spreading the message of peace.’

Unlike Kathmandu, Nepalgunj does not have the problem of traffic management. The route of the Nepalgunj Marathon is considered the easiest route in Nepal. That is why many athletes prefer to participate in this race, Thakuri claims. AIIMS granted membership to Nepalgunj Marathon in 2079, making it the first marathon in Nepal to receive AIIMS membership. This marathon, which has been following all the rules of AIIMS, has also collaborated with major competitions in the world. It has facilitated the winners of Nepalgunj Marathon to participate in the London Run, Valencia Run and marathons in Bangladesh. Thakuri says that he also connects sponsors himself.

Thakuri recalls that he worked hard to find sponsors for the first three years of organizing the competition in Nepalgunj. ‘It became easier after the sponsors started giving continuity. Now, since all the people of Nepalgunj are preparing for the marathon to be held on the first Saturday of Mangsir, it is easy for us to continue,’ he concluded, saying, ‘There is no situation where private sponsors alone can support us.’ If the government also provides support, it could be made more sophisticated.'

Nepal is becoming a famous country for trekking. Tourists visiting Nepal also look forward to long distance races in Nepal. The Nepalgunj Marathon aims to help develop tourism if competitions like marathons can be linked to Nepal's identity.

Right to Protein Run
Five years ago, the Nepal Veterinary Association was looking for a new way to explain the importance of protein in human life. What is the difference between vegetarian protein and non-vegetarian protein? How much protein should you eat? The marathon was organized as a concept that came about while explaining how to eat.

Since Shilat Kaji Shrestha was the president of the association at that time, we organized Run for Protein under his leadership. Sheetal remembers that the run, which had 2,500 participants, helped a lot in spreading the word about the importance of protein. The association has also experienced great support in the race by explaining the importance of protein. In fact, since the organizing association is outside of sports, many players and the athletics association also thought that this competition would not go beyond one or two editions. But with the support of feed producers affiliated with the association, the Protein Run has been able to continue so far. The last edition was organized as the Right to Protein Run.

‘We pay the tax on the prize money given to the players ourselves, so the players are happy. We have been able to win the trust of the players because we give the prizes on time. Now we are planning to organize this competition every year,’ said Sheetalkaji, the founding president of Protein Run. Last season, the number of participants exceeded 7,000. However, the competition has also been criticized for not being able to manage traffic according to the participation. ‘When such a big race is organized, the administration has to help in traffic management. This is a big challenge in organizing the competition,' he told Kantipur.

The prize money of the Protein Run is increasing every year, so this competition is on the rise. But this run has not yet obtained membership from the highest body of the world marathon, AIIMS. In the coming edition, the association aims to obtain membership by completing issues such as electric time.

Dharan Run
Dharan Run was established with the belief that a person must run 5 kilometers a week to stay healthy. Dharan Weekly Run, which was established about 14 years ago, entered its 728th week on Saturday. Dharan Run's founding chairman Santosh Rai has brought the weekly running culture in the UK to Nepal. So far, 17,000 people have participated in the weekly race in Dharan. Heman Sunuwar, chairman of Dharan Run, informed that 2 to 250 people participate every week.

‘Founding Chairman Santosh Rai started Dharan Run 14 years ago with the belief that running is necessary to stay healthy after his daughter fell seriously ill,’ Heman told Kantipur. ‘We are organizing a 3.5 km race every Saturday every week.’ Dharan Ten K Run is organized once a year in Falgun. Although there is no big prize money, the competition is organized every year to promote the race.

Pinkathon
Namraj Joshi had bought a franchise for three years from an organization called Milan Soman in India – Pinkathon. He does not have this franchise now. He organized a half marathon in Kathmandu under the same name. ‘When I started this competition in 2017, I saw the need to raise awareness against breast cancer and organized this competition for that purpose. It seems like this has created a good awareness,' said Joshi, 'but now this race has become very big.'

He claims that PinkCareathon is the biggest competition in the valley. But he does not feel comfortable organizing the competition in Kathmandu. He says that the difficulties he faced from getting approval for the competition to finding sponsors have hindered his organization.

'It was not easy for us to organize the competition, but it is easy for big organizations.' But there is no plan to drop the competition. If there is a financial crisis, he wants to organize the competition by taking money from his business in Mumbai. Joshi, who moved to Mumbai from the Far West 50 years ago for employment and is now doing business, has one goal: 'There are not many sports for women in Nepal. Women have given a large part of their lives to their families. That is why they should also take special care of their health. This is the purpose of the competition.'

Lumbini Peace Marathon
The Lumbini Peace Marathon, which will be held in Lumbini towards the end of the year, gives a message of peace. This competition, which is being organized by the Nepal Olympic Committee, is also a competition that has attracted athletes in terms of prize money. The number of participants in the races in 5 categories, including the marathon and half marathon, is increasing every year.

'We chose Lumbini because we want to organize all the competitions in Kathmandu. We have also invited Olympic committees from all over the world to the competition to give a message of peace to the world,' said Ayush Joshi, Secretary of the Lumbini Peace Marathon, 'Marathon helps to introduce a city. We have set a goal for the world to know Lumbini through sports.'

This year, a prize money of 1.7 million rupees was given. The prize money has been provided by the Chinese Embassy. Joshi informed that even though the International Olympic Committee does not provide funds for the competition, the committee is organizing the marathon by saving office expenses.