The 19th successful Pokhara International Marathon is being held next Saturday under the organization of Nepal Ex-Sports Forum. This time the platform has put forward the slogan 'Let's run for regular international air flights in Pokhara'. According to the schedule of organizing Pokhara Marathon on the Saturday of the first week of February every year, this year it is going to be held on February 3.

At a press conference organized by the forum in Pokhara on Thursday, President Dil Bahadur Gurung informed that all the preparations for the marathon have been completed. According to him, there will be races in 14 different categories in the marathon this year.

open marathon 42.195 km, Gandaki state level open marathon 42.195 km race, half marathon women/men race 21.097 km, women/men 10 km race, school students/girls 5 km race, 5 km veteran women/men race above 50 years. The 'Run for Fun' category is also included to convey the message that everyone should run so that everyone can participate. 

Women's/men's wheelchair and visually impaired women's/men's races have been completed on January 26 as part of Pokhara Marathon. The first runner in the open 42.195 km marathon will get Rs 5 lakh, the second runner will get Rs 3 lakh and the third runner will get Rs 2 lakh. As consolation, the fourth will get Rs 30,000, the fifth will get Rs 25,000, the sixth will get Rs 20,000, the seventh will get Rs 15,000 and the eighth will get Rs 10,000.

The organizers have arranged a separate prize to encourage the runners of Gandaki province towards the open marathon. President Gurung said that only 21 lakh 34 thousand rupees will be spent on the prize money in the competition and the entire cost of the marathon is estimated at 1 crore 89 thousand rupees. "In order to increase the attraction of foreign runners, the prize money should be increased," he said, "We have moved forward with the goal of increasing the prize money to 10 lakhs for runners who finish first in the Pokhara Marathon." Marathon coordinator Khem Gurung said that even the route of Pokhara Marathon has been certified by AIIMS. He told that Pokhara International Marathon is the only technology-friendly marathon among Nepali marathons. 

"We have been using chips for the past two years," he said, "Using chips in the open marathon and women's half marathon has determined the running time of the athletes, and its use has made it easier for Nepali and foreign runners as well as the judges."

150 runners including 80 foreigners from 21 countries are participating in the open marathon. 8 of them are women.

Half marathon 40 people from 10 countries, 110 people including 10 foreigners for men, 211 people including 11 countries for 10 km men, 109 people including 11 foreigners for 10 km women, 5 km veterans (50 years) 60 people for men and women, 5 km  A total of 3,175 people have registered, 1,470 male students and 1,25 female students.