The Indian Army who are always made more than a billion people of the Motherland feel safe by guarding India’s International borders with their selfless sacrifice and dedication has also been very prominent with its contribution towards sports helping the country provide some of the best athletes on the global stage.
Army’s one of the great initiatives is “Tawang Marathon”, which is going to be held at India’s very own Arunachal Pradesh this year in October.
India’s one of the most challenging mountain running ventures, the glorious ‘Tawang Marathon’ invites once again, the global ‘Running fraternity’ for the ‘High Altitude, High Voltage’ Sports extravaganza” on 24 October 2025 to the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ at Tawang.
The mega event in the “Land of Rising Sun” with the tag line “Run above the Clouds” motivates the younger generation.
Image for representation purpose
This challenging initiative at UN Day emphasizes on need for global peace with the tag line of ‘Run for Global Peace’ in ongoing turbulent times.
This year, the event also promote “CLEAN TAWANG – GREEN TAWANG, SAY NO TO PLASTIC” campaign to create awareness on Preserving our Environment.The eagerly awaited event has in store bonanza of prizes worth ₹64 Lakh which is higher than the second edition in 2024.
Arunachal CM Pema Khandu and Lieutenant General Gambhir Singh,GOC Gajraj Corps of Indian Army are among the leading personalities to register for the marathon.Mr.Pema Khandu, as patron of Tawang Marathon is also promoting adventure tourism and has taken major step towards sustainable, community-driven and high value tourism in the state.
Registration is open now on the official website www.tawangmarathon.com, which is launched on 22 May 2025.
Runners from across the globe would join to compete in the physically challenging & mentally demanding run in this tough terrain.
The caring & hospitable local tribe Monpas, Indian Army & Tawang district administration are making all possible arrangements for the event with the spirit of “Atithee Devo Bhava”.
The largest among the Norther Eastern States, Arunachal Pradesh has taken the initiative to organize the event jointly with the Indian Army. The state aims to make its annual marathon a memorable event for runners. The Indian Army will also participate in large numbers, adding to the competitive spirit and festive atmosphere.
Six promo runs have been planned at Shillong, Guwahati, Mumbai/ Bangalore, Darjeeling, Kolkata & Delhi in addition to Information stalls at various other locations to spread awareness for the run.
Civil – Military co-ordination:
The rock solid civil-military synergy at Tawang’s local populace will be on display for the world to witness the camaraderie. Campaigns through various platforms have been set into motion to reach out to the marathoners inviting the best in class runners to avail of this rare opportunity.
The magical landscape with clear blue skies, snow-capped mountains, sparkling streams, lush meadows, meandering Tawang River and the region’s diverse wildlife add to the allure of this enchanting destination, making it a perfect choice for marathoners and nature lovers.
The aim of this event is to establish Tawang on adventure sports and Marathon map to boost the tourism in the region.
Apart from large number of mainstream marathon enthusiasts from all over the country and the Indian Armed Forces are fielding strong teams for the event. The Tawang Marathon will include Full Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10 km and 5 km races.
Sino- India War:
The Sino-India War, also known as the Indo-China War, was an armed conflict between India and China that took place from 20th October to 21st November 1962.In the same October after six decades Indian Army and Arunachal Government jointly organised the Tawang Marathon first time in 2023.
Conclusion:
On 1st October 2023 and 24th October 2024 the large participation of Arunachalese and a jam packed Tawang Football Stadium had already shown the mirror to China that Arunachal was, is and will be an Integral part of India.
(Ms. Pratyusha Mukherjee, an Independent Sr. Broadcast Journalist working for British media with 20 years of experience in covering the east and northeast, with specialisation in Defence and Sports.She is associated with us as Editorial head of Defence and Sports. In her illustrated career she has covered many major events and achieved International and Indian media awards for Journalism).
(Source based)
