Stepping into its 24th year of unflappable technical celebration, Techniche – IIT Guwahati, in association with UNICEF Assam, organized the Guwahati Half Marathon, a running event organized to promote a better social and human interaction amongst the residents in and around Guwahati. One of the largest events of its kind to be managed entirely by a student body, the marathon has evolved coherently over the years since its inception in 2009 to become the largest half marathon in northeast India. This year the marathon witnessed the participation of over 1500 people from different walks of life to come and spread their cognizance and sense of concern for a better society. The 12th edition of the marathon was successfully organized on 24th April 2022 with its theme “Run for Child Protection, Stand up with #Youth4Suraksha”.
The Guwahati Half Marathon’22 appealed to people to be a part of the change for the prosperity of society. It urged people to become more responsible for prevalent issues in society, like child labour, child abuse, child trafficking, cyber crimes against children, illiteracy, hunger, and lack of development. Guwahati Half Marathon’22 gave everyone a platform to think about these issues and brought a little bit of change in the general public’s perception.
Mr. Ashok Kumar Bharali, the General Secretary of Assam Athletic Academy, was the marathon’s Formal Guest of Honour. He was joined by Dipak Kumar, Regional Director of NSS, who was the Guest of Honour in felicitating the winners during the prize ceremony. The event was also graced by the presence of the special guest Shri Nibedan Das Patowary,
ACS, Govt of Assam. Among the runners for the 21 km Run was Mr.Munna Prasad Gupta, an Ex-IPS commissioner.
Keeping in mind the vast participation we get from various walks of life, The Guwahati half Marathon was conducted as three events:
- Glory Run– The flagship race of the half marathon, The Glory Run was a 21 km race meant mainly to quench professional runners’ thirst. Participants from all around India participated in this category.
- Spirit Run– It was a 6 km race specially designed for the citizens of Guwahati. People from all age groups participated in this event, encouraging all citizens to come together and run a race for the cause.
- General Championship– This was an event exclusive for schools and colleges, where the battle was out for that one trophy of the General Championship. The top three institutes carried home the trophy and exciting goodies.
The event started with the professional marathon of 21KM run in the morning at ABITA Stadium Guwahati, Gandhi Basti. This was soon followed by the 6KM run for the general public.
