PESHAWAR: Contestants of the gruelling 23 kilometre-long expedition, from Islamabad to Haripur, finished the final leg of the run with a kilometre-long boat race on Monday.
The second edition of the Adventure Marathon started from Pir Sohawa in Islamabad at 8am and culminated at the Khanpur Lake in Haripur in the evening amid great fanfare.
The markets and villages along the route had been decorated with buntings and banners to welcome the contestants that also included a large number of women.
Tourism Corporation Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) and the Adventure Age Club had jointly organised the race with the aim of providing the youth an opportunity of adventure tourism and engage them in healthy activities.
Sports and Tourism Deputy Secretary Tauseef Khalid was present at the finish line with Haripur Assistant Commissioner Shabbir Ahmed, Adventure Edge Club CEO Khalid Khalil and officials of the TCKP were present on the occasion besides number of tourists and visitors.
All 12 teams, each having five members, participated in the race. Sixty youth, both men and women, covered a distance of 23km from Pir Sohawa to Khanpur Lake.
The racers passed through Tilhar, Tonia and Pomala villages, Kerwali Top and Najabpur area and reached the scenic Khanpur Lake after 13km of trekking, nine kilometre of cycling and a kilometre of rafting.
Sonam Kamal, Muhammad Hafiz, Daud Ahmed, Farhan Ayub and Wasif of ‘Group C’ clinched first position and the runners up were Sajid Aslam, Muhammad Qasim Niaz, Muhammad Baqir, Umair Aslam, and Syed Mudassir of Group J. Hafiz Mansoor, Romal, Ayazuddin, Naveed and Sabrina Baig of Group B grabbed the third position in the race.
Speaking on the occasion, Khalid said the TCKP had taken a number steps for the promotion of adventure and archaeological tourism in the province.
He said several projects were underway for the beautification of scenic resorts to attract more foreign and domestic tourists to the serene places in K-P. Under the Area Integrated Development Unit project, the official added that work was underway on the beautification and renovation of tourist spots in Kalam and Naran valleys and bazaars. Later, the chief guest distributed cash prizes of Rs20,000, Rs15,000 and Rs10,000 to the first, second and third position holders, respectively. APP
