Over 13,500 Participants Join First-Ever Marathon at National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence

By iednewsdesk On Oct 16, 2023

National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla organised the first-ever marathon within its premises on October 15, 2023, as part of its year-long celebrations to commemorate 75 years of its existence. With a vision to motivate and inspire, the ‘NDA Marathon’ provided a blend of fortitude and endurance to over 13,500 people, who took part from across the country, and gave them, especially the youth, an exclusive glimpse of the academy’s top-tier training facilities & heritage.

The marathon featured multiple race categories, including a 42-km full Marathon, a 21-km Half-Marathon and 10-km, 5-km & 3-km runs, all happening concurrently. The NDA is located in Khadakwasla, Pune, Maharashtra and situated at the foothills of the Sahyadri mountain ranges. The NDA campus is spread over 7,015 acres and is surrounded by picturesque hills and a large lake. The running track inside the NDA campus is a 21-km loop that takes the runners through the scenic beauty of the campus.

The oldest participant in the marathon was 96 years old and the youngest was five years of age. The winners from various categories are as follows:

Distance	Race Category	Age Group	1^st	2^nd	3rd
42-km	Male	18 – 35 yrs	Nishu Kumar	Shrikanta Mahato	Ganesh Khomane
	Male	36 – 45 yrs	Krishna Sirothia	Lt Col Swaroop Singh Kuntal	Vasant Pandita
	Female	18 – 35 yrs	Lt Cdr Anjani Pandey	Rajni Singh	Ravita Ramvilas Rajbhar
	Female	36 – 45 yrs	Ashwini Gokul Deore	Arti Chandan Agrawal	Neha Lodha
21-km	Male	18 – 35 yrs	Parasaran Halihol	Cdt Aron Bett	Cdt Ahmed Ali
	Male	36 – 45 yrs	Sanjay Negi	Ankush Gupta	Yogesh Sanap
	Female	18 – 35 yrs	Vedanshi Joshi	Bhavneet Kaur	Priyanka Dashrath Paikrav
	Female	36 – 45 yrs	Anubhuti Chaturvedi	Netra	Anju Chaudhary
10-km	Male	14 – 18 yrs	Mohit Yadav	Vaibhav Sanjay Yedage	Avinash Londhe
		19 – 35 yrs	Anurag Konkar	Anandu Ashok AS	Kommindhala Purushotham
		36 – 45 yrs	Narendra Patel	Sachin Nikam	Ajit Nikam
	Female	14 – 18 yrs	Paridhi Budhwar	Siddhi Madhav Gurav	Hreeya Nerav shah
		19 – 35 yrs	Cdt Ritul	Cdt Ishita Sangwan	Jayshree Vanama
		36 – 45 yrs	Trupti Gupta	Haseena Themali	Aditi Mohiley

The NDA will complete 75 glorious years of its existence on January 16, 2024. As part of the year-long celebrations, which commenced on January 16, 2023, various academic, sports and adventure activities have been planned and organised.

Ministry of Defence