Siddhesh Barje and Sapna Patel won the half-marathon; while Akhil Jadhav and Ayan Soares excelled in the 10km run respectively at the inaugural edition of Goa Navy Marathon 2024 organised by Indian Navy at INS Mandovi, Verem on Sunday.
Barje clocked 1:09:16 in the men’s open 21.1km run; while in the women’s division, the winner of the half marathon was Patel (1:29:29).
In the 10km run for men of age-group of upto-40 years, Akhil Jadhav (0:33:01) emerged the winner. In the women’s section, Ayan Soares (0:45:48) bagged top honours.
The GNM 2024, which was supported by Indian Oil and Brooks Running, received overwhelming response with around 1200 runners from all walks of life taking part.
Cmde Prashant Chowdhary ,VSM CO Mandovi, flagged off the half marathon, which attracted over 200 participants. The 10km race drew over 430 participants, and Cmde Sanjay Panda(Retd) gave the start signal. Over 500 runners participated in the five-kilometre race, which was flagged off by Cmde G Prakash( Retd).
The races began at 5.30am after an electrifying Zumba dance session; from INS Mandovi Verem to St Anthony’s Chapel turning right to St Alex Church and back. This route offers one of the flattest terrain for half marathon and 10km run in Goa.
Hydration and refreshment stations were set up at various locations along the stretch for the benefit of the runners. Numerous bystanders encouraged the runners at several points along the course.
Other winners in the respective categories/age-groups are as follows:
Men-
Md Amir Khan (21.1km, 40-50 age-group)
Rakesh Balooni (21.1km, above-50)
Francisco Clemente (10km, 40-50 age-group)
Tejvir Singh (10km, above-50)
Women-
Dakshayani Murgod (21.1km, 40-50 age-group)
Sheriann Dourado (21.1km, above-50)
Pooja Pai (10km, 40-50 age-group)
Delfim Silva (10km, above-50).
