Septuagenarian Pratap Singh Rai and his eight-year-old relative Srshty Swami were the last to cross the finish line at the Darjeeling hill marathon on Sunday, but for many they were the true winners.

Rai is a 75-year-old cancer survivor. Srshty ran the second marathon of her life.

The duo took more than four hours to complete the 21km run. In contrast, Henry Kiprono Togom from Kenya, who stood first, completed the race in an hour, 8 minutes and 41 seconds.

"I run to show the younger generation that one needs to remain fit. Running is the easiest and the cheapest way to do so,” said Rai, the founder of Bhadra Sheela Memorial Institution (BSMI) in Darjeeling.

Rai has been running since 1968 but he was forced to take a five-year break from 2010.

"I used to have a stomach ache from 2008 but it was only in 2010 that I was diagnosed with cancer, I had a tumor the size of a cricket ball in my colon,” said Rai, who underwent chemotherapy. "I, however, did not experience any adverse effects, not even hair loss," said the spirited septuagenarian.

Rai and Srshty did not walk at any time during the run. “In a marathon if anyone chooses to walk, they should disqualify themselves. Speed is not an issue but one should keep running along the entire route,” said Rai.

Srshty said that she held onto Rai’s bag when the uphill climb became tough. “But I enjoyed the run,” she smiled widely.

Even professionals admitted that the Darjeeling run — because of its hilly terrain — is tough.

The 21k winner in the male category, Togom, said: “We have high altitude runs in Kenya too but this is definitely one of the most difficult because of the hilly terrain and the cold.”

This was Togom’s first run in Darjeeling. “I have competed in most of the runs in India. I usually make Bangalore my base while competing in races in India,” Togom, who started running since 2009, said.

A number of runners from Nepal and Bangladesh, as well as from across India, also completed in the run.

Raghu Raj Onta, 73, an Olympian from Nepal, who had competed in the 100 metres sprint at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 and now coaches long-distance runners said that the standard of running was getting better in Darjeeling.

"I have come here with a group of seven runners from Nepal. The craze for running in Darjeeling and also the standard is getting better here,” said Onta, also a retired professor of economics from Tribhuwan University, Kathmandu.

This year, around 2,500 runners competed in the 10 categories of runs in categories such as 10km and 21km. There was also a 4.5k fun walk. The total prize money was Rs 9.8 lakh.

Music awards

The marathon ended the three-day MELOtea fest. Last evening, a band contest was held for the Rs 10 lakh prize money. Chromatic from Darjeeling, Ambush from Guwahati and Guns from Countryside from Sikkim were the three winners.

Awakash Yonzone, from the band Mana of Sikkim, was adjudged the best guitarist. The category was dedicated to the late Sonam Sherpa, a band member of Parikrama, who died in 2020.

Parikrama also performed on Saturday evening.