Hamid Aziz, an athlete, on Thursday completed the 200-km Kargil-Srinagar ultramarathon — a feat never achieved or attempted before.
The 24-year-old from the Hawal area in the old city said his goal was to run from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and the 200-km run was a preparation for that big event.
“I will attempt a 500-km run in a week’s time from J&K to Punjab and will gradually increase the ultramarathon distance in coming years till I finish my first major goal of running from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in 60 days,” said Hamid.
An official of the tourism department said the athlete started his run at 11 am on October 21 from Kargil and reached Drass in the evening, covering a distance of over 60 km under sub-zero temperatures.
“The next day, Hamid resumed his run at 6:30 am when the temperature was -6°C at Drass. The athlete ran over an altitude of 11,578 feet above the sea level at Zojila to reach Kashmir from the Ladakh region to complete the run. He reached Srinagar on 22 October to finish his 200-km Kargil-Srinagar ultramarathon, which no athlete from the state has attempted so far,” the official said.
The run was organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Adventure Sports Club in collaboration with the J&K Youth Services and Sports and sponsored by the department of tourism, Kashmir.
