Ladakh Marathon which had been scheduled for 13th September 2020, has been cancelled because of the COVID-19.
This year, the Ladakh Marathon would have been holding its 9th edition. Like previous editions, this small community of ours was greatly looking forward to welcoming runners from around the world. This 9th Edition was even more special as Ladakh Marathon had become a Qualifying Event of Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group. However, we also cannot simply ignore a global crisis of such proportion.
In India, even as we exit from the nationwide lockdown, we are witnessing a peak in positive COVID-19 cases. The border areas of Ladakh are also currently facing a tense situation, so we are looking at the coming months with great uncertainty.
As per the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for holding events involving mass participation, we have undertaken a risk assessment exercise and have taken the collective decision to cancel the four races of the 9th edition of Ladakh Marathon so as to not endanger our runners, the residents of Ladakh, our volunteers and staff.
All registrations for these 4 races (Marathon, Half Marathon, 10 km and 5 km) which were to be held Sunday 13th September 2020 have been automatically transferred for a period of two years to 2021-2022.
The Ladakh Marathon which takes place at an altitude of 11000ft and above has emerged as one of the most prestigious high altitude races on the Marathon Calendar of the world, famous for its spectacular landscape and has also gained a reputation as one of the toughest marathon event on the planet.
The foundation of the Ladakh Marathon itself is one of resilience, facing challenges and community effort. As of now, the status of the two elite races – the 72 km Khardungla Challenge (17,618ft) the highest ultra marathon in the world, and the 122 km Silk Route Ultra is under review as the number of participants is restricted to 200. However, we will only arrive at a final decision by 30th of July. Until then, we request all registered runners of these two races to NOT reserve any flights.