JAMMU: Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta on Sunday flagged off the 3rd edition of Jammu Half Marathon from Zorawar Singh Auditorium University of Jammu.

The traditional flagging off was done in the presence of the ADGP Mukesh Singh, Vice Chancellor of University of Jammu, Prof Umesh Rai, Commissioner Secretary Information Technology, Prerna Puri, Deputy Commissioner Avny Lavasa and Excise Commissioner Pankaj Sharma.

The marathon was organized by Jammu Athletes Club wherein more than 1000 runners took part.

The title of the marathon was ‘Say no to drugs yes to Life' which was divided into three categories i.e. half marathon (21.097) km; the great Jammu run (10 km) and FIT fun run (5 km).

Chief Secretary Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta lauded the efforts of the team of Jammu Athletes Club in holding national level events which serve multiple purposes especially creating awareness among the people from cross sections of the society.

He said that since there has been a drastic transformation in the lifestyle and living patterns especially during the past few decades, therefore in the present day scenario there is a dire need to stay fit as physical activity stands reduced to a bare minimum. Moreover the theme of this event is going to leave an impact upon the people by making them alert against the menace of drugs in the society and motivate the youth to stay away from drugs.

Gaurav Gupta and Vikram Gupta, founders of JAC thanked the people of Jammu and runners from across the country for marking huge participation in the event and making it successful. 

"The 4th edition of this Marathon will be held in November this year," They said. The event concluded with the distribution of prizes among the winners.

Gaurav Gupta and Vikram Gupta also expressed gratitude to SSP Jammu, Chandan Kohli and SSP Traffic City Jammu, M Faisal Qureshi for extending their support towards safety of the runners and adequate traffic arrangements for smooth conduct of the event.

They also thanked all the sponsors for supporting the event and making them a success, especially Sanjeev Mahajan, Administrator General Zorawar Singh Auditorium and Dr. Daud Iqbal Baba, Director Sports and Physical Education, University of Jammu and Cyclists Group of Jammu.

The event was managed by the core members of JAC team including Prince Khajuria, Vasu Gupta, Jai Sharma, Ishaan Gupta, Kritika Gandotra, Vasudha Samnotra, Akshun Gupta and Kanav Padha.