From Kargil to Kohima: A run for honour, inspiration

Tribune news service

Amritsar, October 4

Kargil to Kohima, Ultra-Marathon-‘Glory Run’ team of Indian Air Force reached Amritsar amid loud cheers and applause on late Thursday evening. The run was flagged off by Group Captain Ashok Kumar, Station Commander, Air Force Station Amritsar Cantt, in a ceremony, early morning on Friday. The team consisting 25 air warriors arrived at the Air Force Station here and after a day’s rest, will set its course for their further journey to Bathinda.

The marathon was flagged off by former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa from Delhi. “The marathon has been kicked off to commemorate 20 years of the Kargil War. It started from the Kargil War Memorial, Dras, and will end in Kohima, Nagaland,” said a spokesperson of the Indian Air force. The battle of Kohima in 1944 and the Kargil War in 1999 will be remembered through this inspirational run that has 25 Air Force personnel, who will cover a distance of 4,500 km, running 100 kms daily. 

The marathon started from September 21 and will commence on November  6. The expedition leader Sq Ldr Suresh Razadan is SUVs -30 aircraft pilot and is an avid adventurer, being a part of various expeditions at Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Nagaland.

Running to inspire

Flight Lieutenant Rishab Jeet Kaur of the Indian Air Force is the only woman team member, who is running the ‘K2K’ – Kargil to Kohima Ultra Marathon along with 24 male team members. She found encouragement from Jyotsna Kumar, President of the Air Force Wives Welfare Association (L) who was present to flag off the team from Amritsar. 

Selected after regressive selection trials by the Indian Air Force for the prestigious event, Rishab Jeet Kaur was born and brought up in Patiala. She was commissioned in the IAF in 2016 in Aeronautical Engineering Branch. She said, “Running is my passion and I have been running in various half marathon events for the past four years. I am running for the martyrs of the nation and women power in special.” She is an avid sportsperson and has won Bronze medal in Karate at the National level. She has participated in 23 marathon runs in the past. 

Rishab Jeet spoke to school children and encouraged them to participate in sports and take encouragement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.’ She found another inspiring co-runner in Warrant Officer Inderpal Singh, 51, who is the oldest among 25 runners.