Tirtha Pun won 11th Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation Marathon (VVMCM) full marathon, completing a long run of 42km in 2 hours and 21 seconds. Pun, who belongs to the Gorkha Regiment of the Armed Forces, expressed his glee after the win. In the women's group Prajakta Godbole won in the 21 km half marathon. The Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation Marathon once again attracted the country’s top long-distance athletes. The full marathon featured two-time defending champion and course record holder (2:18) Mohit Rathore of UP, besides Aurangabad’s Dhanwant Prahlad, with a PB of 2:20. 38; Tirtha Pun from the Gorkha Regiment, Army, with a PB of 2:22, Rajasthan’s Hemant Singh, with a PB of 2:22.24 and Tribhuwan from the Kumaun Regiment, Ranikhet, who has a PB of 2:26.
The half marathon for women also featured Maharashtra’s Prajakta Godbole, who has a PB of 1:14.21, besides Rima Patel (Railways), 2nd runner up in the Delhi Half Marathon (1:17.45), and Tamshi Singh (Ranikhet, Uttarakhand), winner of the World 10K, to name a few. For the first time, the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation Marathon instituted an award for the Best Published photograph of the marathon. Cash Prizes of Rs 15,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs. 5,000 was awarded to the top three winners. Multiple Asian Games medalist and ace athlete Parul Chaudhary who was named the Event Ambassador was present on the occassion. MLAs Hitendra Thakur, Kshitij Thakur, Rajesh Patil, MP Rajendra Gavit, Municipal Commissioner Anil Kumar Pawar, former mayor Rajiv Patil, Narayan Mankar, Praveen Shetty, and various political party officials and municipal officials were the other chief guests.