The Sky Running Association of India (SAI) organized the third National Sky Running Championship on Sunday on the outskirts of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir.
With an aim for promoting a 'drug-free Kashmir', around 400 people from across the country participated in the event covering an approximate distance of 10-20 km from Harwan to Astaanmarg to and back Harwan.
The event was organized in collaboration with an NGO namely 'White Globe'.
Sky running is a sport of mountain running up to or exceeding 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) where the minimum average incline is 6 per cent over the total distance and at least 5 per cent has an incline of 30 per cent or more.
The championship was divided into two parts on the basis of age namely 'senior category' and 'junior category'.
Urging for more such events in the Union Territory, Sameer Ahmad, a participant said, "The motive of the championship is to direct youth towards physical fitness and draw them away from consumption of drugs."
Sarita, a participant from Rajasthan said that the event helped in the empowerment of women as they enthusiastically stepped out of their homes to participate.
"I participated in such a race for the first time," she said.
Co-organizer of the event Junaid Ahmad said, "There are about 6 lakh drug addicts in the Kashmir valley as per the recent news. It is high time that society works towards reducing these numbers down to zero."
Noting the race is a small step towards driving youth away from drugs abuse, Junaid urged the government to take notice of the issue and make drug testing mandatory in schools.
"At least 50-60 people participated in the race from different states," Junaid said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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