Pics: Thejaswi U Poojary
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (TP)
Udupi, Dec 8: The Lombard Hospital Udupi Marathon – 2025, organized by Lombard Memorial (Mission) Hospital, the title sponsors of the marathon, in association with the Udupi Runners Club, was held on December 7 at Mahatma Gandhi Stadium, Ajjarkad.
The marathon was flagged off by distinguished guests.
The Lombard Hospital Udupi Marathon was held under the theme 'Healthy Heart, Healthy Families', emphasizing fitness and family well-being through community participation in running. The second edition was dedicated to promoting lifestyle change, with the special attraction of the day being the saree run.
The marathon featured multiple race categories: 21K (Half Marathon), 10K Run, 5K Open Run, 3K Fun Run, and 3K Saree Run, along with the 5K and 3K student run promoting youth participation in sports.
Abid Gadyal, additional deputy commissioner of Udupi district, addressing the gathering during the formal event, said, “The Udupi Marathon logo beautifully represents the city’s rich heritage, featuring symbols such as the Swagatha Gopura, the sea, and a boat, with runners depicted running through it.”
He explained that the human body is designed for movement, recalling how people in earlier times walked long distances, sometimes up to 20 km, during hunting and daily activities. However, modern lifestyles have distanced people from their natural habits, with many remaining seated for long periods—something he compared to the harmful effect of smoking four cigarettes for every hour of inactivity. He added that many new diseases are emerging due to such unhealthy routines.
“To bring about a positive lifestyle change, events like the marathon are essential,” he said, encouraging people to begin their day with an early morning walk to stay active and energized. Drawing a comparison, he noted, “Just as visiting a religious place brings peace to the mind, visiting a stadium or engaging in physical activity brings peace and strength to the body.”
Dr Roshan Kumar Shetty, assistant director of the department of youth empowerment and sports, said that while marathons in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi are already well known, the Udupi Marathon is set to join this prestigious list in the future. He noted that the event was systematically organized, with the route map clearly marked for participants. He added that the number of participants has been increasing each year, with people from all age groups taking part—from young children to even those in their 90s.
Dr Sushil Jathanna, director, CSI Lombard Memorial Hospital Udupi, said, “Lombard Memorial Hospital has been serving people for the last 103 years. It is one of the oldest hospitals in Udupi. I am delighted to be associated with the Udupi Runners Club in organizing the second edition of the Udupi Marathon. Over the last few years, we have seen an increase in heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension and lifestyle diseases. All these have one common cause—our lifestyle, lack of exercise and poor diet. We need to correct our diet and exercise, and this is where the Udupi Runners Club comes into the picture. Fitness is an important part of our life and should be. If we want to stay healthy and live longer, we need to keep ourselves fit. We should take care of our bodies as much as we take care of cars and bikes.”
He further added, “Exercise every day. The average exercise doctors prescribe is 30 minutes a day, five times a week. The Udupi Marathon will be an annual event in December.”
The event began with warm-up activities, including exercise routines and Zumba sessions. Chende and Nasik Band performances energized the participants for the run. A formal prize distribution ceremony followed the marathon.
The marathon was sponsored by Grassland Developers, Cochin Shipyard Udupi, Indian Medical Association (IMA) Udupi and Canara Bank, and supported by St Mary’s English Medium School Udupi, Podar International School Udupi, Anandhathirtha Vidyalaya, Anandathirtha PU College Pajaka Kunjarugiri Udupi, and several other philanthropists who extended financial support.
The marathon saw participation of over 2,500 people from across India. The event was compered by Anurad.
The event was attended by dignitaries such as MLA Yashpal Suvarna, Kishore Alva, president of Adani Groups, Karthikeyan from Canara Bank, Akshath Kumar, manager – sales, United Toyota, Prashanth Kini from ICICI Bank, Bhargav from Amul, Dr Tilak Chandra Pal, president of Udupi Runners Club, Sachin Shetty, senior manager, Canara Bank Circle Office Manipal, Dr Ashok, president of Indian Medical Association Udupi, and businessmen Sadu Salian and Devdas Salian, among others.
Result:
21 K
18-35 Male
1. Kiran K
2.Sujith T R
3.Vishal K
4.Karunn K
5.Mohanraj
15-35 Female
1.Nandini G
2.SakshiKulal
3.Prathiksha
4.Pragathi
5.Mariyah Haji
36-45 Male
1.Simaon K T
2.Nandesh Gaonkar
3.Prashanth H S
4.Shivakumar
5.Shrinath Pai
36-45 Female
1.Aasha P
2.Mehwish Hussain
3.Julie Misquith
4.Anupama Rao
5.Anusha Gautham
46-55 Male
1.Joseph Ellickal
2.Sunil Menon
3.Shiva Nanda Shetty
4.Kiran Kumar Kulal
5.Ranjith M
46-55 Female
1.Jaseena
2.Dr Prameela MD
56+ Male
1.Balakrishnan T
2.Vinay Prabhu
3.Ambigabathi V
4.Vishwanath Shetye
5.Madhava Saripalla
56+ Female
1.Poornima K
2.Dr Sandhya Aletty
3.Vidya Pratap
4.Adv Sphurthi Kotare
10 K
18-35 Male
1.Nabeel Sahi M P
2.Humen Senapati
3.Irappa Halagannavr
4.Pranav Prakash
5.Sanesh Kumar
18-35 Female
1.Charishma
2.Shreya M
3.Chaithra T P
4.Raseena P U
5.Anjali Koli
36-45 Male
1.Sudeep Kumar
2.Saji K M
3.Dilip Kumar Naik
4.Abdul Muneer J T
5.Suneesh O
36-45 Female
1.Maria Lavina Rodrigues
2.Manita Bai Kadre
3.Ritu Bariwal
4.Preethi
5.Nischitha Sheka
46-55 Male
1.Ganesha T H
2.Lokesha K G
3.Shaju N P
4.Suneesha M
5.Narayana Moolya
46-55 Female
1.Lovely Johnson
2.Sridevi Girish
3.Sarika Sonkusare
4.Sandya Bhat
5.Deepika Shetty
56+ Male
1.Medappa A
2.Yeshwant Parab
3.Ganesh M
4.Padmaraju
5.Umesh Birthi
56+ female
1.Sheela Castelino
2.Arunakala S Rao
3.Vagdevi M
4.Preethi Harsha
5.Srimathi S Prabhu
5 K
18-35 Male
1.Balu Hegri
2.Manojkumar
3.Akshay A R
4.Muhammad sahir A
5.Manoj
18-35 Female
1.Nagini
2.H V Deeksha
3.Bhagamma Dundappa Nyamahond
4.Sruja
5.Suhana A K
36-45 Male
1.Shanmuga C B
2.Chandran V
3.Steevan D’Souza
4.Bipin Das
5.Kunhiraman H
36-45 Female
1.Amitha K
2.Smitha V Kamath
3.Bindu
4.Nisha Roche
5.Divya Sashihital
46-55 Male
1.Biju P V
2.Ravi Kuppusamy
3.Suresha Patnagere
4.Vinod H K
5.Narayana P
46-55 Female
1.Dhamayanthi
2.Savita Shastri
3.Omana c
4.Sumitha Pitambaram
5.Seema Shetty
56+ Male
1.Valerian Frank
2.Vittal Shettigar
3.Hector Crasta
4.Somayya Naik
5.Dr Gopal Poojary
56+ Female
1.Saroja M S
2.Anitha Lobo
3.Premilla Fernandes
4.Anna Rhakur
5.Ambratkala
5K Student Male
1.Kaushik from SMS Pre University College, Brahmavar
2.Puttaraj from NITTE School
3.Varshith from NITTE School
4.Puneeth Kumar
5.Shashwath Rajesh Poojary from NITTE School
5K Students Female
1.Ganavi from Alvas
2. Ananya from Alvas
3.Samrudhi Rao from NITTE School
4.Shruti Sheravi from ALvas
5.Vijayalaxmi H Kuddemmi from Alvas
3 K Student Male
1.Akshay A from Canara High School
2.Bhuvan Rao from NITTE School
3.Chaithersh K L from Cambridge School Mangaluru
4.Vedanth Sasihihital from Lourdes Central School
5.Darshan Y K from Canara High School
3 K Student Female
1.Megha Ashok Poojary from Alvas
2.Anushree P S from Alvas Central School
3.Anushree M from Alvas
4. Khushi J Shetty from NITTE School
5.Manvi from NITTE School
3 K Saree Run
1.Vidya
2.Sujatha
3.Asha Yathish
4.Chadrika S Kundar
5.Pranavya