Shillong, May 21: RunMeghalaya announced today that the second edition of the Mawkyrwat Ultra Marathon will be held on 26th and 27th October.
In a press release RunMeghalaya said that the “first 2017 edition was a great success and witnessed participants from across India and overseas as well.”
The Mawkyrwat Ultra is now certified by the International Trail Running Association (ITRA), the body governing international trail races, with the 72km to be an ITRA Level 2 race and 45km an ITRA Level 1 race. This event is now also an Ultra Trail Mont-Blanc (UTMB) qualifying race. This means that any runner who wishes to gain UTMB points in order to qualify to the prestigious UTMB races can use Mawkyrwat Ultra as a platform to achieve those points. “This we hope will attract more international participation in the years to come,” the release added.
With these certifications, some of the talented runners from Meghalaya will be able to qualify for the Trail World Championship that is held every year and RunMeghalaya hopes that next year some of Meghalaya’s most talented runners, especially from the region of Mawkyrwat, will be able to represent India and secure top positions in this World Championship.
This year, Dan Lawson, a world renowned ultra marathoner from the United Kingdom who has taken part in several races in India before, will be a guest and will participate in the 72km event. Lawson is highly respected in the world of trail and ultra-running and has won many races worldwide and is part of the Great Britain national team.
RunMeghalaya hopes that his presence will inspire many young athletes in our state and spread the word about this unique event worldwide.
The Mawkyrwat Ultra is held in the small hamlet of Shngimawlein and there are three event
categories – 72km ultra run, 45km ultra run and a 30km Mawkyrwat Endurance Run. The 72km looped course takes runners to various villages, such as Mawranglang, Mawlangwir,
Mawthong, Mawthawpdah and ends back at Shngimawlein. The routes are very scenic, passing through villages, paddy fields, the Rilang Valley, forest trails and around 70% of the route is on trails.
Due to the lack of hotel accommodation, all stay and food arrangements are provided by the villages where runners stay with families and the fees go directly to them. In addition to volunteers/event staff from each village, all 30 aid stations along the way are provided by small tea shops and this way the whole region is associated with the event.
“With this even we will continue to develop running tourism in this very talented but economically challenging region to create an additional source of income or livelihood for the runners and their families,” RunMeghalaya ended its press release by saying.
(Photo credit: RunMeghalaya/Facebook)