Aug 12, 2024

Marathon

A Marathon that Keeps the War Memory at Bay

 

 

 

The 250 years long history of modern Nepal witnessed three crucial battles. The first battle occurred during the unification of Nepal (1743-1803). The expansion campaign of the Gorkha kingdom started by king Prithvi Narayan Shah expanded the territory of Nepal after annexing the Baise-Chaubise kingdoms. The second war happened when the British rule that colonized India through the East India Company attacked Nepali territory. Gorkha soldiers and the people fought bravely against the British during the Anglo-Nepal War (1814-1816) to save the nation. And the third one is the Maoist-led violent rebellion (13 February 1996- 21 November 2006). The Maoist Party names it Janayuddha or the people’s war.

During the decade-long Maoist armed conflict, the people suffered the most from both sides: rebels and the state. Nearly 17,000 people were killed, and hundreds went missing. Thousands were injured, and millions became victims of the conflict. Even after such a long war, neither the state nor the rebels emerged victorious. In a war that neither side could win, the people lost.

Finally, both the warring parties were tired of and forced to negotiate peace and make a compromise. That is what the war-torn ordinary people wanted. Therefore, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 21 November 2006 was a milestone in bringing the Maoists who were leading the violent rebellion to peaceful politics. It was the first step from war to peace. The violent movement received a peaceful end. The comprehensive peace agreement led Nepal from war to peace, replacing the bullet in political change and turning it to the ballot. Hope was brought to the villages that were deserted by the war. The war brought together the communities divided into two poles. By applying ointment to the aching heart, it turned the country towards peace, development, and prosperity. Therefore, 21 November is a memorable day for ordinary Nepali citizens, worthy of celebration.

In commemorating the same historical day, Nepalgunj Peace Marathon was launched in 2015. Nepalgunj Marathon is called the Marathon, which keeps the war memory at bay. As a celebration of the termination of the war, this Marathon has established itself as the starting point of a long journey toward peace, harmony, and prosperity. Change is a continuous process. The journey of development and prosperity is not short. Therefore, a long race or a Marathon has become appropriate imagery to denote a long journey of change, development, and prosperity.

People may think that Nepalgunj Marathon is just a competition like others. However, Nepalgunj Marathon is not limited to that. It has progressed with the message of peace, harmony, prosperity, and sports. The entire Nepalese society wants to forget the war. Nepalgunj wants more. There are some special reasons for that. Nepalgunj was not only a witness to the decade-long armed conflict; it was like a base camp of the conflict. Nepalgunj awoke restless at nights of the war in the central and far-western hills. The fighting occurred in rebel camps, police stations, and army barracks in the hills, and its immediate effect reached Nepalgunj. The wounded war victims would come down to Nepalgunj for treatment. Nepalgunj treated hundreds of injured security personnel and civilians in a day. It has done the postmortem of hundreds and seen the tears of their relatives. Therefore, after the end of the armed conflict, Nepalgunj wanted to forget the sirens of ambulances and hearses and the outcries of everyone affected.

There are many ways to forget the trauma and painful memories of war. The sports-loving youth of Nepalgunj chose the Marathon. Sport is a genre that prohibits violence and promotes mutual brotherhood and harmony. These days, there is no formal program on behalf of the state to commemorate the comprehensive peace agreement. Nepalgunj Marathon takes place every year to commemorate the effort to make peace and forget the wounds of war.

Nepalgunj Marathon is not just an event of victory and loss. It has closely connected social values and diverse cultures as a whole. It differs from other city marathons. Hundreds of runners have loved the Nepalgunj Marathon route. Like the route, the destination of Nepalgunj Marathon is also simple and clear.

The main objective of Nepalgunj Marathon is to attract a new generation towards sports, to prepare healthy citizens and to develop a sports culture. When this objective is fulfilled, Nepali runners will compete in international competitions, and the number of foreign athletes is likely to increase in Nepalgunj Marathon. In addition, it will develop sports tourism. Nepalgunj Marathon is organized in Lumbini Province, the sacred birthplace of Gautama Buddha, the pioneer of peace. Furthermore, it is also different from the environmental point of view. Nepalgunj Marathon has some special features.

First, it helps us work through the trauma of war by promoting peace and harmony. A marathon race is held in the morning to carry the message of the journey toward peace, and in the same evening, there is a memorial event for those who lost their lives in the war. Participants light lamps wishing for eternal peace of the soul of the deceased.

Secondly, Nepalgunj Marathon connects two cities in western Nepal. It connects the historic city of Nepalganj and the emerging city of Kohalpur.

Thirdly, the race of 42.195 km gives a message of connecting the whole country. This is because it encompasses the diversity of Nepal. The route of this Marathon covers the ethnic cluster of Madhesi-Muslims and Tharu to hilly Khas-Arya-Dalit and tribes living in the plains of Terai-Madhes. Therefore, it is also a race to connect diverse communities, languages, and cultures.

Fourth, the entire city runs in Nepalgunj Marathon. There are running categories for runners of all age groups like 42.195 km marathon; 21.097 km half marathon for women; 10 km Men Open; 5 km Women Open; 5 km School Boys and 3 km School Girls. The participants are not only the departmental professional runners from Nepal, athletes from India, Switzerland, the USA and Kenya also participate in this annual event. There is a special children's race category for the age group 8-12 and a 2 km corporate race for business people. Children who have participated in these events are gradually attracted to athletics and some tangible results are seen. The wheelchair race is another integral category of Nepalgunj Marathon. That is why it has become a race festival for people of all age groups, including children, adults and older people.

Sports and music are fields that require sadhana. Agility, continuous practice, discipline, and patience are the essential conditions of both these genres. Another feature of Nepalgunj Marathon is the confluence of sports and music. From the very first year, traditional panchebaja songs, and dances have been performed along with the Marathon as a peace celebration.

Sixth, the community's meaningful participation and encouragement is also a feature of Nepalgunj Marathon. The Marathon is not only at the start and end point. The spectators stand on the roadside and applaud the runners. Local youth clubs volunteer.

More interestingly, the escorting of Nepalgunj Marathon is done by cyclists. It is rarely seen in other marathons. Moreover, compared to motorcycle or car escorting, bicycle escorting frees runners from fuel fumes. Therefore, the management of Nepalgunj Marathon is environmentally friendly.

This Marathon has been giving importance to environmental protection in a deliberate manner. As a message, the marathon route has been set from the industrial city to the national park. Therefore, this Marathon connects the industrial city with the Banke and Bardia National Parks, which are considered to be tiger habitats and their intervening areas.

Another feature of the Nepalgunj Marathon is to connect ultra-runners from the Himalayas to runners from the hills and Terai Madhes. Hari Rokaya, the record runner who is training in the snow-covered lake, and Baikunth Manandhar, the record runner from South Asia, have also joined this Marathon. No one in South Asia has broken the record of 2 hours and 16 minutes held by Manandhar. Similarly, Rokaya is a runner with a Guinness Book record after winning the Everest Marathon three times. After coming down from the Himalayas of Karnali, his disciples won a medal in the Nepalgunj Marathon.