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A Tibetan athlete, Lobsang Tharchin, finished third in the Pangong Ice Ultra, an ultra-marathon on a high-altitude frozen lake that straddles India’s northern Ladakh region and Tibet.
Some 20 runners competed in the 55-kilometer (34-mile) race through snow and ice at an elevation of 4,274 meters (14,000 feet) and in temperatures that fell to minus 20 degrees Celsius (-4 F).
Tharchin, 33, from Ladakh’s Tibetan Sonam Ling Settlement in northern India, finished Wednesday with a time of 5:19:10, proudly holding up the Tibetan flag at the finish line.
It marks the first time a Tibetan has finished in the top three of the Ice Ultra, which is a new addition in this year’s event, called the Pangong Frozen Lake Marathon. It was held in Ladakh, a mountainous region administered by India.
“Running on ice for the first time in this freezing weather was both an incredible experience and a great challenge,“ Tharchin said.
“With no special preparation, securing third place is a great honor,” he said. “As a Tibetan, being able to carry the Tibetan flag and display it filled me with immense happiness.”
The event was started in 2023 to promote winter tourism around Pangong Lake and to raise awareness about climate change and the specific challenges faceing the Ladakh region, said event organizer Jampa Tseten.
“As global temperatures rise, the melting of glaciers in Ladakh is becoming a stark reality,” he told Radio Free Asia. “It is crucial to encourage the local community to live in harmony with the environment.”
The event was organized by Adventure Sports Foundation of Ladakh and is also referred to as “The Last Run” to draw attention to melting glaciers. The theme of this year’s edition was “Save Water and Save Glaciers.”
During its first edition in 2023, the event was officially recognized by the Guinness Book of World Record as Asia’s first and the world’s highest frozen lake marathon.
Another Tibetan Namgyal Tsering, 27, claimed third place in the shorter, 21-kilometer (13-mile) category of the event, called the Pagong Frozen Lake Marathon, organized by Adventure Sports Foundation of Ladakh. Ladakh is a mountainous region administered by India.
Among the 300 who participated in the event, about half were Ladakhis, while others included Indian soldiers and approximately 30 Tibetans. The youngest was 7 years old and the oldest 60.
The marathon received support from the administration of the Union Territory of Ladakh under the Jal Jeevan Mission, an Indian government initiative to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections to all households in rural India.
Translated by Tenzin Palmo for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Thinley Choedon for RFA Tibetan.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.