Thinley Namgay 

The snowman run which was supposed to take place later this year on October 13 is postponed to October next year.

The Snowman Race secretariat has decided not to conduct the race owing to the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic.

An official from the secretariat said, “This deferment gives us an added opportunity and mandate to host the inaugural snowman race next year in a much more enriched style and strength.”

Challenging the world’s fittest and most elite runners, the five-day run is world’s toughest ultra-marathon which intends to help raise awareness on the impacts of climate change.

For this year’s event, 25 ultra-runners including five Bhutanese were supposed to participate in the run.

The run was scheduled to start from Gasa, and the participants were supposed to cover more than 300km within five days before ending in Bumthang, taking them to elevation ranging from 2,850 to 5,470 metres crossing 11 passes, six mountains over 7,000 metres, glaciers and two national parks: Jigme Dorji National Park and Wangchuck Centennial National Park.

So far, no ultra-marathon event in the world was conducted at an elevation of 5,470 metres above the sea level.

The idea of the run emanated from His Majesty’s visit to the highlands to protect the natural environment and preserve the unique age-old culture and tradition of the highland communities, adversely affected by climate change.

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