Members participating in the Victory Run from Delhi to Dras to pay homage to Kargil martyrs on the conflict’s 18th anniversary during their flag-off from Chandigarh by former Army Chief Gen VP Malik on Saturday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Expedition marks 18th anniversary of Kargil conflict

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 5

To commemorate the 18th anniversary of the 1999 Kargil conflict and pay tributes to martyrs, a victory run is being organised where 18 soldiers are undertaking a duathlon (run-cycle-run) from New Delhi to Dras in Jammu and Kashmir from July 30 to August 29.The aim is to create a world record for the longest duathlon, covering 1,400 kilometers. It was flagged off on its next leg by Gen VP Malik (retd), who was the Army Chief during the conflict, from the Chandigarh War Memorial here on Saturday.A simple ceremony was held at the memorial, where a wreath was laid in the memory of the martyrs of the Kargil War and the expedition flag was handed over to the team leader, Wg Cdr Paramvir Singh, an ultra-endurance athlete. The team includes a female member, Lt Col Lipsa.The first leg of 574 km from Delhi to Manali via Chandigarh will take 12 days. From Manali, the team will begin cycling and cover 557 km to Leh with a detour to Khardung La – the highest point on the route at 5,358m. Finally, after the only day of rest and acclimatisation at Leh, they will begin running again and cover 270 km to culminate at Dras, where the Kargil War Memorial is located.This would not only be the most challenging duathlon in the world but also the longest duathlon ever, involving steep uphill and downhill gradients, extremely hot and humid weather in the plains to cold temperature in Ladakh and the effects of the high altitude, requiring the highest levels of endurance, both physical and mental.