Over 10,000 participants, ranging from Army officers and soldiers to professional athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and members of the public, came together for the ‘Shauryaveer – Run for India’ event held here on Sunday. The run was organised by the Indian Army to commemorate the 79th Shaurya Diwas (previously known as Infantry Day) celebrations.

ver 10,000 participants, ranging from Army officers and soldiers to professional athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and members of the public, came together for the ‘Shauryaveer – Run for India’ event held here on Sunday. The run was organised by the Indian Army to commemorate the 79th Shaurya Diwas (previously known as Infantry Day) celebrations.

The run was flagged off by Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi. During his address, the Army Chief expressed gratitude to the participants for their enthusiastic response and participation. The event included several race categories: a 21 km competitive run for experienced runners aged 18 and above, a 10 km timed open run for participants over 10 years old, a 5 km People’s Run for individuals above 10, and a 3 km family-friendly run open to all participants aged 10 and above.

“I would like to thank all of you for coming here in such large numbers. This time for Shauryaveer, the marathon race we organised included distances of 21 km, 10 km, 5 km, and 3 km,” he said.

“The most important thing is the tremendous support we received from the people of India for the Indian Army; it has truly encouraged us. This time, out of the 8,000 people who participated in the run, two-thirds were civilians who supported the Army. In fact, we had to stop our personnel because the registrations were overflowing,” he added.

The Shauryaveer run was organised at 21 locations across the country.

Shaurya Diwas is commemorated every year on 27th October to pay tribute to the courage and unwavering spirit of the Indian Armed Forces. On this day in 1947, Indian Army infantry units were the first to reach Srinagar, successfully pushing back invaders and safeguarding Jammu and Kashmir from a Pakistani assault.