The 12th Rotary Rain Run concluded in Bambolim on Sunday with Clinton Tavares of Ribandar and Hansine Benoit of Porvorim winning the men’s and women’s half marathon titles respectively.
Held at Atal Setu Stadium, Bambolim, the annual event featured 21-km and 10-km races across men’s and women’s categories.
Tavares completed the men’s half marathon in 1:38:24, while Benoit crossed the finish line in 1:53:19 to secure the women’s title.
In the 10-km events, Dr. Blanche Themudo of Colva won the women’s race in 52:01, while Uttam Jelugadekar of Old Goa claimed the men’s title in 35:36.
Tavares described the course as demanding after his victory.
“This is a challenging course with many ups and downs. I had to dig deep to find that mental strength to push through.”
Benoit credited her preparation after winning the women’s half marathon.
“It feels incredibly rewarding to win this race, especially after all the hard work and training that went into this.”
Jelugadekar dedicated his victory, achieved on Kargil Vijay Diwas, to the Indian Armed Forces.
“I dedicate my victory to the brave soldiers of the Indian Army whose courage and sacrifice inspire us.”
Half marathon podiums
In the women’s 21-km race, Avneet Virk of Jalandhar, Punjab, finished second in 2:10:51, followed by Yohanna D’Souza of Panaji, who placed third in 2:17:22.
An unusual highlight of the event saw a mother-daughter pair from Jalandhar finish on the podium in their respective categories. While Avneet Virk was runner-up in the women’s half marathon, her mother Harpreet Virk finished third in the women’s 45-59 age-group race with a time of 2:32:35.
In the men’s half marathon, Alpha Madhu of Porvorim finished second in 1:45:59, while Mayur Kherdikar of Panaji took third place in 1:50:01.
10-km winners
Behind Themudo in the women’s 10-km race were Line Shetty of Panaji in 55:41 and Stephany D’Souza of Aldona in 1:03:17.
In the men’s category, Hari Velip of Dharbandora finished second in 36:56, followed by K. Shafi of Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, in 41:46.
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