Ladakh Marathon 2026: Five runners, six races and their tips for covering the distance
Chewang Motup Goba, the man behind the upcoming Ladakh Marathon, described as “The World’s Highest Marathon”, says that what sticks with him the most is this: “Seeing the first runner at the start, unsure of what lies ahead, and then seeing that same person cross the finish line. Somewhere along the way, they will discover what the Alt Chair Foundation is also capable of and discover what the Alt Chair Foundation is also capable of. organized and promotes running.
The 13th edition of the four-day event, which will be held between September 10 and 13, will feature six major races of varying lengths, including the 122 km Silk Road, the 72 km Khardung La Challenge, a full and half marathon, and shorter runs of 11.2 km and 5 km. It is expected to gather more than 10,000 visitors from 28 Indian states and 6 Union Territories as well as international runners and boasts a prize fund of ₹ 1 crore. “After 13 editions, we can be proud to see runners from 28 countries and six continents and from almost every part of India,” he says.
We ask five participants at different stages of their running journey how they prepare for the high altitude challenge – and to share the tips they’ve learned along the way.
Sparsh Jain, New Delhi
Sparsh Jain | Photo credit: Special arrangement
As a former cricketer, running has always been a key part of Sparsh Jain’s training routine. “Before it was just a 10-12km run for fitness; I was never worried about pace or time,” he says. Then, in 2023, after completing his first half marathon, he became interested in running events, mostly half or full marathons.
That same year, he came to Ladakh to run a half marathon for the first time and found himself at the finish line of the grueling 72 km Khardung La Challenge, one of the six toughest races of the Ladakh Marathon. His experience at the finish line was life-changing and he fell in love with the idea of ultra races, any run beyond the traditional marathon distance of 42km. “I knew I had to experience it firsthand,” says the Delhi-based business owner, who has completed two different ultras in Ladakh: the Khardung La Challenge in 2024 and the Silk Route Ultra in 2025, completing the former in 10 hours, 33 minutes and 24 seconds and the latter in 20 hours, 48 minutes and 43 seconds.
He is now ready to take on the Khardung La Challenge again, says Sparsh, who has worked with a running coach, trained for altitude on flyovers in Delhi and occasionally headed to Rishikesh for hill training. As part of his training schedule, he also participates in running events like Lake to Lake Ultra in Chandigarh and Tuffman Mashobra, he says. It focuses on strength, conditioning and mobility, interspersing three days of running with three days of strength.
He says the Ladakh Marathon has taught him to remain humble. “There are times when you feel like you’ve done a lot and you can do anything. But when you come back here, you realize no, there’s still a lot to do,” Sparsh says.
Oliver Jones, Bengaluru
Oliver Jones | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Oliver Jones started running in 2020, mainly because his wife told him she loved the sport when they first met. “I wanted to spend more time with her, so I said I like it too,” says the Welsh businessman, now based in Bengaluru. They started jogging in city parks and gardens for a while before they started registering for races, Oliver says. “Once we started racing, we found we were able to travel a lot more around India and had more excuses to see each city. And running a marathon in each city forced us to understand it on its own terms,” he feels.
Ultra races take you beyond the metro and into “greater India,” says Oliver, who has previously run the Ladakh Marathon with his partner, finishing the entire marathon in 2025 in 3 hours, 46 minutes and 4 seconds.
This year, he and his partner signed up for the 72km Khardung La Challenge, “the longest run we’ve ever done”.
The duo trained for the event by incorporating hill running – “at weekends we go up and down the Nandi Hills” – and hypoxic training in pools “to get used to the exertion with less oxygen.” They also work out three days a week in their home gym, focusing mainly on strengthening the lower body, and they consult physiotherapists, “who would help us prepare for the race as well, work on our strength and flexibility and identify our weaknesses,” says Oliver.
He thinks that “the Khardung La race is the bottom line when you start racing in India: it’s one of the highest races, it seems to be the coolest and most challenging, and you really have to overcome your fear to finish it.”
Namgyal Lhamo, Ladakh
Namgyal Lhamo | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Namghyal Lhamo has an advantage: she comes from the village of Domkhar Gongma in Ladakh, about 120 km from Leh, and is used to the thinner air in the region. “We also struggle a bit with breathing, but it’s not as bad as it is for people outside Ladakh,” he says.
While she was running and winning competitions in school, her first marathon was in Ladakh in 2014, says Namghyal, SPO of the Ladakh Police. She has completed many other marathons, then moved to ultras in 2022, taking part in and winning the Khardong La Challenge four times in a row, with a personal best of 8 hours, 12 minutes and 42 seconds in 2023. She is now taking on the Silk Route Ultra for the first time, a route that takes only 122 people in Laong, taking part in only 122 kilometers in Laong. flight.
As part of his training, he does a long run once a week, plus two training sessions at the stadium, and then builds strength at home, because “with my job, I don’t often have time to go to the gym,” he says. Her menu consists mainly of home-cooked meals. “Nothing special, but rarely any junk,” says Namghyal, admitting to being a little nervous about the upcoming race. She adds with quiet confidence: “I trained well for this and I hope to finish the race and be on the podium. We’ll see.”
Sufiya Sufi, Manali
Sufiya Sufi | Photo Credit: Special Event
Sufiya Sufi is still on a high from her recent running achievement: the 5,000 km stretch between Kanyakumari and the Karakonam Pass that she covered in 86 days and 2 hours earlier this year. “I’m not fully recovered, but the 122 km Silk Road is very close to me. I’ve completed it three times already,” says the multiple Guinness World Record holder, one of India’s best-known endurance athletes.
Having participated in the Ladakh Marathon for over five years, he knows firsthand that running in the mountains is very different from the plains. “You have to be there for a long time and train as much as possible,” says Sufiya, who arrived in Ladakh on the 27th. Also on her Kanyakumari-Karakonam run, she had already spent 15-20 days running in the Ladakh region, so “my body has adapted a lot,” says the former aviation professional, who started her running journey in 2017 after night shifts at her job started affecting her health. “I started running three kilometers for fitness and then it became my passion,” she says.
When training for a specific event like the Ladakh Marathon, he mostly focuses on rehabilitation, functional exercise and meditation rather than mileage. “Although I include a weekly long run, which can be 40, 50, 60 or 70 km, depending on what the next challenge is,” says Sufiya, last year’s Silk Road winner who completed it in 19 hours and 12 minutes. He adds, “Ladakh is actually my favorite place to run. I just love it because it’s not just a marathon but a festival for everyone.”
Dr. Lakshmi Roopesh, Bengaluru
Dr. Lakshmi Roopesh | Photo credit: Special arrangement
When Dr Lakshmi Roopesh started running in 2017, “I couldn’t even run 100 metres,” says the Bengaluru-based dentist. She has come a long way since then, completing several marathons and even several ultras around 50 kilometers. This year, he will attempt to run 72 for the first time as part of the Khardung La Challenge at the Ladakh Marathon.
“It’s not just a run, it’s a challenge,” says Dr. Lakshmi, who has already completed half and full marathons here and completed them in 2 hours and 51 minutes and 5 hours and 39 minutes respectively. The Ladakh Marathon is difficult, she said, due to factors such as the region’s low oxygen concentration, rapid elevation gain and strict cutoff times.
But as someone who has dreamed of it since 2023, when she witnessed the excitement at the finish line of the Khardung La Challenge, she has done everything in her power to succeed, starting with signing a contract with one of the country’s best-known ultra-running coaches, a seasoned runner himself, Manish Jaiswal.
She also regularly works on her strength and conditioning, receiving personal coaching from a physical therapist and working closely with a nutritionist, says Lakshmi, who sees the upcoming run as a way to test her limits. “What I’m looking forward to is what the mountains will teach me on this journey. They have their own way of telling you things about life.”