Vadodara Woman Sets World Record, Wins Half Marathon On Ladakh Frozen Lake

A young woman named Stuti Bakshi from Vadodara created a world record by successfully running on a frozen lake at a height of 13,862 feet with just warm clothes instead of sportswear.

30-year-old Stuti Bakshi took part in the country's first frozen lake marathon, the "Pangong Frozen Lake Marathon," which was held in Ladakh at the Pangong Tso. The World's Highest Frozen Lake Half Marathon is now a Guinness World Record.

Woman Wins Ladakh Frozen Lake Marathon

Bakshi was the only woman from Gujarat in the event, which had 100 participants. Out of the 100 participants, nine were women; four were from Ladakh, and the rest were from other parts of the country.

Bakshi had earlier participated in four half marathons, but this was the first time she was taking part in an event at such a high altitude. She succeeded in the most challenging run ever by completing a distance of 21.9 kilometres in four hours.

Running on a frozen lake at high altitude in windy weather presents unexpected challenges. "We had to run against headwinds and strong tailwinds pushing us from behind," said Bakshi. "While running with the wind against you is an effort, running against strong tailwinds is like someone pushing you from behind when you are running on the ice," she added.

Bakshi revealed that the surface of the lake was very uneven and not actually flat. "Balancing on hard, uneven ice is very hard. We have to wear shoes that are suitable for running in such conditions instead of running in regular shoes," she said.

All the participants in the marathon had to undergo two medical tests before the event. They were acclimatised to the high altitude and low temperatures over a period of time before they participated in the race in Pangong Tso. Bakshi said that they did a trial run on Sunday before the event on Monday.

The participants for the event were selected based on their experience in running and high-altitude activities. "I had run half marathons earlier and also participated in trekking and hiking in the Himalayas. Also, I’m a yoga trainer and have participated in adventure activities. All this was favourable for me to participate in this half marathon," said Bakshi.

The half marathon was organised by the Adventure Sports Foundation of Ladakh in collaboration with the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council and other government departments. The action plan for the even was executed by the Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

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