Goa Khabar : Physical instructor Teddy Cardozo and economics student Rama Tonpe won the male and female categories respectively in the 21-km under 45 age group at the I-Run Goa Marathon 2025 on Sunday, while Yeshwant Parab from Panjim and Inga Khlystalova from Moscow topped the male and female categories respectively in the 21-km above 45 age group.
In the 21-km male category under 45 age group, winner Teddy Cardozo clocked in one hour, 20 minutes and 15 seconds while in the female category Rama Tonpe won first place clocking in one hour, 46 minutes and 28 seconds. In the 21-km category above 45 age group, Yeshwant Parab won first place clocking in one hour, 31 minutes and eight seconds while in the female category, Inga Khlystalova clocked in two hours, four minutes and 57 seconds.
“I had won second place in the I-Run Goa Marathon in the 10-km last year so this year I wanted to try for 21-km and even though it was not my best yet, I ended up winning the race, So it was a pretty good experience and I started the year on a good note,” said 24-year old Teddy Cardozo from Curca who works as a physical instructor.
“It was a fun run. The route was also scenic and the event was very well organised,” said 19-year old Rama Tonpe, an economics student from Pune studying abroad on her first half-run participating in Goa.
Participants kicked off the new year on the run, as the latest edition of the I-Run Goa Marathon, organized by the I-Help Foundation, Goa, saw over 1,500 registrations from runners across the state and country.
The guests of honour were Shri Alok Kumar, Director General of Police, Kabir Pinto Makhija, ex-councillor of CCP Panjim, Smt. Pallavi Dempo, businesswoman and philanthropist and Naseema Arewale, businesswoman and co-founder of the I-Help Foundation Goa and I-Run Goa Marathon. Certified fitness trainer Aisha Sunil Karmalkar and national athlete Katya Coelho also joined the guests of honour in prize distribution.
“It’s amazing to see so many people take part in this edition of the run. Seeing a lot of dedicated and enthusiastic individuals participate and cross the finish line with smiles makes all the hard work worth it,” said Praveen Maurya, founder and spokesperson of the I-Run Goa Marathon.
The “Run for a Cause” marathon, which saw participants from the armed forces, Goa Police and para-athletes, featured the 21-km run starting at 5:30 AM from Goa University in Taleigao. Participants traversed scenic routes through Dona Paula and Miramar, supported by dedicated volunteers along the route.
“I always consider fitness to be a topmost priority and I strongly feel that everyone should take it up. With every passing year, we should have a goal in place and we should try our level best to achieve that goal. And of course, we always say that health is wealth, so that’s of utmost importance,” said Smt. Pallavi Dempo.
In the para-athletes category, Vishant Nagvekar claimed first place, followed by Stany D’Souza in second and Moises Rodrigues in third. The 21-km, 10-km and 5-km timed runs saw winners declared in two categories: male and female, in the under and above 45 age groups.
In the 10-km male category under 45 age group, Titouan Guillou emerged winner in thirty-six minutes and forty-nine seconds while in the female category under 45 age group, Swizel D’souza came in first place with a timing of forty-four minutes and seven seconds.
The 10-km male category above 45 age group saw Pavan Kumar emerge winner clocking a timing of forty-one minutes and six seconds while in the female category, Sheriann Dourado won clocking in one hour, nine minutes and forty-three seconds.
In the male category, the 5-km timed run under the 45 age group was won by Pradeep Motar, while in the female category, Akshata Dodamani took first place. In the above 45 male category, Romeuf David emerged as the winner and in the female category, Vindha Kakodkar claimed the top spot.
On early Sunday morning, Sunil Fitness Wave fired up a dynamic warm-up session to get the participants prepared for the run. Fourteen water stations were set up, offering glucose and fruits at each hydration point, along with breakfast counters. On-site physiotherapists and doctors were also available to assist in case of any emergency. No winners were declared for the untimed 5-km and 2-km runs.
