Youth enjoy thrilling Adventure Marathon Race at Khanpur Lake

HARIPUR: Dozens of youth, both male and female, enjoyed the thrilling second adventure marathon race from Pir Sohawa-Islamabad to Khanpur Lake on Monday.
The Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) and the Adventure Edge Club had jointly organised the race with an aim to provide the youth an opportunity of adventure tourism and engage them in healthy activities.
Deputy Secretary Sports, Tourism, Archaeology, Museums, Culture and Youth Affairs Department, Tauseef Khalid, was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony.
Besides a large number of tourists and visitors, Haripur Assistant Commissioner Shabbir Ahmed, Adventure Edge Club Chief Executive Officer Khalid Khalil and officials of the TCKP were present on the occasion.
Twelve teams, comprising of five members each, participated in the race. Sixty youth, both male and female, covered a total of 23 kilometers distance from Pir Sohawa to Khanpur Lake during the race. The racers passed through Tilhar, Tonia and Pomala villages, Kerwali Top and Najabpur area and reached the scenic Khanpur Lake after 13 kilometer trekking, nine kilometer cycling and one kilometer rafting.
Sonam Kamal, Muhammad Hafiz, Daud Ahmed, Farhan Ayub and Wasif of ‘Group C’ clinched first position while Sajid Aslam, Muhammad Qasim Niaz, Muhammad Baqir, Umair Aslam and Syed Mudassir of ‘Group J’ stood second.
Similarly, Hafiz Mansoor, Romal, Ayazuddin, Naveed and Sabrina Baig of ‘Group B’ grabbed third position in the race.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Secretary Tauseef Khalid said that Tourism Department had taken a number of steps for the promotion of adventure and archaeological tourism in the province. He said several projects were undergoing for the beautification of scenic resorts to attract foreign and domestic tourists to the serene places in KP.
Under the Area Integrated Development Unit project, the official added that work was going on the beautification and renovation of tourist spots in Kalam and Naran valleys.
Later, the chief guest distributed cash prizes of Rs20,000, Rs15,000 and Rs10,000 to the first, second and third position holders, respectively.