Preparations for Jammu’s first-ever international marathon are in the final stages, with the much-anticipated race scheduled to take place on Sunday, officials said.

The update was given during a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo to finalise arrangements for the event, which is being organised by the Tourism Department.

Dulloo directed all departments to thoroughly review their preparations and eliminate any possible gaps before the event. He took stock of the arrangements and sought detailed inputs from each administrative secretary regarding their respective roles.

Key officials responsible for the successful conduct of the marathon include the Commissioner Secretary, Youth Services & Sports; Divisional Commissioners; IGP Traffic; Directors of Tourism; and Chewang Motup.

The officials have also been tasked with scheduling and promoting such events annually to encourage greater participation from both national and international runners.

Dulloo emphasised that dates and schedules for races and marathons must be finalised well in advance so that international participants can plan their travel accordingly.

He called for popularising these events to maximise participation and position Jammu and Kashmir as a premier destination for marathon tourism.

He reviewed critical aspects, including route sanitisation, traffic management, medical preparedness, and deployment of volunteers to ensure the smooth conduct of the event.

Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism, Ashish Chandra Verma briefed the meeting and said around 4,000 runners are expected to participate, with onsite registrations also being allowed.

Director of Tourism, Jammu, Vikas Gupta, informed that so far 3,663 participants, including 91 international runners, have already registered for the event.

The marathon will be held on March 29, 2026, starting at sunrise from the MA Stadium.

It will feature three race categories: Half Marathon (21 km), 10 km Fitness Run, and 5 km Fun Run. A total prize pool of ₹1.33 crore will be distributed among the winners.