Chok Gurung completes London Marathon to raise funds for charities

Chok Gurung

A Nepali youth from Tang Ting village in Kaski district, Chok Gurung, completed London Marathon on Sunday as part of his efforts to raise funds for one Nepali and one British charity.

Gurung, 27, a long distance runner, completed the 42.195 km London Marathon in 3 hours and 12 minutes. He had completed the marathon at the national games in Dhangadhi recently in nearly quarter to three hours.

“I didn’t have enough time to acclimatise myself in London and it took me longer to complete the marathon,” said Gurung adding, “I, however, really enjoyed taking part in the London Marathon with tens of thousands of other runners from around the world.”

Gurung said he faced difficulties at times negotiating his way amid the sea of the runners. Nearly 37,000 runners took part in the marathon.

Gurung took part in the marathon to raise funds for the Injured Soldiers Fund, a British charity which helps in the treatment of soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to help the Tang Ting Twinning Association (TTTA)’s plans to construct a new Medical and Dental Centre in his village in west Nepal. “I am so honoured to be able to run in the London Marathon to help raise money for people who can’t run at all,” he said.

Mr Gurung also thanked his sponsors at the TTTA for sponsoring him to travel to UK from Nepal to take part in the marathon. The Association was formed after the twinning of Tang Ting village with Debden and Wimbish villages in the UK in 2007.

The English villages include a British Army base, where former Gurkha soldiers are stationed, and where Nepalese families have become part of the local community. Tang Ting is the home village of many of these former Gurkhas.

“2012 is the year of the London Olympics and we are pleased to invite Chok Gurung to take part in the London Marathon this year,” said Lachhya Bahadur Gurung, one of the founding members of the TTTA. “We hope that his participation in the marathon will not only benefit people from our villages in Nepal and the UK, but will also help further boost friendly ties between the two countries,” he added. nepalnews.com