GoUNESCO to kick start its heritage runs with Hampi

A visit to a heritage site should be more engaging than merely sightseeing, believes Ajay Reddy. An avid runner who has been helping Hyderabad Runners organise marathons in the city and as the founder of GoUNESCO with a keen interest on heritage, he decided to bring together both aspects and organise a heritage run. The first run will be at Hampi, on July 27.

“The run will make people engage differently with a heritage site. I discussed the idea with my friends at Hyderabad Runners and did a couple of recces in Hampi. There are 12 and 21 km runs,” says Ajay. The run will begin at a river crossing near Anigundi village, pass through Kishkinda, cross world heritage sites of Hampi and the river Tungabhadra. Runners can also observe plantations and industrial areas of today’s Hampi.

Unlike regular runs, this will not be a contest and participants are free to slow down and take in the sights along the route. Participants can also bring their families and ask for a guided heritage tour the previous evening. “Heritage is for everybody, so I didn’t want to restrict it to runners,” reasons Ajay.

Ajay hopes the response will be good enough to make him explore similar runs in other heritage sites across India.

GoUNESCO also organises challenges where enthusiasts compete to explore maximum number of UNESCO sites in a year. The group also has a student outreach programme.

To register for the Hampi run and for details on accommodation, check https://www.gounesco.com/gohampi