The Ladakh Marathon climbs higher than Everest Base Camp. For its third year backing the race, PUMA India has looked away from the course entirely, photographing Buddhist monks in running shoes at a monastery above Leh to make focus, not speed, the subject.
Stillness sharpens a monk’s focus. Movement sharpens a runner’s. PUMA India’s newest campaign, shot with Buddhist monks at a hilltop monastery in Leh, sets those two states side by side, a reminder that endurance running and meditation demand the same discipline. The release comes as the Ladakh Marathon prepares to open Sept. 10, running through Sept. 13, with PUMA entering its third year as the race’s exclusive sportswear partner.
Called Meditation in Motion, the six-image shoot shows monks in traditional robes walking the monastery’s courtyards and prayer halls in PUMA’s Deviate PURE NITRO running shoe, set against Ladakh’s high desert terrain.
The campaign links the product launch to PUMA’s partnership backing the Ladakh Marathon, which enters its third year in 2026. The race is staged in India’s northern Ladakh region and is known for its high-altitude routes through the Himalayas. The featured product is the Deviate PURE NITRO, which does not use the carbon plate found in some of PUMA’s racing models. The shoe instead combines NITROFOAM cushioning, an engineered mesh upper and PUMAGRIP outsole technology.
The marathon provides the event backdrop for the campaign. Certified by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), the event bills itself as the world’s highest marathon. Its Silk Route Ultra category alone covers 122 kilometers, opening near Nubra Valley at an elevation of 10,700 feet before climbing toward Khardung La Pass, which reaches 17,618 feet, an elevation that tops Everest Base Camp.
PUMA, serving as exclusive sportswear partner, outfits every category with race day T-shirts and adds caps, beanies, jackets, thermal layers and arm sleeves for runners tackling the Ultra distance.
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