At Thiksey Monastery in Leh, the sportswear brand links monastic focus with high-altitude endurance as exclusive partner of the world’s highest race experience.
Leh, September 2026: PUMA India has rolled out ‘Meditation in Motion’, a campaign that places 40 Buddhist monks from the 15th-century Thiksey Monastery in traditional maroon robes — and the brand’s Deviate PURE NITRO running shoes — against Ladakh’s stark landscape. The work lands ahead of the 13th edition of the Ladakh Marathon (September 10–13), where PUMA India is the exclusive sportswear partner.
Built around six frames shot at the monastery and across the high desert, the campaign argues that meditation and running look like opposites but share the same muscle: focus, discipline, and the ability to stay present when the miles — or the mind — get hard.
Ramprasad Sridharan, managing director, PUMA India, said the idea grew out of the brand’s three-year association with the race and the mental resolve high-altitude running demands. “Movement and meditation may take different forms, but they can often lead to the same place: a state of complete focus and presence. We wanted to capture the less visible side of running, the mindset that takes over when the miles fall away and everything else fades out,” he said.
At the centre of the story is the Deviate PURE NITRO, a performance trainer with NITROFOAM cushioning, engineered mesh and PUMAGRIP traction, positioned for runs without a carbon plate. The campaign uses that product truth sparingly — the real sell is mindset, not a feature list — and frames Ladakh itself as proof of concept: thin air, sharp weather, and a course that includes the 122-kilometre Silk Route Ultra from Nubra Valley up to Khardung La Pass.
Chewang Motup Goba, founder and race director, Ladakh Marathon, has long stressed that runners must adapt to altitude, weather and terrain. PUMA India’s race-day support mirrors that seriousness: tees across categories, plus jackets, arm sleeves, thermals, beanies and caps for Ultra participants.
Brand ambassador Kareena Kapoor Khan amplified the drop on Instagram Stories, writing “Well Done @pumaindia Fam. Love this.” For a brand still fighting to be read as a serious running player in India, the monk-led frames are a cultural bet — borrowing calm, presence and place — timed for when the country’s most extreme marathon steps back into the spotlight.
Sumit Dhingra, CEO and Country Director, BESTSELLER India, said: “Smriti Mandhana is one of the standout icons of her generation, not just for what she has accomplished, but for how she has gotten there: on her own terms, in her own time, always staying true to herself.”
“That quiet confidence and authenticity is exactly what ONLY represents,” he added, noting the collaboration aims to inspire young women to pursue their ambitions boldly and carry their individuality with pride.
For Mandhana, the partnership felt like a natural fit with how she approaches fashion. “What drew me to ONLY is the ease and energy the brand brings to style. That instantly resonated with me,” she said.
