Delhi Half Marathon: Over 34,000 sign up for run

Participants will have to cover an extra 100 metres in the Great Delhi Run to show their support for the ‘Educate The Girl Child’ campaign.

The ninth edition of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is set to see a total of 34,325 runners participate come November 20, the organisers announced in the capital on Tuesday.

The $270,000 event will witness 12,844 participants running the half marathon with 19,972 taking part in the Great Delhi run. A total of 1004 entries have been received for the Senior Citizen Run, while 445 runners have registered for the Champions with Disablity run.

Thirteen of the participants competed at the recent Rio Olympics including marathon winner Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, and will lead the pack of international athletes in action.

Watching proceedings from the sidelines will be the Jamaican sprint star Asafa Powell who has come on board as the face of the run. The foreign contingent at the Delhi half marathon will also include Kipchoge’s compatriot and reigning half marathon women’s world champion Peres Jepchirchir alongside Worknesh Degefa, who has had 15 podium finishes in 22 half marathons across the world in the last four years.

Also participating at the run will be 2012 London Olympics marathon champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda.

The air pollution in Delhi has reached alarming levels during the past few days and that is going to be a challenge for the runners. But the organisers of the ADHM believed that air quality will improve in a week’s time and said that they are well equipped to provide medical assistance in case of any health issues. The organisers said they would work to make the run an eco-friendly one with focus being on total waste management through various measures.

The run will also carry the slogan ‘Educate The Girl Child’, wherein the runners will have to cover an extra 100 metres in the Great Delhi Run to show their support to the cause.