New Delhi: IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon has been conferred with an AIMS certification. The marathon is now a qualifier for major marathons like Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, to name a few.

Indian elite runners Rahul Pal, Naba Chandra, Sanjith Luwang, Jyoti Gawte and Kiranjeet Kaur interacted with the media ahead of the first edition of IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon. The marathon will flag off on Sunday, February 28, 2016 from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.

With over 80 athletes participating for the marathon, this truly is a National Championships Marathon. In the Indian elite men category, TH Sanjith who recently finished Mumbai Marathon with record 2:20:00 timing feels confident about winning the title. He will compete against Naba Chandra and Rahul Pal in this edition.

Says TH Sanjith, “This time around, with better training and preparation, I feel confident about winning the title.” The victory may not come easy as Rahul Kumar Pal ran a full course during the Mumbai Marathon 2016 edition and completed the race at impressive at 2:24:00. Naba Chandra also feels optimistic about his chances, given the fact that he finished the Allahabad Marathon in 2015 with first position and timing of 2:23:51.

Jyoti Gawde from Maharashtra recently participated for 42 kms at the prestigious South Asian Games with a timing of 2:54:33. Says, Jyoti, “Delhi has better weather conditions at the moment and this gives me the confidence to finish the race with better timings.”

In the Half Marathon women’s category, Kiranjeet Kaur is competing against other stalwarts like Kiran Sahdev and Monika Choudhary to beat the best timing of 1:18:00 by Kiran Sahdev.