New Delhi: As Delhi laces up for the ninth edition of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, on Sunday, November 20, Procam International today announced that Rio Olympic Marathon Champion Eliud Kipchoge and Reigning Half Marathon World Champion Peres Jepchirchir will be the highlight in the World’s most prestigious half marathon . With all compulsorily timed half marathon running spots filling in record time and registration closing eleven days prior to the deadline, nothing seems to deter the enthusiastic Delhi runner.
A total of 34, 325 participants will take centre-stage with some of the best distance runners in the world including Worknesh Degefa, a specialized half marathoner who has ran 22 half marathons in the past four years, with 15 podium finishes, Stephen Kiprotich, the London 2012 Olympic Marathon Champion, Rising Tanzanian runner Alphonce Sambu who was placed 5th at Rio Olympics, Gladys Chesir, who finished third at ADHM last year and Tesfaye Abera winner of Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2015. With one of the best fields so far at ADHM, the start line will include thirteen athletes who competed at Rio Olympics 2016.
The USD 2,70,000 event will witness, 12,844 participants running in the Half Marathon; 19,972 participants in the Great Delhi Run, 1004 Senior Citizens, and 445 people in the Champions with Disability category.
Asafa Powell, the athlete credited with paving the way for a decade of Jamaican domination in the sprinting events will be present at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and cheer all runners participating in the race.
Commenting on the countdown towards Race Day, Ravindra Singh Negi, CEO – Delhi/NCR, Bharti Airtel, said “It is heartening to see the enthusiastic response to the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, especially for the 21km half marathon, for which the registrations closed in record time. Over the years, Airtel Delhi Half Marathon has become a landmark event that celebrates the spirit of running and sees participation by people from all walks of life, including top international athletes. We are truly excited as we move closer to the race day and invite people to run and also cheer the participants”.
Adding to this, Dilip Jayram, CEO, Procam International shared,“ Entering into the ninth edition of this iconic event, we are extremely delighted to see the enthusiasm and eagerness from all those participating in the race. The presence of sporting stalwarts like Asafa Powell and Eliud Kipchoge makes this year all the more special and will provide an additional vigor to all the participants and inspire more people to take up running. We appreciate the support and encouragement from all invested in making this event a success.”
Green Race: As a responsible race organizer of an event that promotes health and fitness for all, Procam has always been concerned as much about the well-being of our participants as about the environment. We have taken a conscious decision to make all our running events eco-friendly, with a focus on reusing and recycling. All the waste that is generated during the event is segregated and sent to organizations for proper disposal. The event has taken the green cause by serving its runners in environment-friendly aracanut plates, wooden spoons.
