New Delhi: The new course for this year’s Delhi Half Marathon (DHM) is one of a kind and will be a treat for the runners, feels race director Hugh Jones. The 21.097km course will go around central Delhi and will start and finish at the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium instead of Vinay Marg, as it did last year. Jones expects it to be smooth thanks to the roadworks carried out before last year’s Commonwealth Games.
“This year’s run will see a lot of new things. The road surface is very good, mainly because of the big roads built ahead of the Commonwealth Games. The course is very smooth,” said Jones.
“There is very little elevation on the course and there is a good prospect of faster times. The roads are wider and smoother, and most turns are through slip roads, which makes it very gentle and less physically demanding than in previous years,” he added.
Jones, who looked very impressed with the route, went on to compare it with the course on which the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics will be held. “I have just come in from London, and I can say that the course for the Delhi Half Marathon is better than the roads on which the marathon at the London Olympics will be run,” Jones said.
Dave Cundy, the race’s technical director, also gave the course the thumbs-up and feels it is one of the best in the world. “This is one of the best half marathon courses around the world. It is very flat and smooth. If everything goes well and the weather is fine on Sunday, some great times will be recorded,” said Cundy.
Cundy finds the course quite similar to that of the 2004 World Half Marathon Championships, which were held in Delhi, and is delighted that the race has returned to the JLN Stadium.
He feels the DHM has become a trendsetter and is introducing the country to long-distance running. “In Asia, distance running is a prominent feature in Japan and Korea. Now it is gaining importance in India as well. The increasing participation of international and national athletes in the Delhi Half Marathon speaks of its success and shows that India is emerging as a distance-running country,” said Cundy.
The race, on 27 November, will have 9,000 runners, and preparations, including cheering zones, are being made to give the event a festival feel.
Vivek Singh, joint managing director of Procam International, the event’s promoters, confirmed that celebrities including Bipasha Basu, the DHM brand ambassador, Gul Panag and Rahul Bose will appear on race day.
For medical assistance during the race, Fortis will set up two base camps and six medical stations and will run seven ambulances along the route, in addition to providing 200 medical personnel.
By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News
