34,000 Runners Gear-up for 8th Airtel Delhi Half Marathon

New Delhi, 19 November 2015: On Sunday morning, November 29, Delhi will host the eighth edition of the prestigious Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM), an event the city owns with its body, mind and spirit. The finest long distance athletes from across the world along with amateur runners will converge in Delhi to put their best foot forward and in doing so, accomplish great missions, achieve new goals and contribute to enriching lives across a country of 1.2 billion.

The sport of distance running is engulfing the nation and a testimony to this has been the overwhelming response ADHM 2015 has received. For the first time, half marathon registrations for the event closed more than a month before the cut-off date.

Event Ambassador: One of the greatest champions and hailed as the Usain Bolt of distance running, Kenenisa Bekele will grace the eighth edition of ADHM as the Event Ambassador. 

He holds the World and Olympic record in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres events (indoor and outdoor). He won a double at the 2008 Summer Olympics in both these events and also won the 2004 Olympic title over 10,000 m.

Bekele participated in his first Half Marathon, The Great North Run in 2013, in which he beat both Mo Farah and Haile Gebrselassie and emerged on top. Thereafter Bekele did the impossible – on April 6, 2014, he produced the sixth fastest marathon debut ever on a record-eligible course with his victory at the Paris Marathon, in a course record time of 2:05:04.

The Half Marathon has received 13,200 entries, the DHL Corporate Champions have 200 teams (600 runners), while the Great Delhi Run has 19,000 entries. The Senior Citizens’ Run will have 800 participants, and the Champions with Disability event will have 400 participants. A total of 34,000 runners from different corners of the world are participating.

“Over the years, the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon has emerged to become an outstanding platform that celebrates people’s passion for running. Be it professional runners, fitness enthusiasts, the elderly or children in Delhi – ADHM sees the overwhelming participation of people from difference walks of life – all coming together to run for a social cause. ADHM has been growing exponentially every year and is indeed a strategic association for brand Airtel. As proud title sponsors of this amazing annual sporting event, we at Airtel are excited to inch closer to Race Day and invite people across the city to step out of their homes on 29th November to cheer the participants of the 8th edition of Airtel Delhi Half Marathon,” said  Sarang Kanade, Hub CEO – Delhi NCR and Rajasthan, Bharti Airtel.

Start Times: The Half Marathon for Elite men will start at 6.40 am followed by the Half Marathon for Elite women at 6.50 am. The new 10K, 5K and 3K for Indian Athletes will be flagged off at 6:54 am. The DHL Corporate Champions race will start at 6.55 am, followed by the Amateur Marathon (Categories A to F) at 7.10am.

These will be followed by the Champions with Disability at 7.35am, the Senior Citizens’ Run at 8.00 am and the Great Delhi Run at 9.35 am. All flag-offs will be through Gate 1 of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Gate 1 will serve as the Finish Area for all categories apart from the Champions with Disability and the Senior Citizens’ Run, which will conclude at Gate 2. The 10K, 5K and 3K for Indian Athletes will finish at 10, 5 and 3km points on the route respectively.