Delhi Half Marathon
| Delhi Half Marathon | |
|---|---|
 Nehru Stadium, the starting point of the Delhi Half Marathon |
|
| Date | November |
| Location | New Delhi |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Half marathon |
| Established | 2005 |
The Delhi Half Marathon is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is an AIMS-certified course and is listed as a Gold Label Road Race by the IAAF.[1][2] The 2009 event attracted around 29,000 runners who competed in one of the four races:[3] the half marathon, the 7 km Great Delhi Run, a 4.3 km run for senior citizens, and a 3.5 km wheelchair race.[4]
The half marathon is the elite runner race, while the Great Delhi Run attracts the majority of participants overall. The inaugural edition in 2005 had total prize money of US$310,000 to attract high calibre professional athletes.[5] The prize for the winners of the men's and women's race was $25,000 dollars in 2009.[6] The race was sponsored Hutchison Essar for its first two races, and the company sponsored the event as Vodafone Essar in 2007 following a takeover. Rival communications company Airtel held the sponsor role in 2008, 2009 and 2010.[2]
The course starts in the Nehru Stadium, although this was temporarily moved to the grounds of the Central Secretariat while the stadium was under renovation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.[7]
The race is largely flat and has delivered fast winning times in its short history, with men producing a number of sub-one hour times and women recording times under 1:08:00.[8][9][10]
The race attracts culturally prominent supporters: Indian actors Arshad Warsi and Rahul Bose were present in 2010, while Sheila Dikshit awarded prizes to the event winners.[11] Actress Gul Panag participated that year but criticised the attitude of the city's men after she was groped mid-race: "Delhi men won't let go of any opportunity to eve-tease or behave indecently. The people's mindset has not changed despite hosting a mega event like Commonwealth Games in October and it is definitely not an ideal place for women".[12]
[edit] Past winners
Key: Course record
| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time | Women's winner | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2005 |  Philip Rugut (KEN) |
1:01:55 |  Irina Timofeyeva (RUS) |
1:10:35 |
| 2nd | 2006 | Francis Kibiwott (KEN) |
1:01:36 | Lineth Chepkurui (KEN) |
1:10:40 |
| 3rd | 2007 |  Dieudonné Disi (RWA) |
1:00:43 |  Deriba Alemu (ETH) |
1:10:30 |
| 4th | 2008 | Deriba Merga (ETH) |
59:15 | Aselefech Mergia (ETH) |
1:08:17 |
| 5th | 2009 | Deriba Merga (ETH) |
59:54 | Mary Keitany (KEN) |
1:06:54 |
| 6th | 2010 | Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) |
59:38 | Aselefech Mergia (ETH) |
1:08:35 |
| 7th | 2011[13] | Lelisa Desisa (ETH) |
59:30 | Lucy Wangui (KEN) |
1:07:04 |
[edit] References
- General
- Krishnan, Ram. Murali (2006-10-15). Kibiwott, Chepkirui the winners at Delhi Half-Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- Krishnan, Ram. Murali (2008-11-09). Three go sub-60, as Ethiopia sweep titles in Delhi Half Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- Krishnan, Ram. Murali (2009-11-01). Keitany sub-1:07 again, Merga defends in Delhi Half Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- Specific
- ^ AIMS Race Directory. Association of International Marathons and Distance Races. Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- ^ a b Airtel looks at leveraging ‘world’s richest’ Delhi marathon. MSN (2009-10-29). Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- ^ Keitany sub-1:07 again, Merga defends in Delhi Half Marathon. IAAF (2009-11-01). Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- ^ 30,000 people run the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. Hindustan Times (2009-11-01). Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- ^ Delhi marathon hits rough weather. The Hindu (2005-07-22). Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- ^ Defending champions return, but Mergia will have Keitany to contend with - Delhi Half Marathon preview. IAAF (2009-10-30). Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- ^ Krishnan, Ram. Murali (2007-10-28). Disi, Alemu the winners in New Delhi Half-Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- ^ Delhi attracts high quality field and Jackie Joyner-Kersee's assistance - PREVIEW. IAAF (2008-11-07). Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- ^ Half Marathon All Time – Women. IAAF (2009-10-11). Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- ^ Half Marathon All Time – Men. IAAF (2009-10-11). Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
- ^ Murali, Ram. Krishnan (2010-11-21). Mergia recaptures women’s crown, Mutai foils Ethiopian sweep at Delhi Half Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
- ^ Sharma, Kalpana (2010-11-27). Unsafe for women?. The Hindu. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
- ^ Krishnan, Ram. Murali (2011-11-27). In close races, Desisa and Kabuu prevail in New Delhi Half. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-11-27.
[edit] External links
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