NEW DELHI: The second edition of the IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon will see a line-up of top Indian athletes this year.
The likes of Olympian Gopi T and Kheta Ram will be seen running in the capital city on Sunday, 26th February. The race will flag off from Jawaharlal Stadium.
Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has granted IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon once again the status of National Marathon which will continue for the next few years.
Olympian Gopi T will be eyeing the full marathon title this year. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Thanackal Gopi registered his personal best timing of 2:15:25s, while Kheta Ram was just a second behind his compatriot, clocking 2:15:26s to complete the race. They closed the race at the 25th and 26th position respectively at Rio.
At the International Half Marathon at Baghdad he completed the race in 1:04:55 and finished it in 5th position. An experienced runner, Gopi T will be looking to better his time in Delhi this year and take home the title.
Setting the pace in the Half Marathon category is Olympian Kheta Ram who won a Full Marathon in Mumbai last month by completing the race in 2:19:51.
Also competing for the title is G. Lakshmanan, who won the Half Marathon title in Mumbai last month, completing the race in 1:05:05. Man Singh and MD Yunush will also be looking to better their timings and give their best in this edition of the race.
Women elite is represented by Jyothi Gawate with a timing of 2:50:37 for full marathon and Monika Athare with a timing of 1:15:38 for half marathon.
adidas is the running partner for the event while Indraprastha Apollo hospitals as the wellness partner.
Sachin Tendulkar is the face of the event and will flag off the race, while Ethiopian long-distance legend Haile Gebrselassie will be the marathon's international ambassador.
With 1,000 participants registered for the 42k run; 6,000 for the 21k; 2000 for the 10k and 4000 for the 5k run, the marathon will witness more than 13000 participants at the start-line.
The prize money for the race is Rs2.7 million spread across various categories.
Race director Nagaraj Adiga from NEB Sports says: "The good weather and the flat course should help many elite and amateur runners achieve their personal best."
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