NEW DELHI, (GPN): 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.
PUMA: “We have been associated with Procam as the official Sportswear Partner for Airtel Delhi Half Marathon since last year. As a sports wear partner we are involved in developing the race day and finishers t-shirt for participants and activating multiple touch-point to engage and enhance participants performance. And this year we are extremely thrilled to get Asafa Powell to the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. Asafa holds the world record for the maximum no of sub 10 second performance in 100 metres. His presence and interactions will encourage many runners in the country. At PUMA we believe we are at the cusp of a running revolution and associations such as ADHM and TSK25 only furthers our endeavour. We look forward to this year run and I am sure its going to be another spectacular one, said, Abhishek Ganguly , Managing Director, PUMA India.
Nestlé India: Among the many new initiatives this year, one of the innovations planned for the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is Nestlé s “Run an extra 100” in support of educating the girl child. Nestlé will encourage participants to run for an additional 100m in the Great Delhi Run to show support for the cause. This is an extension of Nestlé’s ongoing efforts to spread awareness for the cause of girl child education in India.
Speaking on the corporate initiative, Chandrasekar Radhakrishnan, Sr. VP, Communication and Ecommerce says, Community support is critical for the cause of girl child education in India and this marathon is our effort to take the cause closer to communities. We need to embrace collective responsibility in ensuring that more girls have the opportunity to pursue education and I believe that we must support such causes of national relevance. We hope “Run the Extra 100” will further sensitize our community to support this cause and become a part of the movement called – Educate The Girl Child.
Celebrating Runners: ADHM respects the passion, dedication and perseverance of our runners and as a gesture to their continued patronage; Procam International has introduced an informative manner of celebrating the participants who have been associated with this magnificent event for years. Half marathon runners will now see the number of ADHM they have participated in, printed on their running bib. In addition to this, there is a special Family Zone created where family members can come and cheer their loved ones and motivate them.
Police Cup: An event of this stature is not possible without the unstinted support from the Delhi Police. To applaud their efforts and motivate them, there is a special category within the event – Police Cup, wherein a 3 member team will compete for the prestigious title.
Nestlé presents Mirchi Get Active Expo: is a one-stop destination for health and fitness enthusiasts to come together under one roof. The Expo will be inaugurated on Wednesday, 16th November and will be on until Saturday, 19th November 2016. Wednesday to Friday, the expo will remain open from 12:00 noon to 8:00 pm and on Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at NSIC Grounds, Okhla.
The Nestlé Mirchi Get Active Expo will see a host of activities like the finale of Cigna TTK Treadmillion Challenge, Runners meet to motivate runners for the big day and help them get tips from the experts, trainers, doctors and more. Apart from all above this year there will be stalls taken by different running Event organizers, Support services (Trainers, Physios, nutritionist and small health food organizations) and NGOs.
For more information about the 2016 Airtel Delhi Half Marathon – an IAAF Label Road Race – the website of the event is:http://adhm.procamrunning.in
