Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2015: Preview

Ethiopia’s Guye Adola won last year’s marathon in the capital

Marathons have picked up again as the year concludes, with final preparations for the last few big races of the year already in place! This weekend, the 29^th of November, will see the 8^th edition of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon.

The finest long distance athletes from across the world, along with amateur runners, will converge in the capital to take part in the race.

The ambassador for the marathon this year is iconic elite athlete Kenenisa Bekele, compatriot of last year’s winner Guye Adola.

A staggering 13,200 people have already signed up for the half-marathon according to organisers, which sees several categories for runners at different levels of expertise.

Categories

The main half-marathon category is open to both elites and amateurs, at the standard distance of 21.097km. The only proviso to candidates is that they must be at least 18 years of age to register (registrations are closed, however).

The DHL Corporate Champions Run is, as the name suggests, is for teams of companies & firms. A company or organisation may field a team of 3 runners for the run, with each team member covering a distance of 21.097 km.

The race is also all-inclusive, with a category named ‘Champions with Disability’. Participation in the category, abbreviated as CWD, is open for individuals with following disabilities: physical/locomotor disability, intellectual impairment, visual impairment, hearing impairment and orthopaedic or neurological disorder. ** courtesy Airtel Delhi Half Marathon website

This section of the race is 4km long, and is open to anyone above the age of 12.

The Senior Citizens’ Run, also a 4-kilometre course, is open to anyone over the age of 60 who wishes to participate.

The Great Delhi Run is 6km long, and geared ideally at newcomers to running, or to youngsters – with the lower age limit for this category at 12-years-old. Those who are not used to running long distances, or have not trained for a significant period of time enough to be equipped for a half-marathon would perhaps find this category ideal.

Prize Money

Prizes differ across categories and specific demographics, all of which are clearly outlined.

The highest prizes monetarily go to the elite athlete group, with the top 3 finishers in that category (which awards cash prizes to all top 10 finishers among the men and women), each receiving US$27,000, $20,000 and $13,000 respectively.

Elite

Finisher Position	Prize Money (USD)
1st	27,000
2nd	20,000
3rd	13,000

Indian elite

Prizes differ for local elite athletes, with Indian elite finishers receiving between INR 40,000 and 3 lakh in the way of prizes. The top 8 finishers in this category will be awarded cash prizes, with the winner taking home Rs. 3 lakh.

Individual prizes

Organisers have also divided prizes up into categories by age brackets, with the top 3 of each 5-year age range receiving cash prizes.

Winner medals will be presented to

• First 3 overall men & women elite finishers
• first 3 Indian elite men & women finishers
• first 3 men and women finishers in several age categories –
  • 18 years to less than 25 years
  • 25 years to less than 30 years
  • 30 years to less than 35 years
  • 35 years to less than 40 years
  • 40 years to less than 45 years
  • 45 years to less than 50 years
  • 50 years to less than 55 years
  • 55 years to less than 60 years
  • 60 years to less than 65 years
  • 65 years to less than 70 years
  • 70 years and above

All prize money winners of the Half Marathon will receive Merit Certificates certifying their prize money winning positions.

All runners of the Half Marathon race category will get a Finisher’s Medal post their run.Medals will not be posted to individual runners.