The 5th edition of the New Delhi Marathon will see a record 18,500 running enthusiasts lining up for glory, with Sachin Tendulkar flagging off one of the country's most prestigious marathons on February 23.
The marathon, organised by NEB Sports, will see runners from all walks of life coming out in large numbers to be a part of the event which will flag-off from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and traverse through the iconic streets of Delhi.
Recognised as the National Marathon Championship by Athletics Federation of India (AFI), the event will see runners compete in four different categories: Full Marathon (42.2k), Half Marathon (21.1k), Timed 10 K and 5K Swachh Bharat Run. The Full Marathon will start at 4:00 am, followed by the Half Marathon at 6.15 am, and the Timed 10k and 5k run at 7:30 am and 8:30 am respectively.
This year's edition will see close to 2500 runners aiming for supremacy in the Full Marathon, 6000 runners attempting the Half Marathon, 5500 running enthusiasts participating in the Timed 10K run while the 5K run will have a total participation of 4500. The 5th edition will also see 820 dedicated runners who have participated in all five editions of the marathon.
86-years-old Janardhan BR will be the oldest runner on the grid in the Full Marathon, while Daljit Mirchandani, 72-years-old, will be the senior-most in the Half Marathon. Close to 1000 runners from the armed forces and 250 from the police force will make their presence felt across different categories. Additionally, a total of 14 corporates have fielded their teams.
"We are very happy with the response received this year and the diverse participation of people from all walks of life. In the first edition, we had just 5000 runners and participation has grown fourfold over the five years, with close to 20,000 runners participating this year," Karthik Raman, Chief Marketing Officer said.
"The New Delhi Marathon has grown in leaps and bounds from its first edition in 2016 and has seen a constant and steady increase in participation every year. In fact, this year, we are seeing a 25% increase in participation in the Full Marathon category which shows that people are paying more attention to health and fitness," Nagaraj Adiga, Race Director said.
