New Delhi, September 27, 2007: The Hutch Delhi Half Marathon is now “Vodafone Delhi Half Marathon”. With this change, we begin the countdown to the world’s richest and most prestigious half marathon and no efforts are being spared to get ready a glittering platform worthy of the stature of the event.
Some of the biggest names in long distance running, led by the defending champions among men and women, Francis Kibiwott and Lineth Chepkirui, have confirmed their presence for the third edition guaranteeing another high quality elite athlete field for the half marathon event.
The last date for registrations has passed and the city of Delhi has responded in great fashion. Promoters Procam International have been swamped by a deluge of last minute entries and even as their backend office burns the midnight oil to clear this massive influx and get a clear picture of the exact number of entries in each category, indications are strong that all the categories will be oversubscribed, with the event attaining the total figure of 30,000 participants.
The 2,500 running places in the Senior Citizens’ Run and the 200 in the Wheelchair Category have been filled up, with figures fast piling up for the Half Marathon and the Great Delhi Run. In view of this, and accounting for some amount of rejections, promoters Procam International are yet accepting entries because a window of opportunity still exists for runners desirous of enjoying the half marathon experience.
The response to the charity drive has also been very encouraging, with prominent personalities from all walks of life signing up for the Dream Team, while major corporate entities are lining up for the Corporate Challenge and the Corporate Sporting Challenge. In the past two editions the event has generated in excess of Rs 2 crore towards charity and concerted efforts are on from GiveIndia, the Official Charity Partner, to ensure that the figure is eclipsed this time around.
Maximum No. of running places in each category:
- Half Marathon: 10,000
- Great Delhi Run: 18,000
- Senior Citizens’ Run: 2,500
- Wheelchair Event: 200
Powerful Charity Drive: Film actresses Yana Gupta, Nafisa Ali, Ajay Bakaya of the Sarovar Group of Hotels and Ajay Bijli of the PVR Cinema Group are some of the prominent names already confirmed for the Dream Team, while some of the corporate majors who have signed up for the Corporate Challenge include HSBC, HDFC, Google, Apollo Tyres, Cannon, American Express Bank, Coca Cola, TV 18, NDTV, ABN Amro, ONGC, DELL, Ericsson, to name a few.
World Class Field: The best timing among men in the elite athlete field is credited to Kenya's Patrick Makau, whose personal best is 58.56 minutes. The other names with sub-hour personal bests are Kenya's Philip Rugut (59.45), the winner in 2005, Kenya’s Evans Cheruyiot (59.12), the winner at Rotterdam in 2007 and defending champion Francis Kibiwott of Kenya ( 59.26).
Among the women, defending champion Lineth Chepkirui of Kenya will have to contend with the 2005 winner Irina Timpeyeva of Russia. The other big names in the field include Kenya's Pamela Chepchumba, and Alice Timbilil, the winner and runner-up respectively at the Philadelphia half marathon 2007.
One of the new initiatives for the third edition of the Vodafone Delhi Half Marathon has been the Marathon Training Programs being conducted by Reebok, the Official Training and Sportswear Partner. The training programs have received an encouraging response from the people of Delhi and the corporates and will be one of the major vehicles towards improving and bettering the physical standards of running enthusiasts in the years to come.
Vodafone Initiatives
Vodafone has announced an invitation to the Residents Welfare Associations (RWA’s) of Delhi to be part of the Vodafone Delhi Half Marathon. It will provide an ideal platform to bring the welfare associations to centre stage by motivating the residents to participate in spirit and body. The best RWA will be judged by a noted celebrity on the race day basis certain predefined criteria. The winning team will be given a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh which can be used effectively for the benefit of the RWA. In addition, the team members of the winning team will also get a cash prize of Rs. 5000 each. Besides, the three runners up teams will also get a cash prize of Rs. 20,000 each.
Hamster wheels have been put up in high congregation areas around the NCR region for people to get a feel of running the marathon. Young and energetic fitness enthusiasts are cheerleading those running on the Hamster wheel
Test your Stainless Will
An event like the half marathon throws up some incredible stories of the triumph of the human spirit and very few of these come to light during the event. The build-up till Race Day is as important as the actual run – the discipline, the practice, the teamwork, the motivation, the camaraderie and obviously the stainless will!
In another novel initiative, supported by Associate Sponsor Jindal Stainless, promoters Procam International invites all those who have experienced the magic of the half marathon to tell the world his or her story. The best stories will be put up on the official website and the top stories will be rewarded with attractive Jindal Stainless art d’inox products.
Stories, along with contact details and a picture can be mailed to my_vdhm_story@indiatimes.com. Photographs can also be used to complement the story
Your Race Day Photos
Half Marathon running is a huge personal achievement and what better way to share the experience and story with friends and relatives that through a personal photo?
Procam International has tied up with Marathon-Photos.com, the market leaders in event photography, specializing in marathons. For the first time in India, each runner will have an opportunity to own his/her momentous running highlights captured in photographs by Marathon-Photos.com, the official Photographer of the Vodafone Delhi Half Marathon. The Marathon-Photos.com team will ensure that every runner your race is captured through their cameras. Besides being a competitive running Event, the Vodafone Delhi Half Marathon is also a visual delight and to help each runner with his/her own special collection, the Marathon-Photos.com team of professional sports photographers will be deployed at various picturesque locations around the course to capture the entire run. There are some innovative exclusive products which will also be offered through Marathon-Photos.com. Half Marathoners who have availed of the timing chip can order their Race Time Photo, which will have the finish time along with a personalized photograph. Plus their time will be featured on the FREE downloadable Race Certificate and the exclusive Photo Race Certificate. The photo services will be available across all Race categories. More details can be got from the website www.marathon-photos.com Three years has been a long journey in many ways for the Vodafone Delhi Half Marathon and the growth curve will always be on an upsurge, thanks to the efforts and initiatives from all involved to ensure that the event evolves in every possible way. A single appearance at the half marathon is enough to get one hooked for life, hence it is the serious endeavour of everyone involved in putting together the Vodafone Delhi Half Marathon to ensure that every year weaves a new magic.