Tanzania's Samson Ramadhani, Kenya's Luke Kibet and Australia's Jeffrey Hunt could be the stars to watch in the marathon that will be held on the concluding day on Thursday.
The men's event is scheduled for a 6.30 a.m start and the women's will be flagged off 15 minutes later. Both will take a 10km loop, beginning in front of Free Church on Parliament Street and going through Red Cross Road, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road, Rajpath, Janpath and back.
Talking of the leading runners in the field for Thursday's run, Ramadhani, the Games defending champion, has one of the best times, 2:09.46s clocked in Hannover in May, in the 24-runner men's field here while Kibet is a former World champion. The Kenyans dominate the marathon. They occupy 11 of the top 20 positions in the world list this season, however, many of this season's best runners are not here in Delhi.
Hunt, who impressed with a 2:11 time in his debut marathon in Beppu (Japan), is also expected to come up with a strong showing. Kenya's Irene Kosgei heads the field in the women's section with the year's fastest time (2:29.06s) among the runners here. Lyngkhoi Bining and Ram Singh Yadav are the two host runners in the men's section while Preethi Rao is the lone Indian woman in the fray.
