Some of them are accustomed to rising early and ‘punishing’ their body on the roads of the Capital. Running, in recent times, has become a “fun activity” for many citizens of Delhi but the motivation to transform their limited athletic talents into a professional zeal has seen an upward trend. For the organisers of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, the surge in the participation this year was an indication that the half marathon event has come to stay.
Begun ahead of the Asian Games in 1982, the marathons — half and full — have managed to engage the attention of sports lovers in Delhi. The half marathon this year managed to attract an all-time high number of 40,633 runners. “It’s a good sign of the event picking up among the masses,” remarked a veteran runner.
According to the statistics provided by the organisers, the Great Delhi Run (5 km) registered an unprecedented 16,962 runners. The half marathon (21.1 km) witnessed a spike of 11% with 13,115 participants and registrations for the 10 km run jumped up by 77% to 8,553.
In a heartening development, the senior citizen’s event (3 km run) too received 1,430 registrations, while the champions with disability had registrations from 573 individuals.
Security issues
Spectators may not have poured out in huge numbers since the event does not engage such activity for many reasons, security being the key. “We can’t have a situation where people intrude and start clicking photos or look to create mischief by trying to halt the race. It has not happened in the past but we can’t take a chance. The race attracts some of the best athletes on the international circuit and has acquired the Gold Label status,” said an official associated with the half marathon.
Half marathons and full marathons have come to define the popularity of some of the biggest cities of the world. London, Boston, New York, Tokyo, Berlin are known to appeal to the best of professional runners while cities like Amsterdam, Toronto, Frankfurt, Dubai and Paris encourage the amateur runners too. Of late, Delhi too was recognised as one of the best destinations for experiencing a half marathon.
The runners were happy with the route, conduct and the weather but an old timer aspired for a change. “Why not a change in the route. Can we swing the half marathon around some of the historic monuments of this great city? It can bring in tourists too in addition to the runners.” An idea worth a try!
