All-time high registrations for Airtel Delhi Half Marathon

The number of registrations for all categories in the 15th edition of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) has soared to an all-time high of 40,633 participants, organisers said.

The marathon is scheduled to be hosted in the capital on October 20.

The Great Delhi Run has registered an unprecedented 16,962 runners while the half marathon witnessed a spike of 11 per cent with 13,115 participants.

The 10K run registrations witnessed a jump of 77 per cent to 8,553. The senior citizen run received 1430 registrations, while the champions with disability will have 573 inspiring individuals defying all odds to complete the distance.

The IAAF Gold Label race has prize money of USD 275,000.

In the Indian elite line-up, the 2014 and 2011 winner, Suresh Kumar Patel, will lead the men's line-up. In his most recent appearance for 25kms distance run, Patel timed a personal best of 1.04.38.

In the women's category, 2017 course record holder L Suriya and 3000m steeplechase national record holder Sudha Singh will lead the race. Suriya clocked 70.31 in 2017 to create a new course record.

Vani Venkatesh, CEO Delhi/NCR, Bharti Airtel, is thrilled to see the record number of registration.

"We are thrilled to see the record number of registrations for Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. It underlines the deep engagement this platform has established with participants and the public at large around the spirit of this marathon," Venkatesh said.

"It is overwhelming to witness registrations grow year-on-year and especially with this being a milestone year. It is unprecedented to have more than 40,000 runners on the start line at ADHM next Sunday, 20th Oct. In addition to the array of international athletes, we have a very respectable line-up of Indian elite athletes, who will show their mettle," said Vivek Singh, Joint Managing Director, Procam International.

This year ADHM is supported by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), who will lend their expertise to ensure all the waste on the route is efficiently managed. Also, for the first time ever Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has associated with the event to provide special metro services.