Obulesu, Indresh top in Chennai Marathon

Dasari Obulesu and Indresh Dhiraj won the Chennai Marathon among men and women, respectively, here Sunday with both facing scant opposition.

Obulesu got off to a good start and set a hot pace to win in two hours, 30 minutes, 29 seconds while last year's runner-up Indresh Dhiraj clocked 03:36:29.

Obulesu said: "I am from Ooty and I have come as part of a contingent from (Madras Regiment Centre) MRC, Wellington to take part in this marathon. I have put in a lot of hard work over the years.

"Weekly long distance running and high altitude training in the Nilgiris has brought out the best in me. I thank my commanding officer who gave me complete freedom during my training sessions."

Indresh Dhiraj said: "I am from G.B. Nagar in Greater Noida and I have participated in over 100 marathons and have won over 30 of them. I enjoy running the Wipro Chennai Marathon very much. I won here in 2012, came second in 2013 and won again this year. I am very happy."

The results:

Men - Full Marathon: Dasari Obulesu 1 (02:30:29); Jagadheesan M 2 (02:39:21); Vairavanathan 3 (02:49:08). Half-Marathon: Vinod 1 (01:11:23); Karthick G 2 (01:12:39); D Prakash (01:13:25).

Women - Full Marathon: Indresh Dhiraj 1 (03:39:29); Sayuri Dalvi 2 (03:48:19); Shreya Adiraju 3 (04:20:27). Half-Marathon: Vasanthamani E 1 (01:35:50); Suganya (01:38:31); Poongodi R 3 (01:42:47).