| 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 encouraging, with
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 20 million towards charity and concerted efforts are
on from GiveIndia, the Official Charity Partner, to ensure
that the figure is eclipsed this time around.
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). Makau’s and Cheruyiot also have the
distinction of recording the second and third fastest timings
in the half marathon this year
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. 100,000 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 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 initiative, supported by Associate Sponsor Jindal
Stainless, Procam International invites 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 Jindal Stainless
art d’inox products.
Your
Race Day Photos : Procam
International has tied up with Marathon-Photos.com. 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.
|
