Delhi Half Marathon, currently branded as the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is an AIMS-certified course and is listed as a Gold Label Road Race[1] by the IAAF.[2] The race has seen the best of the athletes competing since the course is considered one of the fastest half marathon route.[3] The event sees about 40,000 participants[4] through the race categories of half marathon, the 7 km Great Delhi Run, a 4.3 km run for senior citizens, and a 3.5 km wheelchair race[5]
Course
Finish line of Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2016 at Nehru Stadium
The course starts in the Nehru Stadium, although this was temporarily moved to the grounds of the Secretariat Building while the stadium was under renovation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.[6] The race is largely flat and has delivered fast winning times in its short history, with men producing a number of sub-one hour times and women recording times under 1:08:00.[7][8][9]
Sponsor
The current title sponsor is Vedanta who signed up in 2022 for 5 years till 2027.[10] The race was sponsored Hutchison Essar for its first two races, and the company sponsored the event as Vodafone Essar in 2007 following a takeover. Rival communications company Airtel held the sponsor role since 2008 to 2020.[11]
Prize
The half marathon[12] is the elite runner race, while the Great Delhi Run attracts the majority of participants overall. The inaugural edition in 2005 had total prize money of US$310,000.[13] The prize for the winners of the men's and women's race was $25,000 in 2009 and $27,000 in 2015.[14][15]
