Colour and energy at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon brings the city to life!

Delhi, October 15, 2023: The 18th edition of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon brought the city to life in the wee hours of today. The mood in the city grew more vibrant with each passing moment as the spirit of RangDeDilli resonated among the participants. Runners from all walks of life made their way to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to take part in the world's most prestigious half-marathon and rejoiced in the infectious energy, music, and positivity ahead of the flag-off.

More than 35,000 runners participated across all five categories. The Great Delhi Run, the Champions with Disability, and the Senior Citizens Run categories showcased inclusivity at the heart of the event and served as an inspiration for countless people as it highlighted the indomitable nature of the human spirit. The Great Delhi Run, also witnessed thousands of participants running for the causes they believed in and wanted to support by bringing them under the spotlight through the race. The RangDeDilli spirit resonated unconditionally with all runners who participated in the category, as they donned unique outfits and ran with massive grins on their faces.

Several luminaries graced the event with their presence and were part of the flag-off of various categories on the day. Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena the Lieutenant General of Delhi, and Shri Anurag Thakur the Honorable Minister of Youth Affairs, Sports, and IMB, were accompanied by Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Non-Executive Director of Vedanta and Chairperson, Hindustan Zinc Ltd. Additionally, Ashton Eaton the International Elite Ambassador for the 18th Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, General J.J. Singh, Former Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and COAS Indian Army, Captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket team, Harmanpreet Kaur and Naarayan TV the Chief Marketing Officer of IDFC First Bank were present at the flag-offs as they spurred and cheered the runners on.

Speaking on the occasion Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Non-Executive Director, Vedanta and Chairperson, Hindustan Zinc Ltd., ”What we witnessed today was the immense power of participative sport to mobilise people from all walks of life and come together for fun, fitness and, most importantly, a cause. It is the dream of our Chairman, Shri Anil Agarwal, that every child in India sleeps with a stomach full of nutritious food. We want to make #RunForZeroHunger a mass movement involving every Indian, just like we want every Anganwadi in this country to become a modern Nand Ghar.”

She went on to say, “Through Vedanta’s commitment of providing 1 meal to children for every 1 km run, I am delighted that this year we will be providing 5 million meals. These meals will be served across Vedanta’s network of nearly 6,000 Nand Ghars, in the coming weeks.”

Numerous imminent dignitaries also took part in the 18th edition of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon which highlighted the unique human experience of running. Running negates and traverses boundaries as it brings together people from all walks of life to collectively share the experience of participating in the event. Some of the imminent dignitaries taking part in the Half- Marathon included, Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh the Vice Chief of the Indian Airforce, Manoj Yadava the Director General of the Railway Protection Force, Atul Karwal the Director General of the National Disaster Response Force, who is also the First bureaucrat to scale Mt. Everest, Pratap Singh the Principal Commissioner- Income Tax and L.S. Singh the Additional Secretary- Ministry of Defence. 

Similarly, dignitaries participated in the 10K which was guided by an all-women contingent of eight pacers. Some of the dignitaries taking part in the 10K included Lt. General M.V. Suchindra Kumar the Vice Chief of Indian Army Staff, Lt. General Rajinder Dewan the Quarter Master General for India, Gyanesh Bharti the Commissioner of MCD, Sushil Kumar the Joint Secretary- Finance and Dr. Ankita Chakravarty the Secretary of NDMC. Even, prominent actor and fitness enthusiast Gul Panag also participated in the 10K.

After the flag-off of the Half-Marathon Elite, Harmanpreet Kaur expressed her delight around the event as she remarked, “It feels great to be here at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon and I am honoured I could be part of this event. The energy and verve the senior citizens showcased were truly a special and unique sight to behold. I hope I get a chance to run at the next Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon because I would love to run alongside everyone, so definitely if I get the opportunity next time I will surely come here and run.”

“Running I feel plays a pivotal part in my life, so the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon provides an equal platform to all runners and I wish all of them the best of luck.”, she added.

Daniel Ebenyo of Kenya clinched the top spot in the Elite Men’s category as he crossed the finish line with a time of 59:27, while Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia emerged as the champion in the Elite Women’s category as she clocked in a time of 67:58.

In the India Men’s category, Abhishek Pal edged out Karthik Kumar by the slimmest of margins as he emerged as the winner with a time of 64:07, while Kavita Yadav secured a stunning victory in the Indian Women’s category on her debut as she clocked in a time of 77:42.

Post the race Exclusive Saregama artists including Pablo, Swattrex, Jaan Kumar Sanu, Avinash Gupta, Pranav Chandran & Sherrin Varghese performed at the finish zone entertaining the runners with a musical treat which added to the runners' high for participants who gave it their all during the race.  

The smooth conduct of the event was facilitated with the support of dedicated 200+ volunteers, Delhi Police officials, and 400 healthcare providers on Race Day spread across the medical stations and base camps. 

The 18th edition of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon is supported by the Government of NCT of Delhi, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Ministry of External Affairs Ministry of Home Affairs, Sports Authority of India (SAI), Athletic Federation of India (AFI), Delhi Police, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Municipal Corporation Delhi, The Indian Army and Raj Bhavan, Delhi.