New Delhi: Uganda’s double Olympic track champion Joshua Cheptegei, who switches to road racing in earnest after his 10,000m victory at the Paris Games, headlines an elite field besides thousands of running enthusiasts in Sunday’s Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon amid concerns over rising air pollution levels in the national capital.
In early winter conditions, Delhi’s air quality has deteriorated in the last few days to slip into the ‘poor’ zone. A thick layer of smog covered several parts of the capital on Saturday morning. Air pollution levels are expected to become ‘very poor’ on Sunday, according to Central Pollution Control Board data.
As many as 36,320 runners, including 12,006 in half marathon (21.097km), 13,327 in the Great Delhi Run (4.5km), 865 in the Senior Citizens’ Run (2.5km) and 258 in Champions with Disability run – have registered for the event.
Considering the worsening air quality, the race day morning – the half marathon open category, the first of five races, will start at 5am from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the elite race at 6.50am – will not be easy on the competitors .
Indian runners said they have been experiencing breathing problems in training. “When I was warming up in the evening I could feel my breathing getting heavy and I wondered why this was happening. I got tensed if this is the situation then what we might face tomorrow morning,” Priti Lamba, the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games 3000m steeplechase bronze medallist, told Hindustan Times.
“However, we are used to such conditions in Delhi, and it has got bad every year. You have to make up your mind and take precautions, foreign runners are also competing,” said Priti, who is from Delhi but now trains in Bengaluru.
Kiran Matre, who finished second in the Mumbai half marathon, complained of the dust in the air while training on the outer track at the JLN Stadium. “It is difficult to give your best in these conditions. It impacts recovery as well,” the youngster said.
The race organisers acknowledged the pollution challenge and listed the steps being taken to ease the problem.
“Safety and health of the runners is our top priority,” they said in a statement. “Anti-smog guns will be deployed along the half marathon and 10K race route from midnight to 2am. These guns will spray a fine mist, with droplet sizes between 5 and 30 microns, into the air to suppress dust and particulate matter, improving overall air quality.”
The race route and venue were given an anti-smog spray on Friday too to limit the dust dispersion. “Traffic restrictions will also reduce vehicular emissions near the event. A ‘no-vehicle zone’ will be enforced along the half marathon route and participants are encouraged to use public transport, bicycles, or electric vehicles to lower the event’s carbon footprint,” the statement said.
Cheptegei top draw
Cheptegei, who announced after his Paris Olympics 10,000m win in an Olympic record of 26 minutes 43:14 seconds that he will be switching from track racing, will be challenged by Ethiopia’s twice 5000m world champion Muktar Edris for the top prize in the men’s elite race. Edris recently beat Cheptegei in a 10-mile race at Tilburg, Netherlands. Cheptegei is new to the rigours of road races but the 28-year-old has set his sight on the marathon. He will look to make a big statement as the experienced Edris is coming back from injury.
The women’s field includes 2022 Commonwealth Games 10,000m champion Eilish McColgan. The British runner is expected to face a tough fight from Kenya’s Cynthia Limo, the 2016 world half marathon silver medallist.
A World Athletics Gold Label road race, Delhi half marathon boasts of a prize purse of $260,000.