Capital’s most popular race picking up pace ‘Road racing up in India, not standard’
Over the years, timings have improved and winners here have clocked better efforts than at IAAF world meet twice in the past decade
MUMBAI/DELHI: Having won eight consecutive full marathons, not many would have bet against Eliud Kipchoge winning last month’s Berlin marathon. And the Kenyan Olympic champion did what he does best - raising his lofty standards a few notches more, clocking an astonishing 2 hours, 1 minute, 39 seconds.
To smash the marathon world record by more than a minute is staggering, so is extending his winning streak to nine. The 33-year-old also lend his aura to the Delhi Half Marathon two years ago.
Clocking 59 minutes, 44 seconds, Kipchoge eased to win one of only three IAAF Gold Label races in India, the others being the Mumbai Marathon and the Bengaluru 10K run.
Kipchoge was no exception. Delhi has seen distance stalwarts grace the event in recent years. From half marathon world record holder Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea to three-time world championship winner, Geoffrey Kipsang of Kenya, top names of the world now take part in the race. The 2017 edition saw Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana win the women’s race. The Rio Olympics 10,000m champion had arrived in Delhi after adding the 2017 World Championships title to her name in London.
“The quality of runners has gone up because the race’s reputation has increased in the last few years. Today, top runners take this race seriously. We’ve a greater pool of runners from whom we can choose,” Hugh Jones, race director of the Delhi
Timings in hours, minutes & seconds Half Marathon, says.
The impact of having a competitive field is evident from the improved timings. From 2009 to 2012, the average winning time was 59:59 minutes. It has dipped to 59:26 from 2013 to 2017. The average winning time over the past 9 years
The average winning time over the past 5 years
The average time difference between 1st and 3rd since 2009
The average time difference between 1st and 3rd over the past 5 years
Also, from 2009 to 2012, the average difference in the finishing time between the winner and No 3 runner was 32 seconds. From 2013 to 2017, it has narrowed to 14 seconds, underlining the close competition.
OBSTACLES
While quality of runners and the prize money (USD 27000 each for the men’s and women’s winners) have gone up, there is growing concern that pollution can hamper the race pace.
“There are a lot of unknowns this year.
In the early years we held the race in
October, and once we held it in September. At that time, it was very hot and people suffered. The timing was slow. Then we shifted the race to November, which temperaturewise offered us far better conditions but it was high smog time. It became an issue, especially last year,” Jones recalled.
“So, there was a lot of momentum behind shifting it back to October. We are trading better quality for higher temperature. The average daily low is 18 degrees Celsius now while the ideal temperature for running is 8-15. So, I think the runners will have to push themselves hard to break the course record.”
The men’s course record is 59:06 (Ethiopia’s Guye Adola – 2014). For comparison, Tadese’s world record of 58:23 was set at the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon in 2010.
The women’s course record is 66:54, set by Kenya’s Mary Keitany in 2009. The world is 64:51, set by Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei at the 2017 Valencia Half Marathon. Jepkosgei is running in Delhi this time.
There is no patronage for distance running in the country. If you are in the camp it’s good, otherwise you are on your own. NS RAWAT , distance runner
NEW DELHI: Top Indian distance runner Nitendra Singh Rawat says the road running culture has grown manifold in the country but not the number of good runners.
“Some of the races offer good prize money, it’s good for financial security, but there are only three in the country capable of running the marathon under two hours, 16 minutes,” Rawat said. “Since top runners don’t train together, chances of improving also look dim.”
Rawat, winner among Indian participants in the Delhi half marathon last year, will be defending his title on Sunday. He says there are over 1000 road races, from 10km to marathon, organised annually in the country, but the performance of India’s top runners hasn’t improved. “This is because there is no patronage for distance running in the country. If you are in the camp it’s good, otherwise you are on your own.”
India hit world level in 1978 when the late Shivnath Singh set a national record of 2:12:00 in Jalandhar. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, he clocked 2:16:22 to finish 11th. But Indian runners have only in recent times regained that level. In 2016, T Gopi, Kheta Ram and Rawat (all Army) had dipped under 2:16, and ran in Rio. Gopi, with a personal best of 2:15: 25 was 25th and Ram was 26th. Rawat pulled a hamstring to finish 84th. He had clocked 2:15:18 in the 2016 Mumbai marathon to qualify for Rio.
In 2018, no Indian, including Gopi, the Asian champion, qualified for the Commonwealth Games or Asian Games.
Rawat has set his sights on the 2019 season, which includes the World Athletics Championships in Doha in September and the World Military Games. “Coming Sunday will give me a good chance to review my performance,” he said.
NO RECORD PLAN
Kenya’s women’s world record holder, Joyciline Jepkosgei isn’t looking to attack that mark (1:04:51). “It will depend on the weather and how my body reacts in the race,” the 24-year-old said in a media interaction on Friday.
Joyciline’s professional career is just three years old. The Kenyan said: “The money is important; it helps me do some community work back in my village near Eldoret in the Rift Valley. I support schoolchildren from humble background so that they are able to build their careers, stand on their feet.” Her main rival will be Ethiopian distance great, Tirunesh Dibaba.