Twentyone top endurance runners of the country, led by seasoned athlete Arun Bhardwaj, will take part in the Delhi 12-Hour Stadium Ultramarathon Run, the capital city's first of its kind event, here tomorrow.
The ultramarathon race will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium from 7am to 7pm tomorrow. The athletes will have to complete at least 65km within this 12-hour period while running at the 400m track of the stadium.
An ultramarathon is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres. There are two types of ultramarathon events: those that cover a specified distance and events that take place during specified time like 12-hour, 24-hour, 3-day or 6-day (with the winner covering the most distance during that time).
The most common distances are 50km, 100km, 50 miles and 100 miles. The 100km race is recognised as an official world record event by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the world governing body of athletics.
Bhardwaj, who is the only Indian to have participated in the World Cup ultramarathon in 2003, hoped that tomorrow's event would spread more awareness among the people of the country and Delhi in particular about ultramarathon.
"I have been running ultramarathon since 2000 but it's still not a widely known sport in the country and it's more so in Delhi. I hope people come to the stadium tomorrow to watch us," he said at the pre-event press conference.
"There are not many ultramarathon events in the country and the number of ultramarathon racers are not that many as compared to say marathon or other long distance races," said Delhi runner Bhardwaj, who is also the only Indian ever to have finished the race at Badwater Ultramarathon at Death Valley California, considered as the toughest ultramarathon in the world with temperature rising up to 55 degree Celsius during the competition period of July.
Race Director Nagaraj Adiga said any runner can take rest for a maximum period of one-and-a-half hour at one go and will have to complete 65km distance to be considered for positions.
Many ultramarathons have severe course obstacles, such as inclement weather, elevation change, or rugged terrain. Many of these races are run on dirty roads or mountain paths, though some are run on paved roads as well.
Ultra distance running has only recently caught attention of the Indian running population. There are a few ultra distance races organised across the country. Among the most well known are Run of Kutch, Western Ghats Ultra, Khardungla Challenge, La Ultra, Himalayan Challenge, Bhatti Lake Ultra, Javadhu Trail Ultra, Bengaluru 24-Hour Stadium Run, Nilgiris Ultra and now Delhi 12-Hour Stadium Run.
Until a few years ago, there were only a handful of ultramarathoners across the country which has now reached to around 300.
