Top athletes of the country are expected to take part in the first New Delhi Marathon on February 28, a race which has been given the status of a National Championship by the Athletics Federation of India.
With the AFI granting the status of National Championship to this event which is being organised by Bangalore-based NEB Sports, the runners can qualify for the Rio Olympics next year from here.
Both the Elite men and women winner of the full marathon (42.195 kms) will pocket Rs 2 lakh each while the second and third place finishers will get Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 respectively.
There will be two other categories of half marathon (21.095km) and 5K Hope Run. Those who finish first, second and third in the half marathon will get Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 in both men's and women's sections.
The winners in the age groups of 18-25, 25-30, 30-35, 35-40, 40-45, 45-50, 50-55 and 55 plus will get Rs 30,000 each in both men's and women's sections while the second and third place finishers will pocket Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.
The prize purse for this event stands at Rs 45 lakh across the Elite and age-group categories.
Race Director Nagaraj Adiga said that he's expecting participation of over 15,000 runners from across the country.
"My vision is to have over 10,000 full marathon runners over the next few years. It is an easy sport to adopt and I would like this event to do exactly that," he said at a press conference here.
NEB Sports has a 10-year partnership with the AFI to hold the National Inter district Junior Athletics Meet (NID-JAM), the first edition of which was held in Visakhapatnam in September.
