Harpal Singh Bedi
Leading distance runners of the country including champion Srinu Bugatha, Avinash Sable and Parul Chaudhary on Friday, admitted that the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM )is a very important event for the athletes.,
Srinu, Avinash along with Abhishek Pal and Pradeep Singh in the men’s category, and Parul Chaudhary, Chinta Yadav and Sanjivani Jadhav in the women’s category, will face off against each other in the 16th edition of the event here on Sunday, 29 November.
While the Elite runners will be at the start line at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, amateurs from across the globe will join them via the exclusive ADHM Mobile App.
Talking to media persons here , Avinash Sable, who is the national record holder in 3000m steeplechase, said “We’ve been only training so far and therefore the ADHM is very important for us. . We need to get back to competition mode and find out how much we have improved”.
“Endurance is required for both, steeplechase and marathon, so the two events complement each other for me,” .
Defending champion Srinu Bugatha was of the view that ADHM will be a bit different without spectators this year, “The preparations for the race have been good. It always feels great when there are spectators, but this time the event will be different due to the situation.”
Parul Chaudhary, who has finished second in the last two editions of ADHM, also expressed delight about getting back to competition mode.
“It’s always great to run here . I have to do a bit more this year to bag the first position as I have been finishing second in the last two editions of ADHM. I have practiced a bit harder as far as I am concerned. It’s great to be back in the competitive space again as only training without competitions is not enough,” y.
Chinta Yadav, who finished third in the last edition , said that she’s well prepared for the race “I trained really well last year and that’s what helped me to improve my timing by six minutes. I feel I have prepared well for this year’s ADHM and I think I will perform well.”