The Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon is arguably the country’s fastest half marathon and has seen winning times of under 60 minutes many times in its history. The iconic Half-marathon is World Athletics Gold label race, and is in its 20th edition this year.
The course passes through many iconic areas and landmarks, and running this race is a great way to explore New Delhi. The half marathon starts at JLN Stadium, while the Open 10K event starts at Sansad Marg. Both races culminate at JLN Stadium.
Did you know the Delhi Half Marathon was first held in 2005, and was called Hutch Delhi Half-marathon? It has since grown to become Asia’s largest and most prestigious half marathon and is now a World Athletics Gold label race, attracting over 35,000 runners annually and offering one of the highest prize purses in road racing - USD 285,000 in total prize money!
WEATHER
The weather in October is generally pleasant and should not be a problem for most half marathon runners given that the race starts at 5 AM. However, it might get a bit hot for those taking more than 2.5 hours for the half, and for Open 10K participants (which starts at 7:30am about an hour after sunrise). There is usually little to no rain during this time of the year. Based on past data and current predictions, the expected temperature at the half marathon start time is 23 degrees, and 26 degrees for the Open 10K.
Race Start times and start waves are here at official site.
This year’s expo will be held at NSIC Exhibition Grounds. More info is available on the official page.
Reaching the start point
It is advisable to reach 60+ minutes before the race starts.
The best way to reach the JLN Stadium for the half marathon is to take the Delhi Metro. Delhi Metro services will start early and be completely free of cost for all registered participants of the race. Complimentary wrist band to be collected at expo. Metro services will begin at 3:15 AM from terminal stations in Red Line (Line 1), Yellow Line (Line 2), Blue Line (Line 3/4), and Violet Line (Line 6). Train frequency will be every 15 minutes from 3:15 AM to 4:00 AM, and every 20 minutes from 4:00 AM until regular operations begin. (more details here).
Nearest stations: Take the Jangpura Metro Station / JLN Stadium station on the violet line, from where participants would need to walk roughly 250m/1.1km to arrive at the start line. Take Jor Bagh Metro station on Yellow line, which is about 2.5km from Gate 7 of JLN Stadium. Free e-rikshaw shuttle service will drop off close to the stadium. Details here
For the Open 10k, Patel Chowk and Janpath metro stations would be optimal.
The stretch 1-10 km for the Open 10k overlaps with the 12.1 to 21.1 km route for the half marathon. We have organized this route description accordingly.
Half-marathon route: View Full Screen
NOTE - Next few sections are only for the half marathoners
Half Marathon - Start Line to 5km
This section is completely flat. The start line is about 100 meters inside Gate 1 of the stadium, so be cautious as a large crowd exits the gate at a fast pace. After turning right just after exiting the stadium, some caution is needed on the stretch in front of the Sai Baba Mandir, just short of the 1 km mark, as the road there is paved with slightly uneven cobble stones, making it easy to misstep in the dark. After this, the rest of the stretch consists of Lodhi Road, which is extremely enjoyable to run on due to cool winds coming from Lodhi Gardens and the music being played. There is just one U-turn around the 2600-meter mark, but the road is wide enough for it to not be an issue. Overall, this opening stretch is very conducive to a fast start and can be used to gain a good opening 5 km time.
Landmarks in this section -
Lodhi Garden was originally called ‘Lady Willingdon Park’ when it was landscaped in 1936. It’s home to the tombs of Mohammed Shah (1444) and Sikander Lodi (1517), making it a 15th-century architectural treasure that predates the Mughal Empire.
Half Marathon - 5km to 8km
Runners will face the first of the only two significant elevation challenges in the opening kilometer of this stretch. The flyover on Mathura Road is a rather gentle climb, but it is advisable not to carry the pace from the opening 5 km to the ascent of this flyover, as it can be easily made up during the descent. After the descent, the route is almost completely flat except for a few gentle bumps on Dr Zakir Hussain Marg, and takes the runner to the India Gate C-Hexagon. The same overall pace from the previous segment can be maintained in this segment as well due to the wide road and absence of U-turns.
Landmarks in this section -
National Zoological Park (Delhi Zoo) was inaugurated in 1959 and sprawls across 176 acres. It was designed by German architect Carl Hagenbeck and is home to over 1,350 animals representing around 130 species from across the world.
Half Marathon - 8km to 11.1km
This is where the adrenaline starts to kick in a bit. Runners will see the India Gate on their right as dawn is on the verge of breaking. Mornings at India Gate are beautiful, and runners will surely enjoy the view. The route then takes them to Kartavya Path, which is arguably the best road in the country to run on. The Rashtrapati Bhavan will be visible ahead as the runners run the length of Kartavya Path (about 1600 meters). A right turn then takes them to the second U-turn of the half marathon course, after which they head back towards Kartavya Path and merge with the Open 10K route. Since this segment is also completely flat, a consistent average pace is achievable across these first three stretches.
Landmarks in this section -
Kartavya Path (formerly Rajpath) was designed by Edwin Lutyens and is exactly 2.4 km long. The entire Central Vista was aligned so that on Republic Day, the sun rises directly behind India Gate when viewed from Rashtrapati Bhavan, creating a spectacular sight.
Open 10K route: View Full Screen
NOTE - Remaining sections are common for Half Marathon and Open 10k
Half Marathon - 11.1km to 15km
Open 10k - Start Line to 4km
This section is easily the most beautiful and memorable in the entire race. As the runners converge back on to the Kartavya Path from the Sansad Marg, this time they face the India Gate as the sun rises from behind it. This section also has the last U-turn of the race at roughly the 13.5km mark (2.5km mark for Open 10k) on Janpath. This U-turn is slightly sharper, and a minor drop in pace is expected around this. Post this, the runners will run straight till the India Gate and take a loop around it at an arm’s distance (minor exaggeration but you get the gist). By this time, some fatigue might be setting in so use the breathtaking views of the India Gate, Netaji’s statue and the War Memorial to inject some pace. For the Open 10k, this is a great patch to build a solid opening lead as there is no change in elevation throughout.
Landmarks in this section -
India Gate was originally called the All India War Memorial and took 10 years to build (1921-1931). It bears the names of 13,300 servicemen including soldiers and officers from the British Indian Army who died in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War.
Half Marathon - 15km to 19km
Open 10k - 4km to 8km
Although the net elevation change in this segment is not significant, and it doesn’t have any U-turns either - we have seen races being made or broken in this segment. By now, the adrenaline has started to dilute as the views are no longer as scenic as they were a few minutes back and lactic acid is setting in. This is the time to dig in deep and maintain your target pace. The flyover on the Mathura Road (the same one encountered in the second section) awaits the runners at just shy of the 19km (8km for Open 10k) mark, and many runners over speed on the ascent only to either lose pace or break down. Since this is the only remaining challenge in the race, it is advisable to be slightly conservative on the ascent and cover the lost seconds in the rest of the race. The approach road after the flyover which takes the runners right on to the Lodhi Road is a bit narrow as well and might have a “traffic jam” of runners, so make sure to add 5-10 seconds more to your buffer calculations for this stretch.
Landmarks in this section -
Mathura Road is part of the historic Grand Trunk Road network that connected Delhi to Eastern India. This ancient route has been used for over 2,500 years, with Sher Shah Suri rebuilding it in the 16th century to create one of Asia’s oldest and longest major roads.
Half Marathon - 19km till Finish Line
Open 10k - 8km till Finish Line
This is the stretch you have been training for, as it is completely flat with a lot of spectators cheering and music being played - which means it is tailor made for unleashing whatever reserves you have left. Just be careful of road outside the Sai Baba Mandir again, and the fact that you have to run about 100m more after entering the stadium gates. This final section, if executed properly, can shave off a good one minute if run properly. Push hard to run as fast as you can while approaching the iconic JLN Stadium.
Did you know Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was built in 1982 for the Asian Games and renovated for the 2010 Commonwealth Games at a cost of ₹961 crores? With a seating capacity of 60,000, it’s one of India’s premier multi-sport venues and has hosted numerous international athletics events including ongoing World Para Athletics Championships.
PACING THE RACE
Since this is mostly a flat course, a consistent average pace is quite doable. We have provided a pacing calculator for you to arrive at the kilometer wise split paces based on your goal time.
Check out the pacing calculator here
Here is the link to the Half Marathon GPX file and Open 10k GPX file if you prefer to analyze the course on your own.
| KM | Gain (in m) | Loss (in m) | Net Elevation (in m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 4 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 5 | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 13 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | 0 | 4 | -4 |
| 20 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Did you know the course record for Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon stands at 58:53 for men (set by Amedework Walelegn) and 1:04:46 for women (set by Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia)? Both records rank among the fastest half marathon times ever recorded in India! Legendary marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge also ran this race in 2016, winning with a time of 59:44. India’s national record for half-marathon was also set here - Avinash Sable ran 1:00:30 in 2020, becoming the first Indian to break the 61-minute barrier!
| KM | Gain (in m) | Loss (in m) | Net Elevation (in m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
| 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Sanchit is a software engineer who started running as a hobby and got addicted. If he’s not running, he’s probably thinking about his next run or surfing Strava. He can be reached out on Twitter @sanchit3008 or on Strava at this URL.