Eliud Kipchoge beats elite field and Delhi smog to win Half Marathon

Kipchoge even declared that he wanted to run a half marathon in a polluted city to prove a point.

“I wanted to run in a city that is polluted and show people that there is no need to worry. The other day, someone told me that they would not allow their children to train in such conditions. But I think after my race they will allow their children to jog,” the Kenyan said post his race on Sunday.

“The conditions were good.”

Last year’s winner in the elite men’s category, Birhanu Legese finished in 59.20s. In fact, the Rio Olympics gold medallist’s timings would not have been enough for a top three finish in last year’s race.

Although there has been minor improvement in the standards of the Indian men’s elite and women’s elite category, performances in the latter left a lot to be desired.

Kipchoge may feel unaffected, but the severity of the air pollution cannot be ignored. Just a few weeks back, the city was in panic mode after it was engulfed in smog for several days. Schools were shut, and two Ranji Trophy matches to be played in Delhi were called off after players complained of difficulty in breathing and burning sensation in their eyes.

“Pollution is not only a problem that only we are facing. It is something the whole city is dealing with,” said an organiser.

Only Md Yunus (1:04:38s), who finished second behind Lakshmanan by a difference of just one second in the Indian elite category, complained of discomfort while running. “My eyes were watering while running,” Yunus said.

Very few runners, none from the elite category, turned up in masks for the race.

Just two days before the event, the Supreme Court had to dismiss a PIL seeking stay on the race citing pollution.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur said that people are free to run; whether they run or not, the court has nothing to do with that.

Hugh Jones, who took part in the Los Angeles marathon in 1984 under a severe smog, said he is not sure if smog affects the performance of athletes.

“But I did feel some pain in my chest a few hours after the race,” Jones, also the race director for the Delhi Half Marathon, said.

In women’s elite event, Ethiopia’s Worknesh Degefa (1:07:42s) and Arabel Yeshaneh (1:07:52s) won gold and silver respectively while Kenya’s Helah Kiprop (1:8:011) finished third.

Girls from Nashik shine
In the Indian women’s elite category Monika Athare (1:15:34s), Sanjeevani Jhadav (1:15:35s) and Swati Gadhave (1:17:43s) took the top three spots. Monika’s timing was almost five minutes slower than that of last year’s winner Lalita Babar.

Monika has been in the athletics circuit for over 15 years now. She was in the national camp along with Olympians Sudha Singh and Lalita before being dropped in 2012 after performing under par.

After being dropped from the national camp Monika, who prefers track events, went through a whole new low. A knee injury added to her woes. “Lalita was my room partner when I used to train under Nikolai (Snesarev). But my name was removed from the camp after failing to come up with good performances. I went into depression. The medals stopped coming, my family was worried. It was really tough for me,” she said.