The Delhi Half Marathon 2026 takes place on Sunday, 18 October, with the start and finish at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. It is the 21st edition of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race with a total prize purse of US$260,000.
Procam International, the race promoter, announced a 42-member Indian elite field on 8 October. Harmanjot Singh, the fastest Indian in the field, leads the men, while former champions Lili Das and Kavita Yadav lead the women. This guide therefore covers the date, the race categories, the Indian elite runners, the prize money, the records and every recent winner. In addition, we will add the results here on race day.
Delhi Half Marathon 2026 at a glance
- Date: Sunday, 18 October 2026
- Start and finish: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
- Edition: 21st Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon
- Status: World Athletics Gold Label road race
- Total prize purse: US$260,000
- Indian elite field: 42 runners (22 men, 20 women)
- Indian elite winner’s prize: Rs 3,50,000 (men and women)
- Promoter: Procam International
Jump to: Date and venue Race categories Indian elite field Prize money Records Past winners 2025 results Race-day results
Delhi Half Marathon 2026 date and venue
The race is on Sunday, 18 October 2026. As in recent editions, it starts and finishes at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Procam International organises the event, and the official race website carries the race-day information for registered runners.
The Delhi Half Marathon is one of India’s biggest running events. For example, the 2025 edition had 39,513 participants, including 9,709 women, according to Outlook. The elite race also carries World Athletics Gold Label status, so it draws Kenyan and Ethiopian runners every year.
Race categories at the Delhi Half Marathon 2026
Registrations opened on 23 July for six categories. However, each category had its own closing date or slot limit, so check the official website for any places left.
| Category | Note |
|---|---|
| Half Marathon | 21.097 km; elite and amateur runners aged 18 and above |
| Open 10K | 10 km |
| Great Delhi Run | Fun run |
| Senior Citizens’ Run | – |
| Champions with Disability Run | – |
| Virtual Run | Run from anywhere |
For the elite half marathon, runners must be at least 18, which means born on or before 17 October 2008. Moreover, all elite finishers receive a finisher medal, and confirmed elite runners get an official event T-shirt.
Delhi Half Marathon 2026 Indian elite field
The Indian elite field has 22 men and 20 women. Procam named the leading athletes in a press release on 8 October, reported by ANI. In short, the men’s race is a contest between a debutant with the best time and the runners who stood on the podium last year.
Indian elite men to watch
| Athlete | Why he matters |
|---|---|
| Harmanjot Singh | Fastest Indian in the field with a half marathon best of 1:01:46 (Alwar). Reigning TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2026 Indian elite champion and 2026 Asian Cross Country silver medallist. Making his Delhi debut. |
| Kiran Matre | Second among Indian elite men in Delhi in 2025, where he ran his best of 1:04:57. Indian elite winner at the TCS World 10K Bengaluru in 2024. |
| Kartik Karkera | Third among Indian elite men in Delhi in 2025. Indian elite men’s winner at the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2026. |
| Prince Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) | Back in the half marathon after a long break. Won the 5000m and 10,000m at the 2025 National Open and 5000m gold at the 2025 South Asian Championships. |
Harmanjot starts as the favourite on paper. His best is more than three minutes faster than Kiran Matre’s. Earlier this season, he also traded the lead with Gulveer Singh in the Inter-State 5000m final. Karkera, meanwhile, is in good form as well; he ran a 10,000m personal best on the track at the Indian Athletics Series in April.
Indian elite women to watch
| Athlete | Why she matters |
|---|---|
| Lili Das | Won the Indian elite women’s race in Delhi in 2024. |
| Kavita Yadav | Won the Indian elite women’s race in Delhi in 2023. |
| Ankita Dhyani | Olympic and World Championships steeplechaser. Finished fifth among Indian elite women on her half marathon debut in Delhi in 2025. |
| Priti Lamba | Bronze medallist in the 3000m steeplechase at the Asian Games 2023. |
Two former champions, then, meet two steeplechasers who are still new to the distance. Ankita comes into the race in form, too: she won the 1500m at the National Open Athletics Championships in New Delhi this month.
Delhi Half Marathon 2026 prize money
The total prize purse is US$260,000. Most of it goes to the international elite race. For Indian runners, however, there is a separate Indian elite prize, and it is the same for men and women.
| Indian elite position | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rs 3,50,000 | Rs 3,50,000 |
| 2nd | Rs 2,50,000 | Rs 2,50,000 |
| 3rd | Rs 1,50,000 | Rs 1,50,000 |
| New Indian elite race record | Rs 1,00,000 bonus | Rs 1,00,000 bonus |
In addition, Procam has launched PRIDE (Procam Rewards for Indian Distance Elites) with this edition. It is a merit-based rewards scheme for verified Indian elite distance runners who enter any Procam event, according to Telangana Today.
Course records and Indian elite records
Both overall course records date from the 2020 race, which Ethiopian runners won in very fast times. The Indian elite records are older still.
| Record | Time | Athlete | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course record, men | 58:53 | Amedework Walelegn (Ethiopia) | 2020 |
| Course record, women | 1:04:46 | Yalemzerf Yehualaw (Ethiopia) | 2020 |
| Indian elite record, men | 1:00:30 | Avinash Sable | 2020 |
| Indian elite record, women | 1:10:31 | L. Suriya | 2017 |
Can the Indian men’s record fall this year? It would take a big step from Harmanjot. His best of 1:01:46 is still 76 seconds slower than Sable’s mark. Even so, the Rs 1,00,000 bonus gives every Indian elite runner a reason to go for it.
Delhi Half Marathon winners since 2019
East African runners have won every international elite race in recent years. Notably, Olympic and world champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda won the men’s race in 2024.
| Year | Men’s winner | Time | Women’s winner | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Alex Matata (Kenya) | 59:50 | Lilian Rengeruk (Kenya) | 1:07:20 |
| 2024 | Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) | 59:46 | Alemaddis Eyayu (Ethiopia) | 1:08:17 |
| 2023 | Daniel Ebenyo (Kenya) | 59:27 | Almaz Ayana (Ethiopia) | 1:07:58 |
| 2022 | Chala Regasa (Ethiopia) | 1:00:30 | Irine Cheptai (Kenya) | 1:06:42 |
| 2020 | Amedework Walelegn (Ethiopia) | 58:53 | Yalemzerf Yehualaw (Ethiopia) | 1:04:46 |
| 2019 | Andamlak Belihu (Ethiopia) | 59:10 | Tsehay Gemechu (Ethiopia) | 1:06:00 |
Delhi Half Marathon 2025 results: a quick recap
Last year’s race took place on 12 October 2025. Kenya won both elite races, and that had happened only once before, in 2006. Alex Matata won the men’s race in 59:50, while Lilian Rengeruk beat Ethiopia’s Melal Siyoum Biratu by one second in the women’s race, as Outlook reported.
| Indian elite | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Abhishek Pal, 1:04:17 | Kiran Matre, 1:04:57 | Kartik Karkera, 1:05:16 |
| Women | Seema, 1:11:23 | Ujala, 1:15:41 | Sanjivani Jadhav, 1:15:52 |
Two of last year’s men’s podium finishers, Matre and Karkera, are back in 2026. As a result, Harmanjot’s debut gives the Indian race its most open look in years.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo is the event ambassador
Two-time Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas is the International Event Ambassador for the Delhi Half Marathon 2026, Procam announced on 24 September. She won Olympic gold in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, and she became world 400m champion in 2022.
Delhi Half Marathon 2026 results on race day
Provisional results are due by 5 PM on race day, according to the official race page. Timing certificates follow on Sports Timing Solutions after 21 working days.
We will update this page on 18 October with the international and Indian elite results, the top ten in each race and any records. Procam had not named the international elite field when this page was published on 12 October; we will add it as soon as it is announced.
Meanwhile, Indian distance running is having a strong year. For example, Sawan Barwal set a national record of 2:11:37 to win marathon silver at the Asian Games in September. You can also find all of India’s medals in our Asian Games 2026 athletics results.