18,000 people to run Ahmedabad marathon on Nov 24, Riverfront road closed for 7 hours

The coming Sunday will see 18,000 runners compete in the Adani Ahmedabad Marathon that is scheduled to take place on the Sabarmati Riverfront.

The city’s traffic flow will undergo major modifications in light of this marathon. Speaking about this, Neeta Desai, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone 4, Ahmedabad Traffic Police, said, “Riverfront roads on both sides of the Sabarmati River will remain closed from 4 am to 11 am on the marathon day (Sunday). Riverfront Road will be operational beyond the Subhash Bridge junction and the Airport Road junction.”

The participating categories include the full marathon (42.195 km), half marathon (21.097 km), 10 km run, and 5 km run.

Hindi film star Saiyami Kher, along with India’s sports icons Rameshbabu Praggnanandha and Mithali Raj, will flag off the race from the Riverfront Sports Park in the city’s Paldi area.

A grand prize of ₹1 lakh has been announced for the full marathon winner, along with a set of other prizes in various categories.

This is the eighth edition of the marathon, and the second time it will be taking place at the riverfront. Last year’s event saw over 22,000 participants; however, the number has dipped to 18,500 participants in this year’s marathon.

Notably, the organisers have disallowed participants of any other gender, apart from male and female, from being eligible for the prize money.

David Cundy, the World Athletics Course Measurement Administrator of Asia & Oceania, is the race director of the marathon. 

The marathon will be conducted on four routes of varying distances.

Around 1,000 people are to participate in the full marathon, slated to start from 4.45 am. The route will start from Paldi and will cover the riverfront roads on both sides of the Sabarmati River.

Runners will cross the river from the Subhash Bridge and will extend their journey up to the Ambedkar Bridge on the eastern side before returning back on the same route.

Notably, the runners in other categories, 3,500 for the half marathon, 6,000 for the 10 km run, and 8,000 for the 5 km run, will be required to complete a shorter route on the riverfront road.

Necessary medical arrangements have been provided by the city’s KD Hospital. Medical and physiotherapy professionals from the hospital will be deployed along the track in the medical aid stations.

Medical aid stations will be established on the full marathon route, which will also be featured on the routes of other marathon categories.

Moreover, the runners will be provided water and energy drinks, with water stations set up on the entire course.

The runners will also be provided with merchandise, a finisher’s medal, and an E-timing certificate for the marathon. They will be provided with RFID chips to track and verify their identification.