Vijayaraghavan Venugopal, CEO of nutrition brand FAST&UP, will be one of the leading pacers for the 21K
Captain Asmita Handa is set to be one of the standout pacers and, who will be led an all-women contingent consisting of eight female pacers for the 10K run
Correspondent
Delhi, October 9: The Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon brings together the community like none other. Business owners, high-ranking executives, veteran professionals, and students, men, and women alike are preparing to participate in the upcoming Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon set to take place on the 15th of October 2023.
Leaders in their fields of work, many of whom are experienced runners, have volunteered to be the pacers during the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon. These corporate head honchos will look to play the role of motivators during the race for many runners who would have to dig deep to finish the race. Many of these pacemakers push and act as running coaches imparting advice gained through their multiple years of running experience.
The pacer’s task is selfless, much like a leader who looks to help their fellow workers or in this case their fellow runners. These pacers, many of whom are leaders in their industries, take out time of their hectic schedules to aptly play the role of a pacer. The role of the pacer also signifies how events like a Half Marathon strengthen social bonds and negate societal disparities as high-ranking executives and corporate heads impart first-hand knowledge and advice to the runners. Their determination and dedication towards running also act as a shining example for other runners who often have to go beyond the thresholds of their physicality relying solely on their willpower to finish the race. Especially in the 21K or the Half Marathon, these very pacers play a significant role in making sure every runner finishes their race.
One of the leading pacers for the 21K, Vijayaraghavan Venugopal, CEO of nutrition brand FAST&UP, has a BUS time of 1:30 at the event and spoke about the experience of a pacer with excitement as he is getting to set on take on the role of the pacer for the very first time. He said, “Finishing the 21K is a daunting task even for experienced runners like the pacers. Even pacing throughout the course is pivotal in the 21K as going fast too early on or later in the race can drastically affect timings and even cause severe physical and mental burnout. A consistent pace and some minor drafting can help the racers conserve energy for a final push closer to the finish line. I will be looking to impart this advice to runners during the 21K and will make sure that everyone is able to finish the race and embrace the happiness of finishing the 21K, which will be a testament to their spirit and dedication.”
During the 10K, the pacers although have an extremely similar task they have the added dimension of speed to factor in while pacing, as the 10K is as much about endurance as it is about speed. At the Vedanta Delhi Half-Marathon 2023, the 10K will be guided by an all-women contingent consisting of eight female pacers, who will set the tone for the run. One of the standout pacers for the 10K at VDHM 2023 is set to be Captain Asmita Handa, who stands as a shining example of determination and dedication. Captain Handa has always been a dedicated fitness enthusiast and possesses a level of fitness that rivals individuals much younger than her, and her passion for running burns brighter than ever.
While talking about balancing the demands of her professional life and family with her running pursuits, Asmita said, “Completing the 10K is no easy feat, it requires a lot of preparation and hard work to achieve your desired time. I hope my years of running experience will come in handy for the other runners during VDHM 2023, as many of them will look to go beyond their mental and physical thresholds. I hope I can help the runners be motivated as they achieve the joy of finishing a race like the 10K, especially since speed plays an important role also in the 10K it will be honour to guide such dedicated runners who have poured their heart and soul to prepare for the race.”
Corporate Pacers (21km)-
Vijayraghavan Venugopal, CEO of nutrition brand FAST&UP (1:30m Bus); Manish Pareek,COO for one of India’s top Logistics companies (1:35m Bus); Aravinda Kumar, an engineer by qualification and software engineer turned business owner and now running coach (1:40m Bus); Yasir Sultan, a resident Gemologist & Partner at Madras Gem Institute (1:45m Bus); Amit Bhatnagar (1:50m Bus); Sandeep Sharma, a Director of Supply Chain for a Robotics and Warehouse Automation company in Delhi NCR (1:55m Bus); Vineet Agarwal, (1:59m Bus); Sanjay Bajaj (2 hr Bus); Amit Jindal (2hr 5m Bus); Vishal Arya, leads a pioneering AI cleantech startup. (2hr 10m Bus); Sanjay Chhabra, is a finance professional with 25+ years association with industries across B2B & B2C segments, including Steel, Elevators, Pharma, Beverages, Consumer Durables & Footwear (2 hr 15m Bus); Shipra Makhija, Director of Corporate Taxes at McKinsey (2 hr 20m Bus); Sunil Chainani (2 hr 25m Bus); Rashmi Mohanty, CFO for a large NBFC (2 hr 25m Bus); Khushboo Vaish, a management consultant for the last 15 years (2 hr 30m Bus); Sanjay Singh Baghel (2 hr 30m Bus) and Vicky Nanda, COO at Niramai Health Analytix Pvt Ltd (2 hr 45m Bus).
All women 10K Pacers (10km)-
Dimple Bisht (55m); Ashmita Handa, a Captain with Indigo Airlines and a fitness enthusiast (60m); Urmila Dabas (60m); Shweta Rao Singh, Ex-Hotelier and now homemaker (65m); Maya Nair, A Talent Acquisition professional, she is currently the Executive Director with GI Group and is the Josh Ambassador (70m); Mekhla Maheshwari (70m); Dimple Thakur, working with HCLTech as a Project Manager in the CEO’s office (80m) and Shillaza Gridhar, She is an MBA Gold Medalist and has worked with one of the leading big 4 consulting firms for more than 10 years (90m).
The Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon will be flagged from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on 15th October 2023.