kochi: Kochi will turn sober at dawn on a rare Sunday morning when a gunshot will set off the 2nd Cochin International Half Marathon at the Marine Drive.
At 6.15 am the main event of 21.197 km will be flagged off while the associate races of 10 km, 7 km and 4 km are set to follow.
An impressive 15,000 have collected their bib numbers for the various races and among them are 17 foreign contenders.
Kenyans Bernard Kipyego, who is also the winner of October’s prestigious Amsterdam Marathon and Helah Kiprop will compete a strong field to retain their titles.
After a 11 km stretch, the athletes will traverse the historic Fort Cochin at the halfway stage and make a U-turn into the city to breast the ribbon at the Maharaja’s College Ground.
Asian Games gold medalist Preeja Sreedharan is Kerala’s pride in the event.
Preeja who is winner of the Delhi half marathon held in November will take part in the elite Indian category alongside other celebrated domestic talents such as holder L. Surya, O. P. Jaisha and Lalita Babbar.
