Marathon fever dashes across China

Runners prepared at the starting line of the Dalian International Marathon in Liaoning province in May. Tao Ni joined the roughly 30,000 runners for her first half marathon.

“When I knew our group was going to participate in this year’s Dalian Marathon, I felt both excited and nervous,” she said. “I knew nothing about marathons when I joined the group last year. But I’ve trained a long time for it. And now my dream has come true.”

Tao is a newcomer to marathons, and so is China.

The country hosted only 22 marathons six years ago. But the number of marathons and road races registered with the Chinese Athletics Association was 328 last year, a 150 percent jump compared with 2015. The 328 events included 125 marathons and 128 half marathons. They took place in 133 cities in 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. And they attracted 2.8 million participants, 1.3 million more than in 2015.

According to the CAA, more than 400 marathons will be held across the country this year.

In March, the Chongqing International Marathon attracted 120,000 applicants for its 31,000 slots. Runners were chosen by lottery. On the same day, many other marathons also took place across the country — in Shanghai, Chengdu and Qingyuan.

The Chongqing Nan’an District Sports Bureau’s director Li Wei said: “When we held the first race in 2011 we had to call for participants. But in 2017, only onefourth of the applicants could take part.”

Meanwhile, despite their popularity around the world, marathons have taken off in China only in recent years.

Most runners are white-collar workers, civil servants and businessmen, organizers of the Chongqing event explained.

This is because running is seen as the most accessible, cheapest and easiest sport for ordinary people. Also, the middle class in China is expanding rapidly and pays attention to health.

These factors, combined with the need for self-recognition, have made marathons a trend. Runners are now eager to share pictures of themselves on social media.

The marathon fever in China is also closely related to local governments, according to Zhang Xin, deputy director of the Chongqing Sports Bureau, as most are held under the auspices of local governments.

“As China speeds up its urbanization, authorities are happy to have sports events to promote their cities,” said Zhang.

Also, local governments see marathons as an important way to enhance the image and influence of their cities. So, many cities use unique routes to not only to boost fitness but also to promote tourism.

The popularity of marathons has also attracted the attention of businesses.

The Chongqing event was on the brink of being abandoned due to a lack of sponsors in 2012, but a large number of enterprises have been sponsoring it since 2014. Sportswear and equipment makers have also developed high-tech gear for participants, Li said.

So, while amateurs buy basic sportswear, more experienced runners are keen on high-end attire.

Wu Lixin, senior brand director of major Chinese sportswear brand Xtep, said: “We are dedicated to developing products related to running.”

Separately, as runners travel to different places for marathons, the transportation, catering and accommodation businesses benefit.

However, China’s marathon fever is nowhere near the levels of the United States and Japan.

The US had 1,100 full marathons where 510,000 runners completed the course in 2015. Japan had a total of 570,000 competitors who finished full marathons in 2015.

Chinese organizers have to deal with some key issues. For instance, a pyramid structure of varied length of routes may encourage more people to take up running.