With a lot of numbers and good results, the fiery marathon is really back

Beijing, April 4 (Reporter Li He) At 16 o'clock on the 16th, the 7 Beijing International Long-distance Running Festival-Beijing Half Marathon started running in Tiananmen Square. In the end, the top two men crossed the line with record-breaking results, and the women's champion also set a personal PB (personal best). Including the Beijing Half Marathon, a total of 2023 Class A marathons started on the same day, and the fiery marathon returned.

2023 marks the 67th anniversary of the Beijing International Long-distance Running Festival. In 1956, the Beijing Victory Cup Race around the City was established, which was the largest mass long-distance running competition in China at that time, and was renamed the Beijing Spring Festival Race around the City the following year. Since then, the scale of the event has gradually expanded, and the organization form and route of the competition have undergone many adjustments, and in 2007 it was officially renamed the Beijing International Long-distance Running Festival. In 2016, the event was upgraded to a half marathon.

On April 4, the Beijing Half Marathon started with guns. Photo by Dong Zeyu

Previously, the Beijing Half Marathon record was set by Peng Jianhua in 2021 with 1 hour, 04 minutes and 33 seconds. AND TODAY, THE TOP TWO MEN'S TEAMS CROSSED THE LINE WITH PERFORMANCES THAT SURPASSED THIS: KENYA'S BRIAN KWEMOI KIRUI WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN 59 MINUTES 37 SECONDS, A NEW CONFERENCE RECORD; Yang Kegu finished second in 1 hour, 03 minutes and 41 seconds, also breaking the previous conference record. Original race record holder Peng Jianhua crossed the finish line for the third time, with a time of 1:05:08.

In the women's category, Liu Min won the championship with a time of 1 hour, 11 minutes and 07 seconds. "I am very happy with my results today because I am also PB (personal best), and it is a large PB, which is very happy."

She said that the gradual recovery of road running events has also provided more opportunities for public runners to participate, allowing them to have more choices. "Whether it is a professional runner or a public runner, more opportunities to participate will boost their enthusiasm and confidence."

2023 Beijing Half Women's Marathon Champion Liu Min. Photo by Li Hyuk

The reporter learned from the Chinese Athletic Association that a total of 18 Class A marathons, including the Beijing Half Marathon, the Wuhan Marathon, the Hangzhou Xianghu Half Marathon, the Nanjing Jiangdao Half Marathon, and the Wuxuan Dateng Gorge Ecological Half Marathon, started today (16th).

Among them, 5,2 applicants in Beijing Half Malaysia, and 2,6 people were finally qualified; The Wuhan Marathon had 1,16 runners, and the Hangzhou Xianghu Half Marathon distributed places to <>,<> runners... It can be estimated that on the <>th alone, the number of runners participating in Class A races reached six figures, not including other levels of road running.

"It feels like the whole country is running marathons", "crowds of people", "too spectacular"... No wonder netizens make such an exclamation. Some people also reminded the hot road running event, "I hope that this kind of event can be held more, but in terms of organization, it is also necessary to consolidate the responsibilities of all parties to ensure the participation personnel and the site (safety)." ”

Screenshot of netizen comment

Not only is the number considerable, but in the marathon events held simultaneously in many places, there have been successive good news. In addition to the "blowout" of Beijing's half-horse good results, Chinese runners also had outstanding performances at the Wuhan Marathon, another important event of the day.

He Jie broke the national record (16 hours, 2 minutes and 08 seconds) held by Ren Longyun for nearly 15 years at the Wuxi National Marathon Championships just a week ago, meeting the standards for participation at the Paris Olympics and World Championships. Today he won the 2023 Wuhan Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 35 seconds.

Considering that the temperature in Wuhan on the day of the race is not low, this result is satisfactory enough. Behind him, Yang Shaohui and Dong Guojian collided one after another.

Data map: He Jie. Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Wen

It is understood that the Wuhan Marathon Organizing Committee specially invited 10 male runners to participate, except for He Jie, Yang Shaohui and Dong Guojian, the rest are foreign athletes, including 2019 South Korea's Chuncheon Marathon champion and Kenyan athlete Robert Kipkolil Kwamebay, who reached the level of 2 hours and 07 minutes. In this context, three Chinese marathon runners joined hands on the podium, which shows that the development of domestic marathon sports today has "quantity" and "quality".

The data proves that road racing is now returning to public life in a popular way. With a lot of numbers and good results, the marathon is really back. (End)