2018 Beijing half marathon welcomes 20,000 runners in Tiananmen Square

APD NEWS

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The Beijing International Running Festival – more commonly known as the Beijing Run, has a history of 62 years. This morning at 7 am, 20,000 runners from 32 countries gathered in Tiananmen Square to participate in this traditional event.

On the first day of registration, over 20,000 people signed up for the event. Participants aren't only competing, they are also taking part in a sporting tradition, that will showcase and take them through some of Beijing's most famous and historical places. The Beijing Run is also part of a bigger initiative by the country to get citizens more active. This year 210 foreign runners also participated in the event.

2018 Beijing half marathon /VCG Photo

Markus Schinz, a German working in Changchun, Jilin Province, came to Beijing for this event. "Actually this is my third half marathon in China, I did the last two last year in Changchun, but this is a much bigger and more impressive event. So I'm looking forward to maybe doing a full marathon in autumn this year in Beijing," Schinz told CGTN.

Runners need to run over 20 kilometers to reach their final destination at the Olympic Park. Li Chunhui from Inner Mongolia was the leader in the men's race, finishing in just one hour, six minutes and two seconds, only 53 seconds faster than the second place runner Zhao Baidong, who is also from Inner Mongolia.

2018 Beijing half marathon /VCG Photo

"Actually, I've expected that I will finish first, because I've won the Xiamen marathon in two hours and 19 minutes this year, and I also won a half marathon in Hong Kong not so long ago. I've had sufficient training for this race,"

Li said after the race.

The first foreigner to finish the race was Tobias Gustafsson from Sweden, who also works for the Swedish embassy in Beijing. "I've been living in Beijing for the last two years. Today's result was my fastest, and it is my personal best. I like running here in Beijing, the crowd is good cheering us on," he said.

The organizers are trying to improve the event every year. This time around, they provided three medical stations, 10 ambulances and 75 medical staff in case of any emergencies. Seven water stations were also provided for the runners.

(CGTN)