The Chinese Athletics Association (CAA), the governing body of Chinese athletics, announced at its annual conference held in Guangzhou on Saturday 9th January, that China's 'One Belt, One Road' (OBOR) marathon series has officially kicked off. 

The aim of the events is to push forward with the economic and cultural development of the hosting cities in China.

According to the announcement, there will be four to eight OBOR marathon competitions held annually from this year onwards. 

As part of the partnership, the Beijing-based sports marketing company, Wisdom Holdings, one of the most prominent names in China’s marathon running industry, was appointed as the CAA-backed marathon events operator, which is expected to be a precursor for comprehensive co-operation in the future.  

China’s marketplace for marathons was scarcely worth noting until a few years ago. In 2015 the burgeoning industry experienced a huge marathon-fever. The number of marathons and road races hosted or co-hosted by the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA) reached 134 last year, which was a 160% increase on 2014, according to CAA vice president Du Zhaocai. The launch of the new marathon series is expected to further boost the development of the road running industry in China.  

Source: 3news

Proofread by John Devlin