The Beijing Marathon Race closed its registration process on July 27 after 98,687 people had signed up for this year‘s edition, an increase of 48% on last year and breaking the record number of registered entrants for a full-distance marathon race in China.

According to official data, 64,803 of the 98,687 entrants have each finished a full-distance marathon within 6 hours over the past two years and sohave been put into the A-Group in this year‘s edition of the Beijing Marathon Race. The number of A-Group competitors has increased by 43% from last year. The B-Group, which lists entrants who have completed a half marathon within 3 hours over the past 1.5 years, numbers 33,884 applicants this year, an increase of 59% on 2016. 

The public ballot entry for eligible applicants will be drawn by lottery organized by the Beijing Marathon Race with the final result to be released in the middle of August. 

After the lottery, the organizing committee of the marathon will launch a charity registration entry with 500 places for applicants who are not eligible through the initial ballot. The first 500 entrants who pay the charity registration fee of RMB2,000  (US$296.7), will get the chance to compete in the Beijing Marathon Race. The organizing committee will donate the charity registration fee of RMB 1m in total (US$148.3k) to 5 charities which are involved in the Beijing Marathon’s philanthropy project. 

Source: 163.com

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick