Thriving marathon industry in China brings health and new opportunities
中国蓬勃发展的马拉松产业带来健康和新机遇
The 2023 Xi'an Marathon. (Photo courtesy of the organizing committee of the Xi'an Marathon)
2023西安马拉松。（图片由西安马拉松赛组委会提供）
Over the past 10 years, China's marathon events have achieved leapfrog development and innovation, integrating deeply with the culture, tourism, health, leisure, technology and other industries, while the marathon industry itself has shown more vitality, global marathon specialists noted at a sports seminar on January 18.
1月18日，全球马拉松专家在一次体育研讨会上指出，在过去的十年里，中国的马拉松赛事实现了跨越式的发展和创新，与文化、旅游、健康、休闲、科技等行业深度融合，马拉松产业自身也展现出更多的活力。
The Road Race Webinar Discussion, organized by World Athletics in collaboration with the Mass Participation World, drew marathon events operators, experts and enthusiasts from all over the world, who asserted that the road running industry is gaining popularity worldwide.
由世界田径联合会与大众参与世界联合主办的路跑网络研讨会吸引了来自世界各地的马拉松赛事运营者、专家和爱好者，他们认为路跑行业正在全球范围内获得普及。
"Sports, eco and heritage tourism collectively represented a 57 percent share of all travel packages in 2023, while running is becoming more and more trendy around the world,” said Elisabet Olival, a sport tourism expert from Kamel Turismo, Brazil.
来自巴西卡梅尔·图里斯莫的体育旅游专家伊丽莎白·奥利瓦尔（Elisabet Olival）说：“到2023年，体育、生态和遗产旅游将覆盖57%的旅游套餐，而跑步正在全球范围内越来越受到人们的欢迎。”
China’s large population and large number of marathon fans have led to explosive expansion in the sports event calendar and overall economic growth. Data shows that China held a total of 580 road running events in 2023, of which 308 were officially certified by the China Athletics Association.
由于中国有庞大的人口基数和众多的马拉松爱好者，体育赛事日程激增，整体经济增长。据数据显示，2023 年中国举办了 580 场路跑赛事，其中 308 场得到了中国田径协会的正式认证。
Weihong Tang, chairperson of People's Daily Online's Supervisory Board and Chinese Marathon Figure of the Year 2017, described road running in China as an industry of "quantity" and "speed."
人民日报网络中心监事会主席、2017年中国马拉松年度人物唐维红将中国路跑形容为一个“数量”和“速度”兼具的产业。
"In 2023, sign-ups and turnout for China's top marathon events generally surpassed capacity, setting new records. For instance, the 2023 Guangzhou Marathon, designed for 30,000 runners, saw over 140,000 registrations,” said Tang. The Shanghai Marathon saw even more, with over 170,000 people signing up. As a result, these big races had to resort to lotteries, which made securing a spot quite tough.
“2023年，中国顶级马拉松赛事的报名人数和参赛人数普遍超出赛事容量，创下了新纪录。比如，2023年广州马拉松赛的设计容量为3万名参赛者，但报名人数超过了14万人。”唐维红说。上海马拉松的参赛人数更多，有超过17万名参赛者。因此，这些大型赛事不得不采取抽签的方式来决定参赛名额，想要一个参赛名额变得相当困难。
As for “speed”, Tang noted that 2023 was a year of remarkable breakthroughs in China's marathon scene. On December 3, at the Fukuoka Marathon, Yang Shaohui set a new Chinese national record of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 9 seconds, becoming the first Chinese runner to finish in 2 hours and 7 minutes twice. With these achievements, China's marathon scene has now entered the "207 era."
至于“速度”，唐维红指出，2023年是中国马拉松赛事取得显著突破的一年。12月3日，在福冈马拉松赛中，杨绍辉以2小时7分9秒的成绩刷新了中国纪录，成为首位两次跑进2小时7分的中国选手。这些成就促使中国的马拉松赛事进入了“207时代”。
At the same time, the speed of everyday runners is also improving. In the 2023 Beijing Marathon, an impressive 2,402 runners finished in under 3 hours, setting a new record in China for the most runners to do so in a single marathon. This shows that completing a marathon in under 3 hours has become a big target for both organizing and measuring the success of marathons for the general public in China.
与此同时，普通跑者的速度也在变快。在2023年北京马拉松赛中，有2402名跑者不到三小时就跑完了全程，创下了中国马拉松赛事中，单次跑完马拉松全程人数最多的新纪录。可以看出，三小时内完成马拉松已经成为中国公共组织以及衡量马拉松赛事是否成功的主要目标。
Weihong Tang (7th from right), chairperson of People's Daily Online's Supervisory Board, at the 2022 Beijing Marathon. (Photo provided to People’s Daily Online)
人民网监事会主席唐（右七）在2022年北京马拉松赛上。（图片提供给人民网）
"Additionally, when I talk about speed, I think it's also worth mentioning the rapid development of China's high-speed rail network. By the end of 2023, China's railways covered 159,000 kilometers, of which 45,000 kilometers were high-speed rail,” said Tang.
唐维红说：“而且说到速度，我认为中国高铁网络的快速发展也值得一提。到2023年底，中国将有15.9万公里铁路，其中高铁铁路将达到4.5万公里。”
"I live and work in Beijing. It takes me four hours to reach Shanghai and a bit more than four hours to get to Xi'an by high-speed train, which run at up to 350 kilometers per hour. I travel to various parts of the country for these races. I usually leave early Saturday morning, get to the race location by plane or high-speed rail, and then head back to Beijing on Sunday, right after the race,” Tang added. “The convenience and accessibility of transportation mean that office workers like me can easily fit both work and running competitions into our schedules.” Last year, Tang ran in four full marathons and more than 10 half marathons.
“我在北京生活和工作。坐高铁到上海要4个小时，到西安也要4个多小时，高铁的最高时速可以达到350公里/小时。我到全国各地参加这些比赛。我通常周六早上很早就出发，乘坐飞机或高铁前往比赛场地，然后在周日比赛结束后立即返回北京。”“交通便利且发达，意味着像我这样的上班族可以很容易地将工作和比赛安排进日程表。”去年，唐维红跑了四个全程马拉松和十多个半程马拉松。
Tang expressed her expectations for the growing business and offered suggestions to better promote marathons in China based on her experience as a marathon enthusiast who has participated in numerous events both domestically and internationally.
唐维红表达了她对日益繁荣的马拉松行业的期望，作为一名马拉松爱好者，她曾参加过很多国内外赛事，她给出了一些经验，提出了更好地在中国推广马拉松的建议。
"In 2023, I not only participated in marathons in big cities like Xi'an and Tianjin but also in several small and medium-sized cities, including district and county-level events such as the Beijing Tongzhou Marathon and the marathon in Dachang county, Hebei Province. Those experiences were great. It's clear that more and more people in China are getting into running, and the quality of races across the country is getting better,” said Tang.
“2023年我不仅参加了西安、天津等大城市的马拉松，还参加了北京通州马拉松、河北大厂县马拉松等的多个中小城市的马拉松，还有其他区级赛事。这些都是很好的经历。很明显越来越多的中国人开始参加马拉松，全国各地的赛事的质量也在不断提高。”
According to the High-quality Development Report of Road Race in China, a thorough study conducted by the People’s Daily Online Institute, led by Tang, the thriving marathon industry in China also indicates that the rapid growth of Chinese road running events is inextricably linked to the development of China's economy and society.
人民网研究所进行了一项深入研究《中国公路赛高质量发展报告》，该研究由唐伟红领导，中国马拉松产业的蓬勃发展表明，中国公路跑赛事的快速增长与中国经济和社会的发展密不可分。
Weihong Tang, chairperson of People's Daily Online's Supervisory Board, launches the High-quality Development Report of Road Race in China at the 2024 Road Races Sustainable Development Forum in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Jan. 5, 2024. (Photo provided to People’s Daily Online)
2024年1月5日，在中国东南部福建省厦门举行的2024年路跑比赛可持续发展论坛上，人民网监事会主席唐维红发布了《中国路跑赛事高质量发展报告》。（图片提供给人民网）
For instance, during the 2023 Chongqing Marathon, surrounding retail consumption reached 690 million yuan, boosting tourism consumption to 300 million yuan. The event also drives the development and upgrading of sports-related industries, including sports training, sporting goods manufacturing, smart wearable manufacturing and other industries, giving rise to emerging industries such as sports tourism.
例如，在2023年重庆马拉松赛中，周边零售消费达到了6.9亿元，带动旅游消费3亿元。该赛事还推动了体育培训、体育产品制造、智能穿戴制造等相关体育产业的发展和升级，催生了体育旅游等新兴产业的发展。
The report also forecast that by 2025, the number of domestic road running and related sports events is expected to increase to 2,500, and the number of participants in mass marathons to 10 million. The marathon event economy will reach an event economic scale of 50 billion yuan in 2025. In the future, the scale of the marathon derivative economy will exceed 400 billion yuan.
该报告还预测，到2025年，国内路跑及相关体育赛事的数量预计将增加到2500项，大众马拉松的参与者人数将达到1000万。马拉松赛事经济将在2025年达到500亿元的赛事规模。未来，由马拉松催生的经济规模将超过4000亿元。
China's strong cultural heritage really shines through in our marathons, especially in the selection of race routes and the unique designs of the medals. Marathons, more so than sports like basketball or football, really capture the spirit of the cities they pass through. The 42.195 kilometers of a marathon can fully showcase a city's unique style and cultural history. In this respect, China, with its vast territory, long history, and diverse culture, has a lot to offer.
中国深厚的文化底蕴在马拉松比赛中熠熠生辉，尤其体现在比赛路线的选择和奖牌的独特设计上。马拉松比篮球或足球等运动更能体现城市的精神风貌。42.195公里的马拉松可以充分展示一个城市的特色和文化历史。在这方面，幅员辽阔、历史悠久、文化多样的中国能为马拉松提供许多选择。
"A common saying among Chinese runners is, ‘Run a marathon and fall in love with a city.’ For runners from other countries, visiting China for a marathon is a great idea,” said Tang.
唐伟红说：“中国的跑步者里流传着一句俗语，‘跑一次马拉松，爱上一座城市’。对于其他国家的跑步者来说，来中国参加马拉松是一个很不错的主意。”
"We hope to further enhance our collaboration with all parties involved, using marathons and sports as a bridge to foster greater exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries,” she added.
“我们希望与各方进一步加强有关的合作，以马拉松和体育为桥梁，促进中国与其他国家之间更密切的交流与合作，”唐伟红补充说。
Click for the full report of High-quality Development Report of Road Race in China
点击查看中国公路赛高质量发展报告全文
