Chengdu, November 29 – A total number of 10, 000 runners competed in the Chengdu Marathon with systematic COVID-19 countermeasures in place.
As China’s only official candidate race for the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM), the 2020 Dongfeng Nisan Chengdu Marathon took place on the morning of November 29. Despite the chilling weather in the early winter, runners were pumped for this long-awaited event at the start line at the Jinsha Site Museum. With the same route as last year, the race route passes through Tianfu Square, Du Fu Thatched Cottage, and other cultural attractions, and finish at the Century City International Exhibition Center.
Li Zicheng from China, clocked 2 hours 13 minutes to claim the title in the men’s race while Ding Changqin finishes at 2 hours 34 minutes to win the women’s championship, marking another safe and successful edition of the Chengdu Marathon.
Chengdu Marathon applied the highest standard of countermeasures against the COVID-19. Given the prevalent pandemic outbreak this year, most sports events were canceled or postponed globally. To host a major marathon event is challenging for every city. Chengdu stepped up early this year to host a series of domestic sports events including the China Badminton League, China League One, etc., building up its capability and experience to plan for hosting mass participation sports events in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To ensure the safety and health of all participants in the Chengdu Marathon, the organizing committee applied the no-contact, bubble-to-bubble operation plans and proactively work with top-level hospitals and medical units in Chengdu to provide the safest race for everyone. Chengdu Marathon collected the 14-day travel information from all runners and staff to evaluate and control the risk of any pandemic outbreak.
This is another key step of Chengdu’s endeavor to become a world-famous city of sports events in the lead up to the Chengdu 2021 World Universiade Games.
Despite the decrease of runners from 30, 000 to 10, 100 this year, the event was strictly run at the Abbott World Marathon Majors standard to help the city to develop its capability of hosting major sports events before next year’s Universiade Games and promote sports participation among the general public at the same time. The top 3 runners this year will be invited to the Opening Ceremony of Chengdu 2021 Universiade, and the first 100 finishers will win a ticket to the prime-time events in next year’s Universiade.
As a new force in the marathon world, the Chengdu Marathon has rapidly increased in influence and stature since it was first run in 2017. It was named The Most Beautiful Track at the 2018 Chinese Athletics Association Special Event, and it has become a high-quality brand event in Chengdu. On May 14th, 2019, the Abbott World Marathon Majors, the Chinese Athletics Association, the Chengdu Municipal People’s Government, and Wanda Group called a press conference in Beijing to announce Chengdu Marathon’s candidacy for the World Marathon Majors (WMM). This was China’s first WMM candidate marathon, attracting the attention of the entire running world.
Chengdu Marathon went the extra mile to serve the runners. To provide an extraordinary marathon experience for runners, the Chengdu Marathon implemented the safe Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) monitoring measures to ensure the safety and well-being of all the runners. A real-time temperature and weather data analysis system was introduced to optimize the running experience of the runners.
Also, over 20, 000 bowls of ginger soup were prepared at the finish line for the runners to keep their body warm. A Chengdu flavor was highlighted at mid-run fueling areas in the race. Sichuan noodles, hotpot, benben chicken, and a few signature Sichuan dishes were presented to the runners.
The date for the 2021 Chengdu Marathon was announced at the post-marathon press conference. “The 2021 Chengdu Marathon will be held on October 31, 2021, and is expected to attract 35,000 runners all over the world, including 25, 000 runners in the marathon race and 10,000 runners in the half marathon race” according to Sheng Gang, deputy director of Chengdu Sports Bureau.
(Syndicated press content is neither written, edited or endorsed by ED Times)
