HANGZHOU, China, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The 2020 Hangzhou International Marathon kicked off on a chilly morning here on Sunday with a total of 10,000 runners.
The course passed the West Lake and the Qiangtang River, the most beautiful scenic spots in the capital city of east China's Zhejiang province.
Su Guoxiong won the men's title in two hours 13 minutes and 24 seconds. The women's crown was won by Wang Min who finished in 2:38:19.
"I'm really happy. My goal was to get a good result and hopefully a breakthrough," said Su, who recorded his personal best in the race.
Due to concerns surrounding COVID-19, this year's event only featured a full marathon and a half-marathon, with 7,000 and 3,000 participants respectively.
According to local organizers, the participants were mainly domestic runners and needed to provide negative nucleic acid test results.
"Mass sports activities such as marathons invigorates the city amid regular epidemic prevention and control. The successful hosting of the Hangzhou International Marathon should be attributed to the strict COVID-19 countermeasures and the cooperation of the 10,000 participants," said Zhang Yadong, deputy director of the Zhejiang Sports Bureau.
First launched in 1987, the Hangzhou event, which was promoted to Gold Label Race by World Athletics in 2019, is one of the most time-honored marathons in China, second only to the Beijing International Marathon, which debuted in 1981. Enditem
