Sweat, Sales Pitches and Scandal at the Beijing Running Festival (2)

（CRI Online）  09:39, April 17, 2013  

The reasonably fresh air and sunny temperatures were better than many had hoped for, and it was obvious that people were happy to be out, even if organizers had (unnecessarily) asked people to arrive an hour early at the ungodly hour of seven.

Marketing was non-stop throughout the run. It was by far the biggest barrage of marketing that most runners had ever witnessed. After flag-toting runners had trickled out of sight, teams of cheerers appeared on the curbs, waving branded foam hands to be high-fived.

At strategic locations, mascots in Super Mario and rabbit costumes waved their flags and posed for photos. A graffiti artist made his homage to the sponsor's logo while two MCs hollered out rhymes about health and beauty products.