Beijing marathon returns after two-year hiatus, another key sports event in Beijing after the Winter Olympics

Participants start at the Tiananmen Square during 2019 Beijing Marathon in Beijing, capital of China, Nov 3, 2019. Photo:Xinhua

Beijing marathon 2022 starts registration on Tuesday and 30,000 runners will compete on November 6, marking the 41-year-old event’s long-awaited return after being canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 epidemic. It will be another important sports event the capital city will hold after the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Marathoners reached by the Global Times on Tuesday hailed the news and many have registered with excitement. Registration will last through Friday and after that, 30,000 runners will be selected by drawing lots.

Runners will start from the Tiananmen Square and ran all the 40 kilometers to the main avenue of the Olympic Park.

Qu Yujia, a Beijing-based fitness coach, told the Global Times on Tuesday that she had registered and hoped to be lucky enough to be selected. Many of her friends also registered. “This year it will be easier [to be selected] as the event requires candidates to be Beijing residents,” she said.

According to the event organizer, only people aged 20 and above who have a Beijing hukou (household registered in Beijing) or residential certificate can apply. In addition, they must have completed a marathon in six hours or a half-marathon in three hours after 2019 to be qualified for registration.

People from Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan island, and foreigners are required relevant ID documents and corresponding residential certificates.

The organizer also invited some sports professionals for the run.

The requirement is stricter than that of 2019, the last time the Beijing marathon was held in a normal manner. In 2019, 160,000 people registered to draw lots for 30,000 quotas, according to media reports then.

Qu was also impressed by the epidemic prevention measures.

The event organizer asks registrants to provide records of COVID-19 vaccine inoculation and booster shots if the first two shots were completed by April 20 and stay in Beijing seven days before claiming event materials until completing the marathon. Valid 24-hour nucleic acid test is required to claim the materials and to compete.

Although many marathon lovers living in other cities won’t be able to compete in this year’s event due to anti-epidemic restrictions, a runner surnamed Zeng from Wuhan in Central China’s Hubei was optimistic.

“Beijing marathon is like a weathercock. I felt those old things are returning and normal life is returning. Hope there won’t be sudden contagion which forces the event to be cancelled,” Zeng said.