Global EditionASIA 中文双语Français
Sports
Home / Sports / China

Making marathons safer

By Sun Xiaochen | China Daily | Updated: 2018-01-16 13:12
Share
Share - WeChat
Runners hit their stride at the Ice and Snow Marathon in Changchun, Jilin province on Saturday. The government has issued new guidelines to better regulate such races in future. XINHUA

Government seeks to regulate races amid health, cheating concerns

With marathon running soaring in popularity in China, authorities have called for tighter regulation of the sport in a bid to keep it on the right track.

The proliferation of races on any given weekend is indicative of the running boom currently gripping the country, however it has also exposed management loopholes which can endanger runners.

The General Administration of Sport of China, with support from 10 other ministries, recently issued a long-term guideline for marathon development aimed at strengthening management by implementing nationwide standards on race organization, services, security, medical support and logistics over the next few years.

Over 500 marathons were staged in China last year, involving around five million participants. By 2020, the government envisages that around 1,900 races will attract 10 million runners annually.

The guideline report expects the distance-running industry to generate 120 billion yuan (about $19 billion) from running-gear sales, training, broadcasting, endorsement and tourism.

However, the government wants to first raise public awareness of the risks involved in taking on the grueling 42.195 kilometer challenge.

"The guideline is tasked with raising the organizational standards and service level of the industry," said Shui Tao, head of the marathon department of the National Athletics Administrative Center.

"We are still struggling to keep pace with the roaring public demand for events, not only in numbers but also in services and organizational quality."

The rocketing application numbers for the Beijing Marathon, which has been staged since 1981, provides yet more evidence of the boom.

1 2 Next   >>|

Most Popular

Highlights

What's Hot
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US