Xiamen marathon to kick off in January with a record of 80,000 runners
BEIJING. December 3. KAZINFORM The 2011 Xiamen International Marathon is to be kicked off on January 2 with a record of some 80,000 runners participating in six categories. Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
"The number of participants reaches 80,000 for the first time in the history of Xiamen International Marathon, 30,000 more than last year," Zang Jiebin, deputy mayor of Xiamen municipal government, told the press here on Friday.
The Xiamen International Marathon consists of full marathon, half marathon, 10-km and 5-km races. The runner breaking the marathon world record could bag one million U.S. dollars of prize money, while the men's and women's full marathon champion will both win 40,000 U.S. dollars.
Tadesse Tola from Kenya, the men's winner in 2010 Paris Marathon, will lead the field to contend for the prize money, while Chinese runners, including the women's world champion Bai Xue, will probably not run due to the on-going winter training.
To attract more runners, the marathon also sees the debut of wheel-chair half marathon and 10km skating competition.
Launched in 2003, the Xiamen International Marathon is renowned for its charming seaside scenic course, and is hailed by IAAF as the Gold Label Road Race for three consecutive years since 2007. Kazinform cItes Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version