Asian Premier Marathons officially launched

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July 21: Under the leadership of the Asian Athletic Association (AAA), a new marathon league, the Asian Premier Marathons (APM) has been officially launched in Beijing. This league was jointly established by Infront China and Beijing, Beirut and Seoul Marathon.

The APM series is reportedly the first ever continental marathon league around the world. Established in 1981, the Beijing Marathon Race is arguably the mostimportant distance running race in China. The Seoul Marathon Race was launched in 1931 and it is one of the races which has thegreatest influence in Asia now. As for the Beirut Marathon Race, it is reportedly the largest and most popular race in Western Asia. 

On September 17, the 2017 Beijing Marathon Race will kick off the 2017-18 APM series. In November, the APM will continue this series with the Beirut Marathon Race in the Lebanon, followed by the Seoul Marathon in March before returning to the Chinese capital to conclude with the 2018 Beijing Marathon. 

The total amount of APM’s prize money is reportedly US$500,000, for Asian athletes only competing in the full-distance marathon races and will be shared by 3 male athletes and 3 female athletes with the highest total points. An athlete’s total points will be calculated by adding up his or her‘s top 2 finishing points from the 4 races in the APM series.    

Source: sports.china.com, usa.chinadaily.com.cn

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick

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