Nearly 10m people took part in running events in China in 2017

Bao Mingxiao

At the Second Chinese Marathon Industry Forum held on January 4th, 2018 in Xiamen, the data for running events in China were unveiled by Bao Mingxiao, Director of Sports Economics Research Center, China Institute of Sports Science.

According to Bao, although only 208 running events were recorded officially by the Chinese Athletics Association last year, the actual total number of such events in China was around 1,000, with approximately 10 million people taking part. For example, on one weekend in October 2017, there were 20 running events around China, including full marathons, half marathons plus 10k and 5k events. 

After releasing these figures, Bao and other experts attending the forum predicted that the number of both races and runners will keep increasing over the next 10 years. Bao expressed that 2,000 races will take place in China in 2020 with over 20 million runners taking part in these races.

However, experts also warned that too many events held on the same day or weekend would bring about a waste of social resources for the host cities. After all, the number of runners in China is limited and most will not run more than one race on the same day. 

Over the coming years, more and more cities will organize running events, making the situation increasingly competitive for every event organizer. Experts suggest that optimizing services for runners in their events would be a good way for organizers to gain an edge in the crowded market. 

Source: NetEase

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick