Beijing marathon guns off on Sunday
By Zhao Rui (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-15 07:03

The 2005 ANA Beijing International Marathon raises its curtain on Sunday at Tian'anmen Square and ends at the National Olympic Sports Centre.

Organized by the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA) and approved by the State General Administration for Sports (SGAS), as well as the municipal government of Beijing, the Beijing International Marathon has become the highest-level marathon in China and one of the top marathons in the world. It is now recognized by the Association of International Marathons and Road Races and the International Association of Athletics Federations.

This year, the 25-year-old annual event, also serving as the marathon final of the Tenth National Games going on in Nanjing, has attracted 38 world class professional runners and as many as 23,000 amateurs from 30 countries and regions.

China's top marathon runner Sun Yingjie, the event's three-time champion from 2002 to 2004, will again compete, no doubt giving her best performance.

"For me, the event is very important," said Sun. "It is not only a pro marathon tournament but also a part of the National Games, so I will do all that I can to achieve a good result for my country and province (Liaoning)."

In addition to Sun, who set women's fastest time of the event in 2003 at two hours 19 minutes and 39 seconds, the participants also include men's defending champion, South African James Moiben, who won last year's race in two hours 10 minutes and 23 seconds.

China's Zhou Chunxiu, the women's winner of the Xiamen Marathon this year will also participate.

The event men's record of two hours seven minutes 35 seconds was achieved by Taisuke Kodama of Japan in 1986 and Abebe Mekonnen of Ethiopia in 1988.

Drawing on the experiences of last year, which saw two amateur runners, a college student and a retiree collapse and die during the run, all the participants of the marathon will receive free personal accident insurance.

"All the working staff and runners of the event will be given personal accident insurance for free, this is the first time such a policy has been adopted in the 25 year old Beijing marathon," said Wang Dawei, vice-president of CAA.

"All the working staff and runners of the event will be given personal accident insurance for free, this is the first time such a policy has been adopted in the 25 year old Beijing marathon," said Wang Dawei, vice-president of Chinese Athletics Association.

"Hundreds of trained volunteers will be stationed every 100 metres along the course for first aid consideration, and the number of the ambulances will increase as well."

To better promote the event to the wider public, the organizers have tried to refresh the tough image of the event by adding more people-friendly services. These include an offer of free personal accident insurance, to ease participants of worries and help them concentrate on the enjoyment of the run. In addition, environmental protection will be emphasized this year, with a series of related activities to be launched during the marathon.