On April 26, rules of the 2014 Chaohu Lake national Marathon Invitational Tournament, which will begin at 7:30 a.m. on May 31, were released.

The number of participants will be no more than 3000. The race is divided into three sessions: a whole marathon for men, a half-marathon for men and a half-marathon for women.

The route for the 42.195 km whole-marathon: Chaohu city Gym - Guishan Mountain Tunnel - Zhegao River Bridge - Binhu Travel Avenue - Moon Bay Post (turn back here) - Binhu Travel Avenue - the sightseeing channel - Zhegao River Bridge - Guishan Mountain Tunnel - Chaohu city Gym. The 21.0975km route for the half-marathon: Chaohu city Gym - Guishan Mountain Tunnel - Zhegao River Bridge - Binhu Travel Avenue - Binhu primary school (turn back here) - Binhu Travel Avenue - the sightseeing channel - Zhegao River Bridge - Guishan Mountain Tunnel - Chaohu City Gym.

The race will apply the latest Track and field competition rules 2012-2013. In addition, the so-called "net-timing" method will be used, so that timing starts when each participant runs across the starting line. This method is now widely used in international marathons for its accuracy.

The tournament offers awards for the top-30 runners in the whole-marathon session, with the highest prize of 15000 yuan ($2397.01), and for the top 20s in the two half-marathon sessions, with the highest prizes of 6000 yuan ($958.80).

Before the race, there will be a running event in Hefei city on May 10. From this event, which involves 200-500 people, 50 participants will be selected to be torchbearers in the tournament.