Conference held to promote the sustainable development of road races

Participants start the Xiamen Marathon 2024 in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Jan. 7, 2024. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

Under the theme of "Sustainable Action for a Better World", the Road Races Sustainable Development Action Conference, in cooperation with World Athletics, was held in Hall C5 of the 6th China Marathon Expo Friday, in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. Representatives from the sports and media industries gathered to share their insights on the sustainable development of sports.

Alessio Punzi, head of running and mass participation at World Athletics delivered a speech, highlighting the achievements and outlining future actions for the sustainable development of the global marathon movement.

In his address, Punzi lauded the period from 2023 and 2024 as another "running boom," noting that "across most geographies, running events are healthier than ever." He also spoke highly of growth momentum in China's running industry.

"Here in China, there aren't enough marathons to meet the demand of runners, and the growth is so impetuous that the governing body for the sport had to limit the number of races an operator can take on, in an attempt to guarantee quality in operations," he said.

Despite the current popularity of running events, Punzi also urged people to be aware of the prominent challenges such as issues related to integrity, the looming volunteer crisis, and aging workforce. He emphasized the need to use the power and accessibility of athletics and its athletes to build a healthier and fitter world.

"A stronger running industry means a stronger, wealthier sport, and eventually better experience for the athletes," he said. "This is our commitment to the long-term sustainability of our sport and industry."

Wang Xiaoying, a member of the executive committee of the Chinese Athletics Association, used the word "standardization" to summarize China's marathon industry in 2024.

"Last year was not only a year when China's marathon industry witnessed vigorous development, but also a year when the construction of industry rules and institutionalization underwent profound transformation," she said, noting that under the leadership of the General Administration of Sport of China, the association carried out work on industry standardization.

"Standardization does not restrict innovation but lays the foundation for higher-quality development," she said. "The Chinese Athletic Association hopes to guide the sound operation and standardized development of events with better and more effective policy changes, fully mobilize the initiative of local events and the creativity of event organizers, and truly maximize the social, economic and cultural values of marathons."

According to Wang, in 2024, a total of 671 road running events were held across the country, with approximately 6.56 million participants. These events were distributed across 31 provincial-level administrative regions, 261 cities, and 537 districts and counties nationwide.

"The love of the general public for marathons and the support of local governments for these events are phenomena that should delight all marathon practitioners," she said.

Tang Weihong, chairperson of the Supervisory Board of People's Daily Online, released the Research Report on High-Quality Development of China's Road Running Events in 2024: Stimulating New Vitality in National Fitness and Empowering New Development of City Brands at the Road Races Sustainable Development Action Conference, in cooperation with World Athletics in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, on Jan.3, 2025.

During the conference, Tang Weihong, chairperson of the Supervisory Board of People's Daily Online, released the Research Report on High-Quality Development of China's Road Running Events in 2024: Stimulating New Vitality in National Fitness and Empowering New Development of City Brands at the conference.

Relying on previous research results and based on the evaluation index system for the high-quality development of road running events, the report selected 100 key events for analysis. These included 26 events with a scale of 30,000 participants or more, 20 events with a scale between 15,000 and 30,000 participants, 14 events with a scale below 15,000 participants, 15 half-marathon events, 15 women's marathon events, and 10 characteristic events.

The evaluation indexes are divided into seven dimensions, namely serving the public, organizational guarantee, industrial development, application of science and technology, cultural inheritance, ecological harmony, and international cooperation.

According to the report, the overall development trend of road running events represented by marathons in China in the future is promising and has broad prospects. The report pointed out that "full marathonization," along with the standardization and intelligentization of events, will be key future trends.