At least 2.5 million people in China had completed a full marathon or half marathon event by the end of 2023, according to the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA).

Runners compete during the 2023 Chengdu Marathon in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Oct. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

The data was released at a CAA meeting held in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province prior to this year's Wuxi Marathon.

Data showed that since 2016, at least 2.5 million people in China had completed a marathon or half marathon event by the end of 2023, including 641,700 in a full marathon and 1,859,000 in a half marathon, an increase of 142,700 and 507,500 respectively from 2022.

In 2023, 699 road running events with a minimum of 800 participants were held across China, engaging a total number of 6,051,900 participants. More than 100 events were held each in April and November.

Meanwhile, professional and amateur runners have made rapid progress in 2023. He Jie and Yang Shaohui lowered the national men's marathon record twice - at the 2023 Wuxi Marathon and 2023 Fukuoka International Marathon respectively, beating the previous record set by Ren Longyun back in 2007. Meanwhile, 11,897 athletes broke the three-hour barrier.

Wang Nan, vice president of the Chinese Athletic Association, said that such road running events had not only boosted the sports consumer market, but had also contributed to the economic growth of the host cities.

"The Chinese Athletic Association will aim to improve the quality of China's road running events from 2024 to 2026, on polishing system construction, standardizing competition organization, strengthening supervision, increasing training efforts, strengthening health care and security, and optimizing the education system," said Wang.