Beijing will hold Sport for All Marathon to celebrate the 100 days countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games on April 30, announced deputy director of the Beijing Sports Administration Li Jinkang Wednesday.
The marathon is part of the celebration activities for the Olympic 100 days countdown, which also includes Samsung Cup 2008 Beijing Long Distance Running Festival.
Nearly a thousand people in 200 teams will take part in the marathon, which will start from the Olympic Park and end at the Bird's Nest National Stadium, covering 31.5 kilometers.
Apart from the marathon, more than 10,000 people from all walks of life will participate in a two kilometers long distance running. Over 2,000 citizens will also perform Taiji and traditional dancing at the Olympic Park, Li said.
Up to now, almost 10,000 people have enrolled in the running, including a number of foreigners living here, who come from the United States, Singapore, the Netherlands, Japan and other countries, Li told Xinhua.
The idea of marathon originate from Mr. Rogge, president of the International Organizing Committee, who announced that the first Sport for All Marathon would take place in Beijing during the 11th World Sport for All Congress on Nov. 1, 2006.
(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2008)