With the sound of the starting gun at 7: 30 a.m. of April 22, the 2024 Qingdao Marathon kicked off. A total of 25,000 participants from all around the world departed from the gate of the Qingdao municipal government and ran along the refreshing and beautiful coast amid spring breeze and fabulous scenery, dubbed as the “most beautiful racing track”.

Since its inception in 2017, the Qingdao Marathon has been repeatedly lauded as a "Gold Medal Event" by the Chinese Athletic Association, becoming part of the World Athletics Label Road Races. The 2024 Qingdao Marathon has made further headway and is included among the outstanding label road races by the World Athletics. The latest marathon was intended to become a higher-quality and higher-calibre event for participant by adding one time clock every five kilometers to enabling contestants to know their running pace more accurately, putting up a fixed point of care every 2.5 kilometers across the racing route, and engaging 3,000 volunteers to help provide medical aids and maintain order.

The racing route, spanning Shinan District and the coastal area of Laoshan District, extended across many landmarks including the May Fourth Square, Badaguan Scenic Spot, Zhanqiao Pier, Olympic Sailing Center, Tip of the Iceberg and Old Stone Man Bathing Beach, highlighting the city’s sea and mountain scenery. The event consisted of a full marathon, a half-marathon and a mini-marathon. After fierce competition, Anderson SEROI, a contestant from Kenya, won the championship of the men’s full marathon in 02:13:33:759 , a fresh meeting record, while Ding Changqin from Zunyi, Guizhou Province claimed the women’s title for the full marathon for the second time after she took the crown in 2021.

To help participants to better know about the enchanting city of Qingdao, nearly 20 tourist attractions including the Qingdao Olympic Sailing and Marine Culture Tourism Area, Laoshan Mountain Scenic Spots and Qingdao Beer Museum provided ticket discounts to all participants during the event.

The 2024 Qingdao Marathon kicked off. By Wang Lei