More than 25,000 runners took part in the Guiyang International Marathon held on July 23.

Jointly held by the Chinese Athletic Association, Sport Administration of Guizhou Province and Guiyang government, the event included a 42-kilometer marathon, 21-kilometer half-marathon and 4.2-kilometer mini-marathon.

The marathon attracted professional and semi-professional runners from over 25 countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya and Mexico.

“The marathon has become an efficient way for Guiyang to communicate more with the world,” said Wang Yuxiang, vice mayor of Guiyang. Speaking at the marathon’s opening ceremony, Wang also said that the city is working to build the event into a global brand to attract more people to the province’s rich tourism resources.

“Guiyang’s fresh climate helped me save a lot of energy,” said Kibet Luke, a runner from Kenya won the men’s marathon race. Kibet explained that this was his first time to Guiyang and he had begun to prepare for the race three months ago. He also planned to tour around the province to take in the local landscapes.

A highlight of this year’s event was the adoption of big data to monitor air quality. Participants were also able to check real time data through an application.

Amateur and professional runners are among the participants at the Guiyang International Marathon. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]