Chongqing - The Chongqing Marathon made a grand return in the urban area following a three-year hiatus on the morning of Sunday, March 19th, when 30,000 running enthusiasts from twenty different countries packed the scenic hotspot Nanbin Road along the Yangtze riverbank for the mini and full marathon events.

Once the starting pistol rang out after a three-second countdown to mark 7:30 am, 15,000 participants began the 42.195km course, ultimately won by the Kenyan Anderson Saitoto with a time of 2 hours 11 minutes and 55 seconds in the men’s event, while Fantu Zewude Jifar from Ethiopia won the women’s event in an impressive time of 2 hours and 26 minutes exactly.

On the same morning, a 5km mini-marathon event was held for enthusiasts, also numbering 15,000, with participants of all ages and parents and children registered for this more casual route.

Figures provided by the organizational committee show that 81% of runners in the full marathon came from outside Chongqing Municipality, as well as a large number of volunteers who came to provide guidance and staff refreshment stalls among their various roles.

The Chongqing Marathon has long been well known for its lively atmosphere, and this year featured numerous singing performances, teams of drummers, and aerobic shows along the whole route, as they continually encouraged runners on until the finishing line.

Hungarian participant Katelin Sogor completed the full marathon in three and a half hours and was full of praise for the event. “The marathon exceeded my expectations, and although I felt tired at the end, it was great to see so many runners together; the weather was perfect, and I thoroughly enjoyed my first marathon in Chongqing.”