2026 Zhengzhou Bank Zhengzhou Marathon press conference held, the event is scheduled to start on October 18

China News Service, Zhengzhou, September 24 (Li Haizhu, Deng Xiaoqiang) On September 23, the 2026 "Zhengzhou Bank" Zhengzhou Marathon press conference was held in Zhengzhou. With the theme of "Running in the World and Returning to My Hometown of Henan", this competition is scheduled to start at 7:00 on October 18. The total number of participants in this event is 25,000, including 12,000 in the marathon and 13,000 in the half-marathon.

The picture shows the press conference scene. Photo by Deng Xiaoqiang

Zhao Hengkang, director of the Zhengzhou Municipal Sports Bureau, said that the event has passed the Category A certification of the Chinese Athletics Association. The route starts and ends at the Convention and Exhibition Road in the CBD of Zhengdong New District. The track connects the "Big Corn", Zhengzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center, Bauhinia Mountain Park, Erqi Memorial Tower, Longzi Lake and other city landmarks, showing the integration of ancient civilization and modern development.

This event is based on the roots of the Central Plains, focusing on the goal of "the most cultural marathon", deeply cultivating the "surname marathon" IP, and integrating the four Central Plains cultural elements of poetry, surnames, Henan Opera, and Kung Fu throughout the entire event. The pre-race gift carnival features a cultural market and intangible cultural heritage display. During the race, the track is themed and special performances are performed at the supply station. After the race, finisher medals and cultural posters are used to retain the runners’ exclusive memories of Zhengzhou.

This year’s finishing medal is named “Gate of Culture” and adopts an octagonal oriental aesthetic shape, echoing the shape of ancient building window lattice and ritual vessels, which means “Congratulations from all directions.” The medal adopts an interactive structure that can be opened and closed. When closed, it is the cultural totem of the surname created by the seal script "Zhao Qian Sun Li". When opened, it shows a miniature version of Zhengzhou cityscape. On the back, it shows "Zheng Ma" in seal script with the Central Plains elephant pattern. The surname patch issued before the race can be embedded in the center of the medal "window lattice" to enhance the runner's sense of completion ceremony; 200 flag bearers with the surname will also receive customized medals incorporating the creative design of cultivated diamonds. The competition uniforms continue the main color of "Zheng Malan", and the flag bearer's exclusive short-sleeves use the calligraphy font of the eight surnames at the beginning of "Hundred Family Surnames" as the visual core.

In terms of services, on the basis of retaining runners’ free rides on buses and subways with their bib numbers, the event organizing committee has jointly launched an “exclusive discount package” with branded hotels covering accommodation discounts and late check-out, and has also launched exclusive air ticket discounts with China Southern Airlines for the first time. Xinzheng Airport will add a dedicated check-in counter for runners and launch themed flights. During the event, Ruyi Lake Cultural Plaza will host the "Zhengma Carnival" and "Zhengma Good Market" special markets. The organizing committee will also work with Zhengzhou Metro to launch a series of co-branded cultural and creative products "Little Elephant Jingjing", which are both practical and collectible.

During the event, key road sections in Zhengzhou will adopt the "pendulum traffic" mode, which is dynamically controlled by the traffic police department; the track will adopt the "rolling unblocking" mode, which will be unblocked after the race, taking into account the smoothness of the event and the operation of the city.

Since its inception in 2018, the Zhengzhou Marathon has been successfully held for five times, with hundreds of thousands of participants. Liu Wenshi, deputy secretary-general of the Zhengzhou Municipal Government, said that runners are sincerely invited to walk into the museum and stroll around the streets after the race to leave their own "Zhengzhou-horse memories" "in the world." (over)