2026 Huairou Great Wall Marathon and Zayed Charity Run starts with gunfire

China News Service, Beijing, September 27 (Reporter Du Yan) In the golden autumn of September, on the banks of Yanqi Lake, the 2026 Huairou Great Wall Marathon and Zayed Charity Run started with a gunshot on the 27th. Nearly 15,000 runners from 21 countries and regions started from the Yanqi Lake International Convention and Exhibition Center in Beijing. They arrived at the Mutianyu Great Wall step by step and the scenery changed with the road, turning the running into a flowing landscape and cultural journey.

This event is certified by the Chinese Athletics Association, hosted by the Beijing Huairou District People's Government, hosted by the Beijing Athletics Association and Beijing Huairou District Sports Bureau, co-organized by Zayed Charity Run, and supported by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in China. The event has two competitions: marathon and half marathon, including 5,000 marathon runners and 10,000 half marathon runners. Contestants come from 21 countries and regions around the world, including China, the United Arab Emirates, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Canada, Liberia, etc. Runners range from high-level athletes to mass runners, from young runners to the elderly. Runners of different ages and nationalities are running on the same track.

After several hours of fierce competition, the champions of each category of this event were elected one after another. Ling Hailong won the first place in the men's marathon with a gunshot score of 02:34:15. Second place was Milon, with a gunshot score of 02:34:25. The third place was Yang Jinxi, with a score of 02:35:41; the first place in the women's marathon group was Fang Guangxia, with a score of 02:56:32. Second place was Xiao Guo, with a gunshot score of 02:57:22. The third place was He Yanjing, with a gunshot score of 02:58:07.

Li Haozong ranked first in the men's half marathon race with a score of 01:08:43. The second place was Zhou Qunjia, with a gunshot score of 01:09:33. The third place was Jin Huangfei, with a gunshot time of 01:09:54; the first place in the women's half marathon group, Lamoji, was a gunshot time of 01:22:44. Second place was Li Yanling, with a gunshot score of 01:26:24. The third place was Hong Yanfang, with a gun score of 01:26:26.

This track connects the "Ten Huaima Scenes": Yanqi Lake International Convention and Exhibition Center, Yanqi Island, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huairou Science City, Yanqi Lake Dam, Hongluo Temple, Shengquan Mountain, Linghui Mountain, Haohan Slope, and Mutianyu Great Wall. One scene at a time, the scenery changes with the road, making running a flowing landscape and cultural journey. Half of the course goes around the lake, giving you a panoramic view of the autumn colors of Yanqi Lake; the entire course extends from the Science City, ancient temples, and mountains to the Great Wall, blending the landscape with the cultural sceneries.

The continuous climbing section starts at 33 kilometers of the track. In the last 5 kilometers before the finish line, the slope rises sharply and the slopes are continuous. The track climbs approximately 150 meters in total, with the highest altitude reaching 201 meters. The famous "Heroes Slope" has become the most recognizable and challenging memory point of the entire track.

The event coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. From September 24th to 26th, pre-race gift collection was deeply integrated with cultural and sports consumption. “Huairou Good Things Collection” was unveiled at the Huairou Science City’s gift collection site. Huairou’s special products were displayed here one by one. While receiving the competition materials, runners could immerse themselves in the rich customs of Huairou. Among them, the "2026 Huairou Global Tourism Digital Map Mini Program Improvement and Upgrading Results Release and Huairou Gifts Cultural Creation Competition and Huairou Food Collection Activities Award Ceremony" was also held on the 26th. The event released the Huairou Global Tourism Digital Map Mini Program's quality and upgrade content, and simultaneously launched a bilingual version; the Huairou Gifts Cultural Creation Competition and the Huairou Food Map Collection activities were selected. Awards will continue to enrich consumption scenarios and promote the integrated development of agriculture, culture, business, tourism, and sports in Huairou.

From the innovative pulse of the Science City to the thousand-year-old Zen charm of the Hongluo Temple, from the ecological picture of Yanqi Lake to the majestic atmosphere of the Mutianyu Great Wall, Huairou’s city card of “Beijing’s northernmost and Huairou’s most beautiful” has been further spread at home and abroad with the footsteps of tens of thousands of runners. The hosting of this event demonstrates the beauty of Huairou's ecology, urban landscape and cultural heritage of the Great Wall. It is a vivid practice for Huairou to deepen the "sports +" model, improve the level of international exchanges and the influence of the event brand. This year is also the second time that the Huairou Great Wall Marathon and the Zayed Charity Run have joined forces. Based on their previous friendly cooperation, the two parties have used running to build a bridge of friendly exchanges between China and Arab states, deeply integrating competitive sports with the concept of charity, so that every step of the run carries goodwill and warmth, and also makes this sports event more international in perspective and humanistic care.