China's Marathon Participation Surges, Masking Elite Performance Issues

The surge in popularity in long-distance running in China has made the chances of securing a spot in a marathon “harder than winning the lottery”, but experts believe this demand only masks deep-seated issues in professional competitive performance in the country. He Wenyi, secretary general of the national sports industry research base at Peking University, told the South China Morning Post that while mass participation was soaring, a fundamental disconnect existed between China’s running “fever” and its elite competitive success. “You cannot conflate the two,” He said. “Competitive sports depend on talent selection and scientific training, while many of our marathons today are simply a mode for young people to pursue fashion and look cool. These are two completely different paths.” Applications for this year’s Shanghai Marathon have surpassed last year’s total less than halfway through the registration period, city sports bureau director Xu Bin revealed on Monday. Scheduled for December 6, the race marked its 30th anniversary with an expanded capacity of 30,000, yet demand has continued to outstrip supply. Last year, the event reportedly drew 356,589 applicants, with a 7.2 per cent success rate for entry into the full marathon. This followed 257,854 applicants and an 11.2 per cent rate in 2024, and 172,872 applicants with a 13.7 per cent rate in 2023.