XI'AN, China, April 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wangdong Qiu won the Men's race and Chaojie Feng placed first in the Women's Half Marathon race at the 2018 Xi'an City Wall International Marathon on Saturday. Over 5,000 athletes from 31 countries - a record number - participated in the annual race, which is run atop the ancient Ming Dynasty Wall in Xi'an which boasts over 600 years of history. The race, which included a half marathon of 21.0975 kilometers, a wall run of 13 kilometers and a health run of 5 kilometers, was run amidst a raft of improvements to the course and supporting elements, and was held in April for the first time, a change from its previous annual November date, allowing the runners to experience Xi'an's glamour in the most beautiful season of the year.
In addition to improved amenities for runners, several technical upgrades were made the to the race, including the deployment of blockchain tools to register runners' racing information, using the distributed ledger technology to ensure the reliability of individual records. Also, an online version of the marathon was launched, allowing runners who could not attend to experience the excitement of the event via the Internet. The number of online participants exceeded 100,000.
"Congratulations to Wangdong Qiu and Chaojie Feng for their wins, and to all of the runners who completed this year's Marathon," said the Race officials of the Xi'an City-Wall International Marathon Committee. "Distance running has become a very popular sport in China, and the Marathon in Xi'an offers runners and spectators a unique sporting experience, mixing the city's ancient history and culture with its prowess in cutting-edge technology."
Tradition and hospitality was abounded before and after the race as 4,000 Xi'an residents presented local traditional shows such as Xi'an martial arts, paper cuts, and shadow puppets, as well as gong and drum performances handed down from the Qin and Han Dynasties. Even the race medals were shaped like precious "jade" from the Western Han Dynasty.
For more information, visit http://www.xianmarathon.org/.
About the Xi'an City Wall International Marathon
Launched in 1993, the Xi'an City Wall International Marathon is China's flagship national sporting and tourism event. Held in a city with history spanning 3,100 years, the Xi'an marathon has become widely popular among runners and marathon fans around the world.
