(This text material comes from chinadaily.com.cn.For reference only. )
Organizers for the 2017 Ordos International Marathon announced on Tuesday at a press conference in Beijing that the racewill begin at 17:00 on Aug 19, allowing participants to experience running while viewing the scenery from sunset to nightfall and the starry sky above the grass lands.
The marathon is being organized by theChinese Athletic Association, the Sports Bureau of Inner Mongolia autonomousregion, and Ordos municipal government.
The conference was attended by Li Guojian,vice-mayor of Ordos; Yan Yongsheng, deputy secretary-general of Ordos municipalgovernment; Qu Ming, director of Ordos sports bureau; Liu Hongxing, deputydirector of Ordos tourism bureau; and over 30 journalists from mediaorganizations in Beijing.
Participants can currently sign up to fourdifferent categories of races including full marathon (42km), half marathon(21km), mini race (5km), and family race (5km) on the official website.Participants must register by the deadline of July 20.
To draw more public attention, the marathoncommittee has made special effort in medal design, route design, and racelogistics. Part of the application fee will be donated to plant trees to tackledesertification, according to the race organizers.
In 2016, Ordos succeeded in holding thefirst international marathon, attracting 12,585 participants. Among therunners, 6,088 were from places outside Ordos. As Inner Mongolia’s biggestrace, Ordos International Marathon was recognized as one of China’sbronze-level races by the Chinese Athletic Association.
