Women's half marathon returns to Jing'an

The city’s annual women’s half marathon will return to Jing’an District on Sunday.

A total of 4,800 runners will take part in the 2020 Daning Group Shanghai Jing’an Queen’s Half Marathon.

As the name suggests, most runners are women who will participate in the 21-kilometer half marathon or the 10-kilometer mini marathon. The rest will join a 4.5-kilometer race with their boyfriends or husbands.

As the city’s top women's running event, it has been held in Jing’an for three consecutive years.

“We started as a 10-kilometer mini marathon in Daning Park. Last year, we combined with the park’s annual tulip expo, allowing runners to run through the well-arranged tulip blossom fields. This year, we will expand the event to the whole Daning area by adding the half marathon,” said Yu Biao, director of Jing’an Sports Bureau.

The race route will showcase many Jing’an landmarks. Runners will pass Daning’s iconic commercial complexes such as Daning Music Plaza, an eSports hub on Lingshi Road, a film industry park, as well as popular photo-taking sites in the Daning Park.

“We hope to display Jing’an’s different charms to the public and offers top running experiences to participants,” Yu said.

This year’s event has shrunk its scale in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus outbreak. More than 200 guards and 500 volunteers will be on site to ensure safety.