On Jan. 3, Saturday, 43,064 runners are expected to participate in the 2015 Xiamen International Marathon composed of half marathon and marathon races, Xinhua reported.
In a news conference held on Friday, the organizers announced the registration of 43,064 runners from 53 countries and regions; 23,675 in marathon and 19,389 in the half marathon event.
This year, people will be aiming to replace the defending champion, 25-year-old Mare Dibaba of Ethiopa from the women's division of the marathon race. She surpassed China's Zhang Yingying's record of 2:22:38 in 2008 by finishing with 2 hours, 21 minutes and 36 seconds last year.
On the other hand, Tadese Tola of Ethiopa will be anticipated for the men's event and has a best time of 2 hours, 4 minutes and 49 seconds.
It has only been two months since Tola won the bronze medal at the IAAF World Championships held in Moscow in 2013. The 2010 Paris Marathon champion clocked in at 2:07:16 which led him to win the 2013 Beijing Marathon as he surpassed the previous record in 1986 by 19 seconds.
Tola's record has been the fastest time ever in the history of the Chinese Athletics Association's marathon races. He is now focused on grabbing the $20,000 prize for breaking the course record in Xiamen.
Another contender to look forward to in the men's division is Moses Mosop of Kenya who finished third at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon with his best time of 2:05:03.
In 2011, Mosop's career was at its peak when he finished with 2:03:06, declaring him as the runner-up against Geoffrey Mutai (2:03:02) at the Boston Marathon. Mutai's time was close to the world record of 2:03:59 by less than a minute. However, the time was not officially recognized by IAAF due to the point-to-point course with an overall downhill slope of the Boston Marathon.
Negari Terfa of Ethiopia in 2013 set the men's event race record of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 32 seconds.
It will be the 13th edition of Xiamen Marathon since the IAAF gold label race was launched in 2003.
This year, the organizers decided to set a different route for the race to avoid disturbances in the city constructions. The course will not go through the downtown area and will also exclude the prominent Yanwu Bridge that extends over the sea.