Running for a noble cause: A participant in an attention-grabbing costume makes a peace sign as he poses for the camera during the 2016 London Marathon. (Photo : London Marathon/Facebook)
For runners with modest income, the nearby local park already serves as a good place to move those legs and get all sweaty, and, of course, the neighborhood also provides a decent running trail.
On the other hand, the affluent members of society contact their travel agents and fly somewhere in the globe to join a marathon.
As the years progressed, the number of Chinese participating in different international marathons has dramatically increased, according to China Daily.
It’s “a new lifestyle,” according to Tian Tongsheng, co-founder of travel company Runnar. He told the site that “China’s emerging middle class” perceive marathons as opportunities for health improvement.
The people Tian were referring to specifically were those Chinese working for Fortune 500 companies where they get fat paychecks.
At the Virgin Money London Marathon in the U.K. on April 24, 150 Chinese (106 male, 44 female) participated. According to organizers, there were 29 Chinese who joined in 2015 and 11 in 2014.
The London Marathon organizers approved the following Chinese tour operators for this year’s event: Beijing Palace International Travel Service, Beijing Wanda Global International Travel Service, CTS Sports Travel Service, Yesports International Sports Management and ZX-TOUR, according to the event’s website.
Du Mingrui, the 34-year-old manager of ZX-TOUR, said to China Daily that the number of Chinese joining marathons “is growing tremendously.”
According to Du, 156 Chinese participated in the 6th International Jerusalem Winner Marathon in Israel on March 18. In 2015, only three were present.
Du said that more than 700 Chinese already registered for the 43rd BMW Berlin Marathon slated on Sept. 26 in Germany.
The TCS New York City Marathon on Nov. 1, 2015 welcomed 224 Chinese runners, according to China Watch.
People run for various reasons: for health-related matters, for some worthwhile causes such as those seen in the London Marathon running for cancer research and for the plight of the dwindling rhinoceros, or simply for the sheer fun of it.
New York-based Li Xibei raised funds for a Chinese nongovernmental organization to help poor Beijing families make their own air filters by running at the North Pole Marathon on April 9, according to China Daily. Li turned to crowdsourcing via Michigan-based CrowdRise to realize his goal and was able to raise $6,030.
At the 120th Boston Marathon in Massachusetts on April 18, a number of Chinese participated in memory of Boston University student Lu Lingzi and to raise funds for the Lingzi Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts, according to the foundation’s website.
On April 15, 2013, bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon. Lu died from the tragic incident.
