The 2023 Beijing International Running Festival-Beijing Half Marathon kicked off at 7 a.m. Sunday. Photo: Sun Muzi, intern reporter/Caixin

Around 20,000 runners attended the event. More than 50,000 people from 27 countries signed up since registration opened on March 15. Photo: VCG

Runners compete in Beijing on Sunday. Photo: Li Congxun, intern reporter/Caixin

The half marathon starts from Tiananmen Square and ends at the Olympic Center Area Landscape Avenue with a distance of 21.0975 kilometers. Photo: VCG

A group of marathon pacesetters, informally called rabbits, participate in the Beijing race. Photo: Sun Muzi, intern reporter/Caixin

Runners pass by Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl TV Tower Sunday during the Shanghai International Half Marathon. Around 15,000 runners participated in the event. Photo: VCG

Runners take part in a half marathon Sunday in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu province. Photo: VCG

On Sunday, the Wuhan Marathon returned to the capital of Central China’s Hubei province, after a three-year hiatus. Around 26,000 runners from 32 countries competed. Photo: VCG

A runner participates in the Changshou Lake Half Marathon in Southwest China’s Chongqing on Saturday. Photo: He Penglei/China News Service, VCG