Beijing Marathon registration opens with loophole for expats?

Photos: beijing-marathon.com

Mark your calendar and dust off your running shoes, the countdown to Beijing's premier marathon is on 

The highly anticipated Beijing marathon is back, with registration for this year’s event on November 3 open from today. The event is known to be highly selective of its participants in the past, with 111,793 runners applying for 30,000 slots in last year’s run. 

This year, it has made a couple of changes for applicants, dropping several criteria such as a record of finishing a marathon within six hours. It only stipulates that runners need to be aged 20 on race day. And also strangely, for overseas entrants, it seems to guarantee a slot once payment goes through. 

Screenshot from Beijing Marathon official website: beijing-marathon.com

Which means that if you’re a foreigner and your payment is accepted, you can skip the balloting and immediately become one of the chosen 30,000 to race along Beijing’s historical central axis. 

Well either way, if you’re a runner, the Beijing Marathon is one not to be missed. In the event that the above clause turns out to be false, the only pre-requisite this year is that you have to be at least 20 years old on race day. So even if your regular running is done on a treadmill or in your head, you are still eligible for a place to be a part of this incredible sporting event. 

Here’s what you need to know about Beijing Marathon 2019:

Race time and route

The event begins at 7:30am on Sunday, November 3. Runners will whiz past a 42.2km long (26.2 miles) course that stretches from the Tian’anmen Square and to the Olympic Park. The specific route will be announced at a later date on its official website.

Cost

The registration fee is 200RMB/person for Chinese nationals, and 50 USD/person for foreign participants. 

Registration

Fill in the application form using the QR code below. Registration closes Sunday 25 at 10am.

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