Guzhen Half Marathon kicked off at Guzhen People's Square on the morning of April 21. [Photo by Wen Bo] 

At 7:30 on April 21, with a loud horn, 4,500 marathon runners started the race successively. It was the opening of the Guzhen Half Marathon 2019. The event has been held for three years and it has been certificated as a class-B competition by the Chinese Athletics Association.

The event on April 21 attracted local runners and those from other cities. Most of them were from Pearl River Delta, Guangxi and Hunan provinces, and some came from Hong Kong and Macao.

The event was divided into half marathon, 1/4 marathon and happy run. The route started at Guzhen People's Square, passed Dongxing East Road, Tongxing Road, Zhongxing Middle Avenue and other main roads, and ended back at Guzhen People's Square. Runners could see the Lihe Lighting Expo Center, Star Alliance, Ruifeng Light Accessories Market, and other landmark buildings along the well-designed "Trace of the Lighting Capital" route and enjoy the charm of Guzhen.

A total of 29,400 yuan of bonus was provided to winners this year. The top 10 of the male and female groups in half marathon and 1/4 marathon shared the bonus.

As introduced by the sponsor, team enrollment was available for the first time this year and nearly 50 teams signed up for this race. The sponsor also provided free online courses and offline training to the participants before the game, with experts delivering the scientific sports ideas.

There were still many childish patterns painted on the number plates for the game this year. The sponsor has developed cooperation with Star Hope Children's Training Center in Zhongshan City for three years to display autistic children's artworks on the number plates, hoping that the runners and audiences can understand and pay more attention to this group.