Runners in the 2021 Wuxi Marathon start off on April 11. [Photo provided to wuxinews.com.cn]

The 8th edition of the Wuxi Marathon kicked off with 27,000 runners participating on April 11 in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province.

This year's event continued to include a full marathon, a half marathon, and a mini marathon race. A total of 801 full marathon participants finished within three hours, breaking the record of 740 held by the 2019 Wuxi Marathon.

Li Zicheng and Ding Changqin sprinted to victory in the Men's and Women's marathon with the times of 2:16:19 and 2:32:45 respectively.

The two lead runners cross the finish line. [Photo provided to wuxinews.com.cn]

The organizing committee has made intense efforts to provide better service to athletes and to ensure the success of the event. A new lottery system was introduced in order to provide a better chance to those who had registered for the previous editions of the Wuxi Marathon but failed to get a spot. Athletes were also required to make a reservation before they signed in to avoid gatherings and long wait times.