258 Cheaters Discovered in Shenzhen Half Marathon

The Shenzhen Half Marathon was held last Sunday

More Chinese are getting fit by running and as a result there are a number of races including marathons that are organised around the country.

According to the Chinese Athletics Association, 1,072 marathon and road running races have been held this year. This compares to only 22 races held seven years ago.

But not all the participants are competing fairly.

Some runners cheated by crossing to the other lane

Last Sunday was the Shenzhen Half Marathon, but officials have since discovered 258 runners cheated.

There were 18 with fake bib numbers, three imposters and 237 others of whom a number of them took short cuts along the route.

A video shot by a traffic camera at one section of the course showed some runners crossing from one side of the road to the other instead of running another kilometre before making a U-turn.

That means they cut off two to three kilometres from the total 21 kilometres they should have run.

In another case, a local photographer took pictures of two people with identical bib numbers.

"We deeply regret the violations that occurred during the event. Marathon running is not simply exercise, it is a metaphor for life, and every runner is responsible for him or herself," said the announcement by the organizing committee.

Organizers found 258 people cheated during the race

Obviously there were not enough volunteers to keep watch along the route, though paying other people to run the race for you is absolutely outrageous.

Runners with fake bib numbers and those who hired people to run for them will be banned for two years, according to the announcement.

Even People's Daily wrote an editorial about the incident, saying, "Please respect the Marathon, and respect sporting spirit!"

Meanwhile on Weibo, one user lamented, "There are too many marathons in China nowadays, and too many so-called runners, but runners who really love running are still in short supply."

Running a race is for one's personal achievement. So if you really want to do a half or full marathon, you would be determined to run every kilometre. But then again in China, should we be surprised people would cheat the race?