The Shanghai Marathon was officially announced on Wednesday as China’s representative for consideration to be included as a Abbott World Marathon Majors membership in 2027.
Abbott announced the change, since the Chengdu Marathon was previously China’s candidate race. The Shanghai Marathon now joins the Sydney Marathon and Cape Town Marathons hoping to be one of the “Major” races.
There are currently six cities in Abbot’s marathon membership group, with Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City all hosting popular marathons.
“AbbottWMM is delighted to welcome the Shanghai Marathon into the candidacy process from 2024,” Dawna Stone, chief executive officer of Abbott World Marathon Majors, said in a statement. “This presents an exciting opportunity to expand our impact into Asia/China and further our mission to create, grow and support opportunities for all to discover the power of the marathon community. We look forward to working closely with the team in Shanghai as we start this journey together.”
The Shanghai Marathon was founded in 1996 and has been held 27 times. The race is staged by Donghao Lansheng Group and the 2024 race will be held with over 30,000 runners expected to participate. The course has been described as scenic, fast and flat, similar to the Berlin Marathon experience.
Meanwhile, there will be a three-year observation period that the Shanghai Marathon will have to adhere to, like other candidate cities Sydney and Cape Town. During this time, Abbott will determine if a candidate race — and city — meets the criteria to support a large scale race especially as demand for major marathons has soared over the last five years.
“This recognition is the highest affirmation of our event organization and service, as well as a testament to our tireless efforts, Mr. Cao Wei, chair of Donghao Lansheng Group said in a statement. “As the first marathon in China named after a city, the Shanghai Marathon has adhered to the highest industry standards since its inception. Over the years, it has continuously forged ahead with unwavering determination and relentless efforts, always prioritizing the runners’ experience while striving for excellence.”
There is no guarantee that any of the candidate cities will be selected as the next member of Abbott’s race membership group. But China has seen a significant boost as a viable running market and would be the second Asian nation to host an Abbott major marathon, aside from the Tokyo Marathon.
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