In this file photo dated April 24, 2021, people take part in the 2021 Beijing Half Marathon. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - The 2024 Beijing Half Marathon is to take place on April 14.

As of 10 am on March 15, a record total of 97,988 people from 42 countries and regions had pre-registered for the event, according to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports.

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As a mass sports event with a long history in China, the Beijing Half Marathon, which debuted in 1956, is now a grand festival for many long-distance runners.

Entrants for this year's event are required to be 16 or older and must have completed a marathon within six hours or a half-marathon within three hours between Jan 1, 2022, and Feb 29, 2024. Documentation of participation in online marathons will not be considered valid.

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Additionally, around 20,000 qualifiers are expected to participate in the half-marathon, which will start from Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing and finish at the landscape avenue of Beijing's Olympic Park.