Zheng Lichao, 33, who planned to make his debut at the Beijing event, had to watch the race live on television. He was to have accompanied a blind runner, but was quarantined at home the day before the race. To get over his disappointment, Zheng ran 20 km in his room, the distance of a half-marathon.

Statistics from the organizing committee show that 15,351 people completed the full Beijing Marathon this year, but the number of runners registered for the event, and figures for how many competitors dropped out along the course, have not been disclosed.

Liu Luoming, 54, has been running for more than 20 years. He began enhanced physical training for marathons in 2019, but last month he was worried whether the Beijing event would be affected by the pandemic.

However, he largely kept to his preparations for his first marathon, despite the presence of COVID-19 in the capital.

"I started preparing for the marathon in February. As an amateur, I run five times a week. Monday is my rest day, and I run every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, take another rest on Friday, and run again during weekends," Liu said.

He trained for the event on two ring roads in Beijing — the 32.7-km Second Ring Road and the 48-km Third Ring Road.

Liu never listens to music while running, but enjoys the feeling as his feet hit the ground.

Wang Bo, 40, a resident of the capital, has run the Beijing Marathon every year it has been held since 2015, recording his personal best time in 2019. Even in the two years the race was not staged, Wang took part in online marathons.

He has run 5 km every day at 6:30 am since 2019 in parks and on city roads. He even once ran during a business trip.

Wang said that in the past three years, his training has been partly affected by the pandemic. As universities and colleges near his home were closed, he wasn't able to complete some training, and his pace slackened slightly.

"Marathon running is not limited by venues, time or the weather, and you can relax while running. After covering long distances, I need to run again to let my body recharge," Wang said.