Hundreds of people take part in the weekend race on Nov 9 at Gucun Park in Shanghai, organized by Shanghai Running. Fortunately, the races happened under blue skies. Photo by Gai Erqiang / China Daily

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Yoga as a lifestyle

Running is racing up the popularity charts on as Chinese embrace healthier lifestyles and the sport sheds its unflattering image amid a raft of themed races, foreign brand campaigns and grueling endurance runs.

"I moved to Shanghai from Gansu province and wanted to join a healthy social group to make friends," Zhao Suyi says.

The 26-year-old chose a women's running club because it was free.

"I didn't like it at first because there were no techniques to learn like, for example, in basketball," she says.

"But it soon affects your whole life. You start eating better, and everything moves in a healthier way. After just one month, I could already see improvements in my body shape."

Chinese reportedly made up more than 80 percent of the Moron'athon in the city's eastern Pudong region in September. Others dressed up like ghouls for a Halloween-themed fun run in the city in October, even though the festival is not traditionally celebrated in the country.

According to 31-year-old Vivien Ge, from Jiangsu province's Suzhou, this growing appetite mirrors the rising competition for white-collar jobs and expatriates' influence on local life.

"Running is definitely getting more popular in the big cities, where life is a constant struggle and you must be competitive to survive," says Ge, who now lives in Shanghai.

The former yoga instructor switched sports while recovering from an upper-body injury.

"I also wanted to impress my (American) boyfriend and show him I could make it," she says, after completing a 10-km race at one of the city's suburban parks in November.

"I just set the goal of not stopping and doing a little better today than yesterday."

Most adult Chinese runners who turned up for the day's events, which included a marathon, half-marathon, shorter races and one for schoolchildren, were women. Many went with their foreign boyfriends.

"I've noticed the same with the hashing events," says Canadian Richard Grams, who won the 5-km race.

"There are a lot of Chinese girls doing the out-of-town and in-town events but few local guys. If Chinese guys do come along, it's usually because their girlfriends have introduced them."