The 10,000 runners that braved the chill Sunday morning air on Nov 20 discovered firsthand why the Lihu Lake Half Marathon is considered one of China's most beautiful races.

Fortunately, the forecasted rain shower held off, but Wuxi's historic views of Turtle Head Isle and Baojie Bridge came with a spectacular backdrop of mist.

Marathon runners set off near Wuxi New Sports Center. [Photo/wxrb.com]

The popularity of running in China is exploding, as evidenced by the hubbub outside the Wuxi New Sports Center at 7:30, when a hail of fireworks signaled the start of the race and sent a seemingly endless sea of runners surging toward the start line.

The excitable crowd cast off the morning gloom by tracing a route through the beautiful Lihu Park, past Wuxi Grand Theatre, Changguangxi Wetland Park and Jiangnan University.

A healthy dose of international Wuxi residents also participated with over 200 runners from more than 20 countries taking to the lakeside course.

Kenyan runners claim all three spots on the podium. [Photo/wxrb.com]

Kenya performed a clean sweep of the podium in the men's competition with Ngetich Steve Raswey pulling away in the final five 5km to win the race with a time 1:06:18. John Mugi Muthokia and Peter Chege Macharia took second and third respectively.

After the race, Ngetich expressed his joy at standing on the podium and the feeling that his endeavors of the past four months had paid off.