Registration is set to open this week for the 2017 Wuxi International Marathon, the only full-length marathon held in Jiangsu province, which is scheduled to take place in the picturesque city of Wuxi on March 19, 2017.

Runners wishing to take part in the race will be able to sign up for a place between 10:00 on Dec 22 and 22:00 on Dec 25.

Those registering will need to select their preferred distance—full marathon, half marathon or mini marathon—and pay the registration fee. The price to sign up for the two longer events is 160 yuan ($23), while registering for the shorter distance costs just 80 yuan.

There will be space for a total of 30,000 runners in the 2017 event, with 18,000 places allocated for the full marathon, 7,000 for the half marathon and 5,000 for the mini marathon.

With the number of people registering for the event expected to surpass the amount of available spaces, Wuxi plans to hold a live online lottery at 10:00 on Jan 6, 2017, to decide who will receive a place on the starting line in March. The results of the lottery will be published on the marathon’s official website --wuximarathon.com-- after the draw is completed.

Some applicants will be given priority during the registration process, including those who have previously participated in the Wuxi International Marathon for three consecutive years, athletes rated as "elite marathon runners" by the Chinese Athletic Association, and the top ten finishers in the 2016 Little Swan Round Lihu Lake International Half Marathon.

Runners can also get a place in the race via the 200 newly-added charity entries. The charity registration fee is 1160 yuan, with all the money raised through these higher registration fees to be donated to a global non-governmental organization.

Anyone needing to cancel their bookings will be entitled to a partial refund if they do so at least two weeks before the race, according to a press release published by the organizers on Dec 19. Runners who cancel their bookings between Jan 6 and Feb 5 will be given an 80 percent refund of their registration fee, while those who cancel between Feb 5 and March 5 will receive a 50 percent refund.

The 2017 Wuxi International Marathon is set to retain many of the features of the previous editions of the popular race, including the beautiful racing route, which has been dubbed one of the most picturesque marathon circuits in the world.

The competition's gleaming pink vests and delicately designed finishers'medals have also returned for another year.

There will also be some big changes in 2017, as the organizers look to put more emphasis on the full marathon. The prizes for the top three finishers in the half marathon have been scrapped for 2017, and will be replaced by extra prizes for the top three Chinese finishers in the men's and women's full marathon, if they meet the required standards put forward by the Chinese Athletic Association.

The organizers have also allocated 3,000 extra places to the full marathon this year, and have removed the same number from the half marathon.

Another innovation for 2017 is a new timing system designed to crack down on runners illegally skipping to the front of the pack at the starting line. Sensors will be used to monitor the positions of the participants at the start of the race, and anyone who does not start in their assigned zone will be disqualified.