The 2018 Beverly Wuxi Marathon kicks off in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on March 25. [Photo provided by Wuxi Commonweal Photography Team]

Compared with the 2017 Wuxi Marathon that saw participants braving heavy mid-morning shower to complete their race, the 2018 edition brushed aside a morning mist with bright skies, a gentle breeze, and a moderate temperature of 20 degrees centigrade – things could not have been better for the runners.

At the 7:30 starting signal professional and amateur runners, 20,000 running the full marathon (42.2 km), 7,000 taking part in the half-marathon (21.1 km), and 3,000 braving the mini marathon (5 km), filed off from the Wuxi New Stadium.

The picturesque sites, such as the Turtle Head Isle Scenic Spot, Jiangnan University, Changguangxi Wetland Park, and Lihu Park, offered runners the city's most well-known early spring views during their first half of the full journey.

The latter half, zigzagging through the Taihu New City – a "virgin land" that for the first time had opened to the runners -- offered runners Wuxi's other side, revealing that its economic and political civilization have been robust and integrated with the city's past, present, and future.

After a fiercely competitive race, Birhanu Bekele Berga from Ethiopia won the men's full marathon with a record-setting time of 2 hours 12 minutes and 50 seconds, 23 seconds faster than last year's best time. In the women's race, Kipruto from Kenya claimed first place with a time of 2 hours 33 minutes and 28 seconds.

Li Zicheng, a former national team marathon runner, was the first Chinese to pass the finishing line. He topped eighth on the final ranking list, and retook the championship title of the Chinese men's Wuxi Marathon after three years.

In addition to the almost-annual record-breaking, various other aspects also prove that Wuxi Marathon's keep improving, such as increasingly considerate arrangements and services, the intelligent track introduction system, the sufficient supplies for runners finishing the race, and most importantly, joining the "Run China" group organized by the Chinese Athletics Association and being nationally live streamed on CCTV5. The broadcast is a supreme honor and recognition gained after the Wuxi Marathon was included as a member of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) last year.