This year, Suzhou held a total of 12 marathons, covering all of its 10 county-level cities (districts) for the first time. Statistics show that these major sports events led to about 800 million yuan of direct consumption and about 2 billion yuan of income in related industries.
On Mar. 3, the 2024 Suzhou Taihu Lake Blue Queen’s Classic held at the Wuzhong Taihu Lake Tourist Resort. On Mar. 10, the Suzhou Jinji Lake Half Marathon kicked off in the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), attracting a total of 30,000 running enthusiasts, and it featured a running route around the Jinji Lake, which offered the runners a good opportunity to appreciate the picturesque scenery of SIP on the occasion of celebrating the 30th anniversary of its establishment. On Apr. 6, the East Taihu Half Marathon debuted in the East Taihu Lake Tourism Resort of Wujiang District… On Nov. 17, the 2024 Suzhou No. 1 Road Around Taihu Lake Marathon was held in Wuzhong District and the 2024 Taicang Sino-German Half Marathon in the Suzhou-administered county-level city of Taicang. And on Dec. 8, a total of 16,000 runners attended the 2024 Cross-Strait (Kunshan) Marathon, which was the last one of the 12 marathons held in Suzhou this year.
After its successful first session in 2023, the Suzhou Marathon, known as the city marathon of Suzhou, attracted great attention from runners who scrambled for a ticket to the race. This year’s event featured a running route which passed a number of landmarks in Suzhou Industrial Park, Gusu District, and Suzhou New District, offering the participants a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the city’s picturesque urban scenery.
The marathons held in Suzhou are high-standard sports events, which have received wide recognition. The Jinji Lake Half Marathon has been designated as a gold label race of the China Athletics Association (CAA) consecutively since 2016, and it was named as a label road race of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) in 2021. The 2024 Suzhou Taihu Marathon was once again certified as an A1 marathon event by the CAA.
