Islamabad, March 19 -- Marathon is driving up development of relevant sports industries as it further expands influence in China, said a report issued by the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA) in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian province on Mar. 11.
China held a total of 1,581 marathons and relevant sport events (road races of over 800 participants and cross-country races of over 300 participants) in 2018, creating a new record high, according to the report.
4.3 races were held on average each day, up 43.46 percent from a year before, and the total number of participants rose by 17.07 percent to 5.83 million.
The total consumption boosted by all running events hit 28.8 billion yuan ($4.29 billion), and that generated by marathon even...