At 8:00 am on October 3, 2018, the 2018 Mengzi International Marathon kicked off in Mengzi Wenlan Park. A total of 62 foreign athletes from 16 countries, 52 professional athletes from 16 domestic provinces, and athletes and enthusiasts from inside and outside the state participated in this marathon.



Pang Jun, member of the Standing Committee of the Honghe Prefecture Party Committee and secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, Jiang Wei, deputy secretary of the Mengzi Municipal Party Committee and mayor, Zhang Ruihua, member of the Standing Committee of the Mengzi Municipal Party Committee and director of the Propaganda Department of the Municipal Party Committee, and other leaders attended the opening ceremony and fired guns.


The marathon is the track and field event with the longest history and the longest distance. From the most primitive form of military communication to the first Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896 as a competition event, it has been sublimated from the carrier of sports.


On this day last year, Mengzi City successfully held the first International Marathon, and won the titles of Bronze Medal Event and Humanistic Characteristic Event issued by the Chinese Athletics Association, and received widespread attention and recognition at home and abroad. After more than half a year of intensive preparations for this year's marathon, the event organizing committee has created a stage for athletes from all over the world to surpass themselves and let their dreams fly with first-class service guarantee, first-class event organization, and first-class environment.


Mengzi's beautiful scenery, local customs and vitality are unmissable scenery in Mengzi. It is understood that this marathon has set up four events: full marathon, half marathon, mini marathon, and parent-child run. Unlike last year, where the start and end points were set at Honghe Cultural Square, this year's half marathon and full marathon start and end points are set at Wenlan Park, passing by Honghe Hani Yi Autonomous Prefecture Library, Honghe Hani Yi Autonomous Prefecture Government, Honghe Avenue and other landmark buildings. Visitors can experience the fun of running in a beautiful environment.


All Horse Medal

half marathon medal

Before the start of the race, many runners and spectators gathered on both sides of the track. Ms. Wang from the Kunming Wucheng Running Group likes running very much. Since she first came into contact with the marathon in 2016, she has been out of control. From the first 10 kilometers, slowly to the half marathon, and finally to challenge the full marathon, running is now a way for her to relax.



Ma Liangwu, a "Yunnan cattleman", also came to the scene of the 2018 Mengzi International Marathon. He said that after participating in so many marathons, his mentality is very calm, and the results don't matter, as long as the process is happy. In the end, Ma Liangwu ran the whole marathon in 2 hours and 50 minutes.



Ms. Li from a nearby village took her little granddaughter to watch the marathon early in the morning. "It's a pity that my three granddaughters didn't catch up with the registration this year. They must participate next year."


During the competition, the contestants carried forward the marathon spirit of "challenging themselves, surpassing the limit, perseverance, and never giving up", using hard work and sweat to deduce the infinite splendor of life, and the ethnic minorities kept drumming to cheer for the contestants .



After a morning of running, finally, Tao Zelang from China won the half-marathon men's domestic championship in 1:11:52; Chekol Worku Dires from Ethiopia won the half-marathon men's international championship in 1:06:35 Xia Yuyu from China won the half-marathon women's international and domestic championships in 1:19:26; Paul Kimani Wambui from Kenya won the men's international championship in 2:21:41. Su Guoxiong from China won the full marathon Horse men's domestic championship, time 2:24:42: Kimaiyo Nancy Chepnetich from Kenya won the full marathon women's international championship; Long Shengnan from China won the horse women's domestic championship, with a time of 3:11:55.




Mengzi is an ancient and young city, which has given birth to beautiful historical and cultural business cards such as "a century-old Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, a century-old port opening, and a century-old bridge rice noodle". It has been less than 8 years since Mengzi was withdrawn from the county and established as a city, but its location advantages have become increasingly obvious. It has become a charming city with modern transportation, beautiful ecological environment, livable, business and tourist, with a strong momentum of development. Mengzi used the name of the marathon to promote the three business cards to all parts of the country, so that more people can understand Mengzi and fall in love with Mengzi. In 2019, Mengzi will hold the third international marathon as scheduled.