More than 25,000 reported runners participated in the Beijing Marathon under heavy air pollution Sunday, battling the smog with face masks.
“On a normal day, nobody would run in such conditions,” participant Liu Zhenyu told The Associated Press. “But the event is happening today, so what can we do?”
The Beijing air quality was “hazardous” Sunday morning, according to the U.S. Embassy’s air quality guide.
“It felt pretty ridiculous given we’re meant to be running for health and fitness,” British runner Chas Pope, who dropped out mid-race, told Agence France-Presse.
Ethiopia’s Girmay Birhanu Gebru won in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 42 seconds (3:26 slower than last year’s course record winning time). Fatuma Sado Dergo, also Ethiopian, won the women’s race in 2:30:03 (1:16 faster than last year’s winner).
The air pollution conjured memories of concerns leading into the 2008 Beijing Olympic marathons.
Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, then the world record holder over 26.2 miles, opted not to enter the Beijing Olympic marathon due to air pollution, though he later regretted the decision as the air was cleaner than he thought it would be.
Images of Sunday’s race, via Getty Images and the AP:
Runners take part in the 34th Beijing International Marathon which began at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on October 19, 2014, with many of the tens of thousands of participants wearing face masks, as the 42-kilometer course ended at the Olympic Park. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
Runners take part in the 34th Beijing International Marathon which began at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on October 19, 2014, with many of the tens of thousands of participants wearing face masks, as the 42-kilometer course ended at the Olympic Park. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
Runners take part in the 34th Beijing International Marathon which began at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on October 19, 2014, with many of the tens of thousands of participants wearing face masks, as the 42-kilometer course ended at the Olympic Park. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
A runner wears a mask as he takes part in the 34th Beijing International Marathon which began at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on October 19, 2014, with many of the tens of thousands of participants wearing face masks, as the 42-kilometer course ended at the Olympic Park. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
A runner wears a mask as he takes part in the 34th Beijing International Marathon which began at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on October 19, 2014, with many of the tens of thousands of participants wearing face masks, as the 42-kilometer course ended at the Olympic Park. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
A runner wears a mask as he takes part in the 34th Beijing International Marathon which began at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on October 19, 2014, with many of the tens of thousands of participants wearing face masks, as the 42-kilometer course ended at the Olympic Park. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
Ethiopia’s Girmay Birhanu Gebru wins the 34th Beijing International Marathon in a time of two hours, 10 minutes and 42 seconds in Beijing on October 19, 2014, as many top long-distance athletes stayed away from the race, while many of the tens of thousands of participants don face masks. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
Chinese newspaper front pages Monday:
