Danger looms at the marathon start line

Athletes assemble prior to the off on Oct 25, 2015. [Zhu Lixin / China Daily]

On July 19, an athlete died after running 18-km of a half-marathon during the Zhangjiakou–Kangbao Grassland International Marathon in Hebei province.

On December 13, retired serviceman Fang Yong suffered a cardiac arrest and died while competing in the Zhuhai Half-Marathon in Guangdong province.

While organizers forbid runners with heart, hypertension, blood sugar, cerebrovascular disease or myocarditis problems from entering, it is hard for them to check. Although participants are required to be below 65, media often features elderly entrants, some in their 80s, running full or half-marathons.

Some blame the lure of cash for organizers not carefully checking the qualification of every runner. With a 120 yuan ($18.9) entry fee being paid by each applicant for a full marathon and 80 yuan for a half-marathon, there is big money to be made. There were more than 20,000 athletes taking part last weekend plus further cash injection from event sponsor - the Huishang Bank.

The event's organizing committee required that all entrants should undergo a medical examination at a hospital and self-assess their physical condition before applying for the race. But do athletes seriously follow this rule to fully understand his or her physical fitness?

Can they maintain a regular exercise regime to reach peak fitness for such an event? Are there some who, seeing colleagues or friends participating, follow suit while disregarding their own condition? There are also special tactics to be employed for the race. Competitors must know the dangers that exist, even though there is life insurance in force.

A professional marathon coach from Shenyang, Liaoning province, who led a team for the Hefei event said: "Sudden death often strikes amateurs, as professional athletes take protective measures before running. A professional must run for at least 200 kilometers each month for a full marathon and at least 100 kilometers for half-marathon. More exercise is the key.

"You must pay attention to your own pulse or heart rate during the event, and reduce your speed if anything abnormal occurs. You must stop when you feel any chest tightness, palpitation, dizzy spells or feel cold sweat".