Chinese flag in hand, visor or pink wig on the head, the participants took the start on Tiananmen Square, in a festive atmosphere.
Hundreds of curious people were present along the route to encourage them, under cloudy and slightly polluted weather.
It was the first major competition held in the Chinese capital since the Winter Olympics in February.
“I realized my dream today,” Gao Lixiang, who started running during the epidemic, told AFP.
“I’ve been running for about a year now. I haven’t stopped preparing for this first marathon,” explains the 31-year-old in a t-shirt, cap screwed on his head.
“I am very excited because many other marathons have been canceled” because of the pandemic, exclaims another participant, Niu Yaru, a 34-year-old Beijinger in a black tank top.
Three years after the discovery of Covid-19 in Wuhan (center), the authorities nevertheless remain anxious to avoid any spread of the virus.
Only athletes residing in Beijing were able to take part in the start, unlike previous editions which attracted many foreign participants.
Originally from Xinjiang (north-west), Anubaike Kuwan won in 2 hours, 14 minutes and 34 seconds on arrival at the Olympic Park.
The last edition of the Beijing Marathon dates back to 2019.
– Shanghai in sight –
Last year, the event should have already made its return but it had been canceled three months before the Beijing Olympics, to avoid any outbreak of coronavirus.
China is pursuing a strict health policy against Covid, with very regular screenings for the population, compulsory quarantines for people who test positive or even confinements as soon as cases appear.
The Asian country has also greatly reduced international connections since 2020, to limit the entry of travelers potentially vectors of the virus.
This situation disrupts the ambitions of China which, from the Olympic Games to F1 via the world basketball or athletics championships, has established itself for two decades as a major host of world sport.
Despite an inflexible “zero Covid” policy, the country has recorded the highest number of positive cases in recent days since May – but much lower than the rest of the world.
More than 4,000 additional cases were recorded Sunday across the country, including 49 in Beijing.
Several marathons scheduled for this month are currently being maintained, including that of Shanghai on November 27. It will be the city’s first major sporting event since its two-month lockdown in the spring.
