Since its inception in 2018, the Hengqin Marathon has gone through five years and has gradually become a well-known brand of marathon events in the Greater Bay Area, bringing together a total of 65,325 domestic and foreign participants to Hengqin in the process of creating a large-scale characteristic event integrating Hengqin and Macao.

In the past five years, the Hengqin Marathon has not only witnessed the rapid development of Guangdong-Macao integration, but also accompanied the take-off of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. In 2024, the Hengqin Marathon is about to usher in its sixth event, which will continue to attract runners from all over the world to participate in this meeting of mountains and seas. This year, the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin will also celebrate its third anniversary, symbolizing the in-depth integration between the two places in terms of economy, culture and sports.

Five-year review: mountain and sea track, growth and transformation

In 2018, the Hengqin Marathon made its debut, attracting 9,197 runners. The track is laid around Hengqin Island, integrating the magnificent mountain and sea scenery with the modern urban style, especially when the runners run through Hengqin Financial Island, they can enjoy the bay scenery and feel the urban style of Hengqin. The successful holding of the event is not only a major sports event in Hengqin, but also a new link of friendly exchanges between the two places.

The second Hengqin Marathon was held in 2019, with double the number of participants and attracting 11,627 runners. The track passes through the Macao Youth Entrepreneurship Valley and the Hengqin Campus of the University of Macau, reflecting Hengqin's welcome and support for Macao youth. At the same time, landmark buildings on both sides of the track, such as Legend Pandu Plaza, add a strong commercial atmosphere to the event, witnessing the increasingly prosperous economic ecology of Hengqin.

The epidemic in 2020 caused the large-scale events to be suspended, but the Hengqin Marathon was still held as scheduled with strict prevention and control measures. The scale of this event was reduced, but there were still 12,233 runners running the round-the-island track, which illustrated the tenacity and perseverance of runners in the Greater Bay Area. Despite the limited scale of the event, Hengqin still took this opportunity to demonstrate its perfect public health emergency response capabilities to the outside world.

In 2021, due to the uncertain epidemic situation, the event was suspended, but Hengqin continued to promote its own urban construction to provide better infrastructure for future events. During this period, the Hengqin Financial Island area has been further improved, and the infrastructure has become more mature, laying a solid foundation for the smooth conduct of future events.

2023 is a special year of two races a year, and the Hengqin Marathon ushered in an unprecedented 'double race': the 2022 event, which was postponed due to the epidemic, will be held on January 8, 2023, followed by the annual event again on December 31, becoming the final battle of Hengqin in 2023. The year-end event attracted 20,013 participants, passing by iconic attractions such as the Flower Sea Promenade and Mangzhou Wetland Park, adding a strong year-end atmosphere. The event also attracted 841 runners from Macao and 309 runners from Hong Kong, further highlighting the integrated development of Hengqin's twin cities.

The sixth outlook: go to the present and run to Hengqin

In 2024, the 6th Hengqin Marathon will start on December 29, with 20,000 runners 'running to the new Hengqin', which means that the next five-year journey of the Hengqin and Macao integration events is about to begin!

The highlight of this year's race will continue to be the classic round-the-island circuit, with key landmarks along the way, including the Hengqin Campus of the University of Macau and the Central Park of Hengqin Financial Island. Hengqin provides more convenience for Macao athletes to participate in the competition, sets up collection points in Macao, and provides shuttle bus services, so that more Macao residents can participate in this grand event.

In addition, the event has also received strong support from a number of sponsors, including Hengqin Life Insurance, E Fund, Mentholaton, Coca-Cola, Zhuhai Hengqin Chimelong Resort, Gezhige, Air Macau, Macau Beer, Novofang, Liri Construction Technology, Huahong Pharmaceutical, Macau, DoubleTree by Hilton Zhuhai Hengqin, goepartners and so on, so that runners can enjoy a safe and comfortable experience.

There are only 10 days left until the registration deadline for the 2024 Hengqin Marathon. On December 29th, let us gather in Hengqin to witness the glorious changes of this city in the past six years, and meet this beautiful mountain and sea again!