At 7:00 a.m. on March 23, the 2024 Hengqin Life Hengqin Marathon (hereinafter referred to as the 'Hengqin Marathon') started in the Central Park of Hengqin Financial Island. The event attracted nearly 20,000 runners from 12 countries and regions to gather in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone (hereinafter referred to as the 'Cooperation Zone') in Hengqin to measure this hot land of vitality and opportunities.

This year's competition has been certified by the Chinese Athletics Association as an A1 event, hosted by the Executive Committee of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, undertaken by Zhuhai Huafa Group Co., Ltd. and Nam Kwong (Group) Co., Ltd., operated by Zhuhai Huafa Sports Operation Management Co., Ltd. and Nam Kwong Cultural and Creative Industry Co., Ltd., and supported by the Macau Athletics Association.

There are three categories in the race: marathon (42.195 km), half marathon (21.0975 km) and fun run (about 6 km).

Fu Yongge, Deputy Director of the Executive Committee of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Li Chong, Deputy Director of the Executive Committee of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Su Kun, Deputy Director of the Executive Committee of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Jiang Weiliang, Director and General Manager of Nam Kwong (Holdings) Co., Ltd., Wong Yuk-kit, Director of the Livelihood Affairs Bureau of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Zou Guowei, Director of the Sports Development Department of the Sports Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, Yuan Xiong, Deputy Director of the Zhuhai Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports, Chan Bu Sin, President of the General Association of Athletics of Macau, Guo Guiqin, Vice Chairman of Zhuhai Huafa Urban Operation Investment Holding Co., Ltd., and Qian Zhonghua, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Hengqin Life Insurance Co., Ltd., attended the starting ceremony and jointly fired the order for the event, officially opening the curtain of the race.

After fierce competition, in the marathon group, Liang Wenxue from Guangzhou won the marathon men's championship with a time of 02:23:49, and Liu Chao from Zaozhuang won the runner-up of the marathon men's group with a time of 02:27:57; Geng Kebiao from Bijie won the third place in the men's marathon with a time of 02:31:08.

Wei Chunhua from Guangzhou won the women's marathon championship with a time of 02:45:49; Zhang Huiping from Qingyuan won the runner-up in the women's marathon group with a time of 02:59:11; Wang Dongmei from Zhuhai won the third place in the women's marathon with a time of 03:01:16.

IN THE HALF MARATHON GROUP, NGENO PETER FROM KENYA WON THE MEN'S HALF MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A TIME OF 01:07:10; Wan Lei from Guangzhou won the second place in the men's half marathon with a time of 01:09:51; Yang Liang from Shenzhen won the third place in the men's half marathon with a time of 01:10:26.

He Fang from Jiangmen won the women's half marathon championship with a time of 01:16:30; Li Sulan from Shenzhen won the second place in the women's half marathon with a time of 01:23:41; Fu Bangxin from Zhuhai won the third place in the women's half marathon with a time of 01:28:44.

The event set up a stage, and multi-dimensional innovation promoted the integration of Hengqin and Macao

As a new platform to promote the moderate diversification of Macao's economy, a new space to facilitate the life and employment of Macao residents, a new demonstration to enrich the practice of 'one country, two systems', and a new highland to promote the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Co-operation Zone is strengthening exchanges and cooperation with Macao in various fields of people's livelihood through sports events and other forms. The Hengqin Marathon has gradually become an important bridge for the residents of Hengqin and Macao to enhance understanding and deepen friendship, witnessing the solid progress of the two places working together and integrating development.

The Hengqin Marathon takes sports events as the carrier, and through multi-dimensional innovations such as cultural symbols, organizational structure, and service system, it will build a sports event platform for the coordinated development of Hengqin and Macao, further enhance the sense of participation and belonging of Macao runners in the event, and promote the in-depth cultural integration of Hengqin and Macao.

The medal design of this year's competition is unique and deeply integrates the characteristic elements of Hengqin and Macao. At the same time, the back of the medal is engraved with the landmark buildings of Hengqin and Macao, transforming the geographical connection between the two places into a symbol of cultural symbiosis, vividly interpreting the profound connotation of 'the unity of Hengqin and Macao', and further strengthening the collective identity of the two places.

The uniforms are based on the background color of the Macao SAR regional flag, and form a visual resonance through the collective display of 10,000 runners, symbolizing the cultural background of Hengqin and Macao.

In addition, the event also developed 8 types of badges, bracelets, notebooks, towels and other event derivatives that integrate landmarks from the two places, which have become a vivid testimony of the treasured objects in the eyes of competitors and event enthusiasts, and the in-depth integration of Hengqin and Macao.

This year's competition attracted the participation of local enterprises such as Air Macau, Macau Beer, and Bakery on the Fifth Day of October. In the carnival set up after the competition, Hengqin and Macao's special delicacies such as Portuguese tarts and pork chop buns gathered at the bazaar, which not only provided a taste bud enjoyment for the participants and spectators, but also a microcosm of Hengqin and Macao's food culture.

More than 900 Macao runners participated in this year's event, and they ran on the track together with mainland runners, becoming a vivid portrayal of the integration of Hengqin and Macao. In order to allow runners to easily enjoy the efficiency and convenience of the 'same city' participation in Hengqin and Macao, the Nam Kwong Building Property Exhibition Hall in Macao has set up a special area for Macao runners, and the Macao shuttle bus service helps runners to go directly to the venue of the cooperation zone in 1 minute.

Running around the island, encountering the cooperation zone is like a golden spring rhyme

Hengqin in March, golden yellow flower wind chimes, romantic palace pink bauhinia, enthusiastic isokapok...... The entire cooperation zone has long been soaked in spring light. In this early morning when the sea breeze resonates with the fragrance of flowers, the lively spring scenery and the runners who are ready to go meet unexpectedly, the Hengqin Marathon is just in time.

At 7 o'clock in the morning, '3, 2, 1 ......' was accompanied by the sound of gunshots, and the crowd cheered and ran out of the starting line, rushing to this marathon journey with the same frequency as the spring light and embracing the mountains and seas!

Starting from the Central Park of Hengqin Financial Island, the 42.195-kilometer marathon course weaves the coastal romance, urban humanities and natural ecology of the cooperation zone into a characteristic picture scroll of 'mountain-sea-city' integration, and becomes a mobile corridor for runners to experience the charm of the integration of Hengqin and Macao and enjoy the scenery of the mountain, sea and island city.

In the first half of the route, the runners shuttled through the city blocks lined with high-rise buildings, passing through the multi-fashionable Hengqin Huafa Mall, the Hengqin Port, which witnessed the convenient travel between Hengqin and Macao, the Legendale Pandu Plaza full of Portuguese charm, the Hengqin-Macao Youth Entrepreneurship Valley, which helped the dreams of youth, the Hengqin Campus of the University of Macau, which represents the educational cooperation and innovation between Guangdong and Macao, and the Hengqin International Tennis Center, which bloomed with the vitality of Hengqin and Macao...... Enjoy the urban grandeur of Hengqin and Macao along the way.

In the second half of the route, you will step into the natural picture, the Tianmu River is sparkling, and the flowers on the riverside are contrasting with the Tianmu Qintai and Hengqin Culture and Art Center, and the cultural atmosphere is strong. Erjing Bay and Mangzhou Wetland Park are verdant, and the flowers of the flower promenade stretching for miles are blooming under the warm spring sun...... In the end, the contestants crossed the line in the Central Park of Hengqin Financial Island, successfully completing this beautiful encounter with the spring of the cooperation zone.

Empower public welfare, meet and protect the home of white dolphins

Hengqin Marathon, as a shining sports business card of the cooperation zone, is not only a feast of sports competition, but also a public welfare platform to convey love and responsibility.

A total of 400 public welfare and charity places will be open for marathon, half marathon and happy run, and the registration fee will be donated in full to the relevant charity projects supported by charitable organizations in the cooperation zone.

The Hengqin Marathon continued to walk side by side with the Guangdong Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve Administration and Huafa Public Welfare Foundation for the sixth year, and continued to inject strong impetus into the cause of environmental protection. This year's event invited 200 people who are enthusiastic about public welfare to participate in the fun run, and formed a vibrant dolphin running group, and the registration fee was fully invested in the promotion of white dolphin conservation.

Meticulous preparation to consolidate the guarantee of the event in an all-round way

As an A1 event of the Chinese Athletics Association, the 2024 Hengqin Life Hengqin Marathon is prepared with high standards and high quality principles in all aspects of event organization, management and service, creating a safe, comfortable and high-quality sports event for runners.

Before the competition, appointed by the Chinese Athletics Association, Mr. Yuan Lin, an international C-level measurer, led the team to conduct a detailed and accurate measurement of the competition route.

In order to improve the smooth experience of the runners of different events assembling and starting at the starting point of the race day, the starting mechanism of this race was specially optimized, and the three-gun starting method was adopted for the first time. With the close cooperation of the referees and volunteers, the three shots were fired on time to help the players play better.

In terms of player services, 7 ferry lines were opened before the competition, covering Macao, the Cooperation Zone and Zhuhai, so that the players could arrive at the venue smoothly. 19 supply stations were carefully set up along the track, and a total of 90,000 bottles of drinking water, 30,000 bottles of sports drinks, 23,000 bags of salt pills, 23,000 energy gels, 13,000 kilograms of bananas, 4,000 kilograms of sugar oranges, and 3,500 kilograms of cherry tomatoes were prepared......

Safety and security are the top priority in the preparation of the event. A total of 1,300 security personnel were invested in the event, and public security, traffic police, volunteers and other personnel worked together to protect the order of the venue in an all-round way. 167 professional referees, 2,100 volunteers and 55 official pacemakers perform their duties in various positions of the event, providing a full range of services from starting the starting point and guiding the track to finishing the race and stretching after the race.

Medical protection is even more rigorous and comprehensive. A total of 240 medical staff, 495 medical volunteers, 46 ambulance teams, and 26 physician runners were on standby, with 28 medical stations along the track and 3 hospitals ready to receive and treat the wounded. 30 ambulances and 80 AEDs (cardiac defibrillators) were distributed along the course, and 85 sports injury rehabilitation personnel were deployed in the post-race stretching area to escort the runners to the safe finish of the race.

In response to the hot weather, 5 spray points, 14 fog cannon trucks, and 7 sponge ice cube cooling stations were set up along the track, with a total of 27,000 cooling sponges and 5.5 tons of ice cubes to ensure that the runners cooled down along the way.

The Hengqin Marathon, a sports event spanning six years, has created a strong sports atmosphere for the upcoming 15th National Games with the vitality of 10,000 people running. As a vivid practice of the integrated development of Hengqin and Macao, when the passion of the marathon resonates with the development of the city, Hengqin is opening up a new pattern of development with the 'sports +' model.

Recently, the mobilization and deployment meeting of the Tennis Competition Committee of the 15th National Games and the 12th National Games for the Disabled and the 9th Special Olympics was successfully held in the cooperation zone.

Standing at the countdown node of the 15th National Games, the Co-operation Zone is continuing to run in the 'marathon spirit', not only to be a good 'service provider' for major events, but also to become an 'innovator' of sports integration and a 'demonstrator' of regional synergy, so as to promote the integration of Hengqin and Macao to a new height, and write more wonderful stories for the sports development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.