Greek marathon flame coming to Danzhou in December

The marathon flame from the Greek town of Marathon, which was the site of the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, is arriving at Danzhou, Hainan province in December.

The Hainan city is set to kick off its China Danzhou International Marathon on Dec 22 and on Nov 9, Danzhou's organizing committee for the event sent a delegation to Marathon to collect the marathon torch.

The China Danzhou International Marathon has been held for nine consecutive years since its inception in 2009. The event has stood out in the hundreds of marathon events held every year in the country due to its innovative practices. It was awarded the silver label and gold label statuses for 2017 and 2018 by the Chinese Athletics Association for its exceptional fulfillment of the CAA label criteria. 

Last year, Dimitri Kyriakides, member of the Athens Marathon Organizing Committee and the son of Greek marathon legend Stylianos Kyriakides, came to Danzhou and spoke highly of the local marathon event.

He said that the event offered good service, as well as had special features and highlights, such as setting up running group awards and holding a special closing ceremony, which are popular among runners and worth learning from by other cities.

There are more than 200 cities in China that hold marathon events every year. However, so far, only a few cities, such as Shanghai and Xiamen, have held marathon torch relays and Danzhou is the first of its kind in China that came to Greece for the Marathon flame, according to Kyriakides.

The Greek town of Marathon held a special Marathon Flame Lighting Ceremony on Nov 9 and a torch relay for the Athens Marathon event, which opened on Nov 10. 

Getting the marathon flame and holding the torch relay in Danzhou are among the supporting activities of the 10th China Danzhou International Marathon, marking the international recognition of our event, said Qiu Bo, representative of the Danzhou delegation. 

According to Qiu, the mayor of Marathon will lead a delegation and several famous Greek runners to Danzhou to participate in the torch relay and marathon event on Dec 22.

Runners compete against each other at the 2018 China Danzhou International Marathon. [Photo/danma.cn]