Marathon runners pause for a photo at the Huangyaguan Great Wall, Jizhou district, Tianjin, on Saturday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Nearly 3,000 marathon runners from over 20 countries and regions participated in the 21st China-Tianjin Huangyaguan Great Wall International Marathon Tourism Event in Jizhou district, Tianjin on Saturday.

Since its inception in 1999, the event has steadily expanded its international influence.

It has become an important event recognized by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races. The International Association of Athletics Federations confirmed it as an international standard mountain trail marathon route.

It is among the first batch of recommended boutique sports tourism projects in China and serves as a significant tourism and cultural brand for Jizhou and Tianjin in external exchanges.

The international marathon tourism event featured a full marathon (42.195 kilometers), a half marathon (21.0975 km), and a mini marathon (8.5 km).

Participants experienced the excitement and intensity of the competition and enjoyed Jizhou's ancient city walls and rural scenery.

After intense competition, Mark Dickson from the United Kingdom claimed the full marathon title with an outstanding time of 3 hours 43 minutes and 32 seconds. Roman Diez Gea from Spain and Hugo Zanoni Bastos De Siqueira from Brazil secured the first positions in the half marathon and mini marathon, respectively.