Running brings us positive rewards such as perseverance, self-discipline, tenacity, fraternity, and delight. Additionally, this sport constantly promotes positive values that not only bear on individuals’ physical and mental well-being but also resonate with the social and natural environment we inhabit. How can we balance the impacts of our activities on the economy, society, and environment to meet the needs of the current generation without compromising those of future generations? The answer to this question lies in sustainable development.
In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), calling on all countries to work together to achieve these goals in the next 15 years. The 2030 Agenda is not only an action plan for the benefit of humanity and the planet, but also a blueprint for forging a future of greater peace, prosperity, equity, and freedom.
In response to this initiative, World Athletics, which has significant global reach and social impact, officially announced its Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030 in April 2020. One of its goals is to integrate sustainability into all its athletics events and incorporate sustainability into the scoring criteria for its label events. It hopes to use the power of sports to deliver tangible benefits across the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic.
As a bay city in East China’s Fujian province, Xiamen is rich in marine resources and highly sensitive to climate change. The city began its sustainability journey more than thirty years ago with the comprehensive treatment of Yundang Lake. To help revitalize the lake, President Xi Jinping, who then served as executive vice mayor of Xiamen, proposed a visionary 20-character policy in Chinese, which emphasizes “law-based lake management, halting the discharge of untreated sewage, dredging the lake and building embankments, revitalizing the water, and beautifying the environment.”Under the guidance of the 20-character policy, the once “stinky lake” has been transformed into the city’s urban living room. Today, the governance and development of Yuandang Lake are still ongoing.
Relying on this experience, Xiamen has successively launched comprehensive treatment of Wuyuan Bay, Xinglin Bay, and Maluan Bay. With these region-wide ecological restoration efforts, the coastal city aims to develop a bay-oriented city through a holistic approach. The “Xiamen Practice” has also provided vivid Chinese solutions and Chinese wisdom for bay cities around the world to address challenges and achieve sustainability.
Since its inception in Siming District of Xiamen in 2003, the Xiamen Marathon, which is now a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label race, has consciously integrated green and sustainable practice into its operations. Over the past 21 years, from 2003 to 2024, it has evolved from a sporting event into a pioneer of sustainable development. From the “Green Run In Action” to the “Sports + Public Welfare” model, the Xiamen Marathon has been proactively promoting sustainability initiatives, driving the evolution of the event through value-driven practices rooted in diversity and compassion.
Photo by Wang Hou Yan
Every small step counts: How Xiamen Marathon’s green footprints shaped a sustainability legacy
2003
In March, the inaugural Xiamen Marathon kicked off. The event’s mascot “Xinxin” was inspired by the Chinese white dolphin, a protected species native to Xiamen. The seeds of eco-consciousness began to take root in the marathon’s operational DNA.
It was in 2003 that the Xiamen Marathon spearheaded the installation of the first batch of 20 public water dispensers in Xiamen, reducing the consumption of disposable plastic water bottles while ensuring premium drinking water accessibility for both runners and spectators.
2005
On March 25, 99 “Never Stop” marathon sculptures were officially unveiled on Huandao Road in Xiamen. This was the world’s first marathon-themed sculpture group that has closely integrated the marathon spirit with the urban development of Xiamen.
The year 2005 witnessed the opening of the first China International Marathon Forum in Xiamen. Themed “Humanistic Care, Healthy Marathon, and Urban Development”, the Forum crystallized Xiamen Marathon’s early vision for sustainable event ecosystems.
2007
The Xiamen Marathon volunteer service team witnessed a historic moment as Taiwanese compatriots participated in it for the first time. Thirty-two students from the then National Kinmen Institute of Technology (now known as National Quemoy University) voluntarily joined the team. Concurrently, the Xiamen Federation of Taiwan Compatriots mobilized 56 young Taiwanese compatriots to engage in the volunteer service work.
2008
The Xiamen Marathon Organizing Committee, in collaboration with the Xiamen City Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Green Breath Association of Xiamen University and other units, organized volunteers to promote smoking cessation knowledge at the event venue, aiming to create a “smoke-free marathon” and foster a healthy environment for athletes and spectators.
Photo by Wang Jing
2009
The world’s first International Forum of Mayors of Marathon Host Cities was held in Xiamen in 2019. Mayors of 26 cities that have hosted marathons and representatives of the event organizing committees gathered in Xiamen, conducting in-depth discussions on the value of city marathons from multiple perspectives. This Forum comprehensively interpreted the multi-dimensional role of marathons in urban development, significantly enhancing people’s understanding of marathons.
2010
The Xiamen Marathon Organizing Committee established the “Xiamen Marathon Red Cross Charity Fund” at the Xiamen Red Cross Foundation to support event-related relief efforts and public welfare initiatives.
2011
The Xiamen Marathon introduced its first-ever wheelchair half-marathon event, opening participation to runners with disabilities. This greatly boosting their confidence and enthusiasm for sports events.
2014
On January 2, the Xiamen Marathon set up a “public welfare section” at the competition venue, becoming China’s first marathon event starting with a public welfare theme. At the same time, the organizing committee joined hands with C&D Group to launch the “Green Run In Action”. With the slogan “Leave Only Beauty, Leave No Trace”, the charity event organized green-minded families to collect race course waste and promote environmental protection concepts, aiming to create China’s first “zero-waste” marathon event. By 2025, the activity had completed 12 successful sessions, attracting more than 3,800 families and approximately 10,200 eco-conscious participants.
2015
Joining hands with the “Million Forest Project” of the China Green Foundation, the Xiamen Marathon organized green-minded families to plant sand-fixing vegetation at the Tengger Desert Ecological Public Welfare Base in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia, donating the first batch of 20,000 sand-fixing saplings. To date, these families have planted over 240,000 desertification-control plants across 5,000+ mu (333+ hectares) in Alxa, accounting for nearly 10% of the total number of sand-fixing vegetation in the ecological base.
2016
The Xiamen Marathon and the “Smoke-Free Xiamen” public welfare team of the Youth Volunteer Association of the School of Economics of Xiamen University jointly launched the “Smoke-Free Xiamen Marathon” campaign. Focusing on tobacco abstinence, athletic empowerment, environmental stewardship, and healthy living, this campaign disseminated smoke-free concepts and popularized the health hazards related to tobacco.
In mid-September 2016, the Xiamen Marathon Organizing Committee, in association with the Youth and Children’s Palace of Siming District in Xiamen, held a “Green Run In Action” Children’s Art Competition for the 15th edition event. The competition received nearly 300 works from 42 primary schools across Siming District. Participating in the Xiamen Marathon through art allows children to cultivate their awareness of environmental protection.
2017
In cooperation with Luhai Pro-Environment, an integrated waste management company located in Xiamen, the Xiamen Marathon had implemented a closed-loop waste management program for two consecutive years. All waste from racecourse aid stations were sorted and packed before being transported to Luhai’s recycling factory. Through reprocessing, R-PET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) plastics and regenerated paper pulp were generated and resource recycling and reuse achieved.
2018
In August 2018, the Xiamen Marathon became the world’s first marathon event to join the United Nations Environment Programme Clean Seas Initiative. It replaced nearly 1 million single-use plastic cups with biodegradable alternatives, setting a new benchmark for sustainable event management in mass participation sports.
The event launched the Xiamen Marathon Versus Plastic Reduction campaign, calling on runners to embrace environmental initiatives such as “bringing reusable cups for running” and “refusing single-use products” in their daily lives. Through various measures, it integrated eco-friendly practices into its every detail.
In the same year, the Xiamen Marathon cooperated with the Fujian Dandangzhe Foundation, a Xiamen-based nonprofit organization, to officially launch the “Xiamen Marathon Love Reading Corner” program. To date, it has donated and built 175 reading corners for 25 rural primary schools. Additionally, the program organized volunteers to deliver various edutainment courses for children in rural primary schools, making it one of the important initiatives in Xiamen Marathon’s red-themed public welfare system.
2019
In October 2019, the Xiamen Marathon launched an charity crowdfunding campaign for AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators). The funds raised were used to purchase AED devices and then deploy them at high-traffic locations such as sports centers and ferry terminals.
On November 18, 2019, the Annual Awards Ceremony of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) was held in Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the marathon. The Xiamen Marathon won the 2019 AIMS Green Award, becoming the first marathon event in Asia to receive this honor.
2020
The Xiamen Marathon initiated the Women’s Debut Marathon Program in 2020, allocating 500 female-only slots via lottery to half-marathon finishers. The program aims to encourage more female runners to participate in the marathon sport and advocate for women’s wellness.
On January 5, the Office of Civic Enhancement of the CPC Xiamen Municipal Committee, in collaboration with the Xiamen Marathon Organizing Committee Office, announced the launch of a Green Travel Initiative on the race day. By strictly controlling the issuance of event vehicle passes and issuing a public call to prioritize eco-friendly transportation, the initiative advocated for green travel, calling on citizens, runners, and staff to use public transportation such as shuttle buses and subways. Subsequently, the annual Xiamen Marathon race day has officially designated as Xiamen Marathon Green Travel Day.
The Xiamen Marathon also introduced its first-ever Plastic Bank at the Green Run finish line where runners and spectators could exchange collected plastic waste for saplings to plant in the Xiamen Marathon Love Forest.
From June 5 to 8, the Xiamen Marathon held the “One Hour for Blue” online run as part of the theme activities for the United Nations Environment Programme’s 2020 World Environment Day. The online event drew participation from 620 running teams nationwide, collectively logging approximately 349,382 kilometers in distance. This effort resulted in a cumulative plastic waste reduction of roughly 1,700 kilograms.
On September 20, the Xiamen Marathon cooperated with the “Yellow Bracelet Action” charity program of the China Population Welfare Foundation to launch the first Light Up Your Memory campaign, a public welfare series dedicated to the elderly. Through distributing yellow bracelets, providing free medical checkups, and hosting literary workshops, the program called on the whole society to care about the physical and mental health of senior citizens.
On December 31, the Xiamen Marathon Organizing Committee established the Xiamen Marathon Public Welfare Foundation, the first public welfare foundation independently founded by a marathon event in China. This institution aims to systemize, institutionalize, and standardize the three-color charity programs, transforming the operation and management of Xiamen Marathon’s charity projects into a platform-based professional model.
2021
From November 20 to 21, the Xiamen Marathon simultaneously carried out its inaugural national coastal cleanup campaign themed “Plastic Reduction without Sacrificing Speed” across seven coastal cities in China. To date, this ongoing initiative has recruited more than 1,000 volunteers from approximately 70 teams in nearly 30 coastal cities across the country. They have cleaned 74.33 kilometers of coastline and collected 30,265 pieces of beach garbage totaling1,800.35 kilograms.
2022
The Xiamen Marathon pioneered a new “Sports+Carbon Neutrality” mechanism in the sporting event industry, an innovative framework that has been sustained since its inception.
The Xiamen Marathon collaborated with UN Women to jointly launch the “Run for an Equal Generation” charity race. This activity empowered women’s athletic participation as a vehicle to promote values of fairness, respect, diversity, and inclusion. It helped to advance women’s causes and their all-around development. The registration fees were all used for the Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment Program supported by UN Women in China, enabling rural women to play a greater role in rural revitalization.
In August, the Xiamen Marathon Public Welfare Foundation donated AED devices to the Xiamen Marathon Love Stations and carried out emergency response training to educate citizens and runners on life-saving techniques. The first phase of the “Xiamen Marathon Love Stations” saw the completion of four stations where one can get drinking water, have a rest, use the checking service, conduct the rehabilitation training, or do some sports.
2023
On March 10, the first “Xiamen Marathon Children’s Science Innovation Center” created by the Xiamen Marathon’s red charity program was unveiled at Wuxian Central Primary School in Tong’an District, Xiamen. The center offers a variety of STEM courses designed to spark children’s intellectual curiosity and create a vibrant scientific innovation ecosystem for young learners.
On March 31, the Xiamen Marathon was awarded the “World Athletics Special Contribution Award” in recognition of its steadfast commitment to professional, inclusive, and diversified event management. This honor acknowledges the marathon’s proactive role in advancing the healthy development of global marathon events while fulfilling the social responsibilities of an international event.
Before the race, the Xiamen Marathon joined hands with Ant Forest, a public welfare project, to launch the Green Xiamen Marathon: Zero-Carbon Plan. This initiative urges the public to embrace low-carbon lifestyles, contributing to the carbon neutrality goals of the Xiamen Marathon, and promoting green living. The activity garnered 5.09 million online participants, achieving a carbon offset of more than 5,449 tons in that year.
The Xiamen Marathon cooperated with the Third Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Budong Lab to hold four academic research tours on marine ecological protection during the summer vacation. Through fun games, these activities passed on environmental literacy to children, cultivating them into little masters of marine environmental protection.
The Xiamen Marathon launched the first “Marathon Good Life Festival”, propelling Xiamen’s inclusion in the China Good Life City list.
2024
On January 5, the Xiamen Marathon Organizing Committee, in cooperation with World Athletics and the Chinese Athletics Association, hosted the 2024 Road Races Sustainable Development Forum. As the world’s first ever event dedicated to sustainability organized by a World Athletics Label Race, the forum also released China’s first sustainability plan for road races.
The Xiamen Marathon Public Welfare Foundation and the Little Snail Family Support Center for People with Physical and Mental Disabilities in Huli District, Xiamen jointly launched the Hand in Hand with Love: Journeying with Little Snail campaign. This initiative called on all sectors of society to pay attention to tindividuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) while advancing Xiamen’s vision of becoming a caring city.
XTEP, a top strategic partner of the Xiamen Marathon, customized low-carbon official gear for this year’s event All the competition uniforms were made of 100% recycled chemical fiber, an eco-friendly material. Each kilogram of this innovative fabric reduces approximately 1.8 kg of carbon emissions compared to conventional materials. Through the popularization of sustainable gear, the 2024 Xiamen Marathon reduced carbon emissions by around 10 tons.
On October 13, the Xiamen Marathon held a sustainability-themed sharing session and the official training camp for the 2025 C&D Xiamen Marathon in Shanghai. Under the theme of “Sustainability in Running,” the event invited various stakeholders of the event to share best practices in green event management and work together to build a sustainable sporting ecosystem. It also convened 150 runners nationwide to participate in a green run session.
2025
On January 3, the Xiamen Marathon, in cooperation with with World Athletics, hosted the 2025 Road Races Sustainable Development Action Conference in Xiamen. The conference assembled over 13 distinguished speakers spanning UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) representatives, eco-pioneers, and road running experts and scholars. They introduced the latest cutting-edge research results in the field of sustainable development, sharing innovative measures and successful cases of sustainable practices worldwide.
During the 6th China Marathon Expo, the Xiamen Marathon debuted its first-ever green action pavilion—an immersive, multi-format sustainability showcase integrating science-popularization exhibits, environmental protection markets, fun experiences, and interactive zones. While highlighting the event’s sustainable development achievements, it also curated educational interactions and a green market to encourage more runners to participate in sustainable actions.
The Xiamen Marathon partnered with JD.com’s Aihuishou (Love Recycling) program to deploy textile recycling stations across key venues, including start/finish zones, post-race service areas, Marathon Expo sites, and the Green Run finale. This initiative encouraged runners to join the marathon’s sustainable action by using old hooded clothes instead of disposable raincoats for warmth.
The Xiamen Marathon, in collaboration with XTEP Group, has further upgraded the eco-friendly fabric of the competition uniforms, crafting participant T-shirts entirely from 100% recycled polyester yarn. Each garment is made from approximately 10 plastic bottles, contributing to the recycling and reuse of resources.
In response to China’s Waste-Free City initiative, the Xiamen Marathon adopted a 3R (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle) strategy to promote waste-free event management. The event, in partnership with the Xiamen Ecological Environment Bureau and Luhai Pro-Environment, transported waste from the racecourse and surrounding areas to the city’s low-value recyclables sorting centers for recourse recovery. Post-race cleanup by municipal sanitation teams processed 4.96 tons of disposable items including paper cups and plastic packaging, and other waste.
The event launched a signature campaign for the”Zero-Waste Participation: Become a Supporter of Sustainable Actions” initiative for the first time. A total of 18,970 citizens and runners signed the initiative, joining the marathon’s sustainable actions. Additionally, pre-race reminder text messages was sent to all participating runners, advising them to minimize or avoid disposable raincoats and instead use old hooded clothes for warmth and rain protection during the event.
On January 3rd, the Xiamen Marathon debuted the Sustainable Action Guide from Xiamen Marathon to Runners to the public. Focusing on six lifestyle dimensions: athletic training, eco-apparel, sustainable dining, green accommodation, low-carbon transportation, and responsible recreation, this guide listed over 20 actionable recommendations for runners to adopt during races and in daily life. The Low-Carbon Tour of Xiamen strategy in the guide aims to encourage more runners to go out to explore the city’s hidden gems and experience the Minnan culture in a low-carbon way.
Looking back on the past 22 years, the Xiamen Marathon has always taken sustainability as its compass, seeking pathways to coexist harmoniously with nature and live in amity with all things.
The sustainability journey of the Xiamen Marathon initially aimed to deliver a “zero-waste” event for runners and citizens. Driven by this original aspiration, sustainable actions have evolved into an important part of successive events and extended beyond the racecourse to eventually grow into a mighty sustainability ecosystem. Its three “branches” are the event, the community, and management. Through continuous efforts, the marathon has explored a path for sustainable events, management, and community. This framework stands as a living testament to the event’s distinctive characteristics.
Sustainable events: Building a green marathon brand
The core of sustainable event management is to integrate sustainability into every facet of an event’s planning and execution. Through years of practice, the Xiamen Marathon has pioneered a multi-pronged approach: purchasing and using degradable and renewable event products to reduce waste generation and plastic consumption while ensuring event fairness and inclusivity via opening barrier-free registration channels for disabled runners, setting up a women’s marathon plan, and providing exclusive urinals for women. In the future, the Xiamen Marathon will create a series of replicable sustainable practices in green production and consumption, climate change response, energy and resource conservation, and biodiversity protection, establishing a green marathon brand and generating a perpetual driving force for sustainable sports development.
Sustainable management: Improving the institutionalized, standardized, and scientific system
The Xiamen Marathon actively aligns with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Currently, its sustainable practices cover 13 of these goals, accounting for 80 percent. Building on recent progress, the marathon has mapped out a 2024-2026 strategic blueprint. In terms of sustainable management, it will promote scientific protocols, standardized procedures, and institutionalized practices, and integrate these efforts with the marathon’s operations to build a sustainable management system, setting an example for the sustainability of marathon events. Next, the Xiamen Marathon will gradually improve its sustainable management system, promote the completion of the event sustainability management system certification, and regularly release the event’s sustainability report.
Sustainable community: Spreading goodwill through three-color charity program
The Xiamen Marathon’s sustainable community ecosystem thrives on its signature Three-Color (Red-Green-Blue) charity program. The program is not only to answer the call of the Xiamen Municipal Committee of the CPC and the Municipal Government for building a “Caring Xiamen”, but also represents a mature charity system.
In the system, the red charity program advocates poverty alleviation, aspiration-boosting, care, and assistance. The core project is the “Xiamen Marathon Love Reading Corner” program and a series of extended actions featuring mutual assistance.
The green charity program advocates improving the ecological environment and advancing ecological progress. Through continuous activities such as the “Green Run in Action”, the “Xiamen Marathon Love Forest”, and the “Green Travel Initiative”, the Xiamen Marathon has integrated green and low-carbon concepts into Xiamen’s urban spirit.
The blue charity program advocates reducing plastic pollution and paying attention to ocean health. In addition to environmental protection and plastic reduction measures, the event also conducts ocean-themed activities such as beach clean-ups and marine knowledge popularization. In the future, the Xiamen Marathon will continue to create a “Sports+” model to serve economic and social development and promote the construction of a diverse, inclusive, and caring community.
Sustainability stands as an important mission that the Xiamen Marathon shoulders both on and off the course and also its core ethos. For the Xiamen Marathon, sustainable actions are both a review of the past and a look into the future; they are both a vision and an answer. The glimmer of light that has gradually gathered since 2003 will surely accumulate energy, nurture hope, and connect more like-minded people in sustainability for the new year.