The refreshment stop nobody wants

"It's all to do with improving the way you think, and can even be considered spiritual. In a marathon you'll get some people who run at a very fast clip and another group that's a lot slower. What I really love is that as you train with a group in the club, looking out for one another and communicating with one another, everyone performs to the peak of their individual capabilities."

For any runner, be it a novice or a seasoned athlete, being aware of one's body is paramount, she says.

Absolute novices are advised to begin by jogging just a few kilometers and gradually building the distance up over days and weeks and settle down to running at a speed of 6-7 minutes a kilometer, eventually running five to 10 kilometers a day.

"When you start running, your bones, muscles and ligaments will be relatively weak, so it's easy to injure yourself if you push things too much. Usually, you should begin high-intensity running and endurance running after a year or two of training."

By 2018, 285 prefecture-level cities in China's 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, or 85 percent of all cities, had hosted marathons.

As the number of events continues to rise, so does their quality, and last month the International Amateur Athletics Federation bestowed on the Shanghai Marathon the title of Platinum Label, the first marathon in China so honored.