Two competitors have collapsed and died at a half-marathon in southern China.
One runner suffered sudden heart failure 4.5 kilometres from the end of Saturday's Xiamen International in the coastal city of the same name. A second died after crossing the finish line, organisers said.
Municipalities throughout China have organised such road races as publicity events, despite the relative lack of interest in jogging as a pastime among Chinese.
Few if any races require medical checks for participants, while high levels of smoking, high-fat diets and heavy urban pollution raise the health risks for runners drawn from among the general public.
Facing growing levels of obesity, general ill-health and an aging population, the government has sought to promote exercise and healthy pastimes.
