A bird's-eye view of the marathon. [Photo/hangzhou2022.cn]

Su Guoxiong and Wang Min retained the top spot in the men's and women's category with times of 2hours 17minutes 17seconds and 2h 33m 47s, respectively, while Yang Xiaojun from Hangzhou's neighboring city Jinhua, had a time of 2h 22m 33s by breaking the record for Zhejiang native runners.

"With pros taking the lead, I was motivated to achieve a personal best," Yang said.

Shi Yigong, the No 1 runner and principal of Hangzhou-based Westlake University, said running is a wonderful thing.

"I'm not a gifted runner, but I have benefited a lot from running and perseverance," Shi said.