Participants have a ball at a previous Hangzhou Lin'an Half Marathon. [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]

The 2025 Hangzhou Lin'an Half Marathon will kick off at 7:30 am on Oct 19 in the mountainous district of Lin'an in Hangzhou — capital of East China's Zhejiang province.

Within the first 12 hours after registrations opened on Aug 18, more than 12,000 runners had signed up, surpassing last year's total of 8,000.

Registrations remain open to Aug 30, after which a lottery system will be used.

This year's race, starting from Lin'an People's Square and finishing at the Powerlong Plaza in Qingshanhu Sci-Tech City, will host 12,000 participants. There will be 8,000 runners toughing it out in the half marathon (21.0975 kilometers), 2,000 taking on the 7-km health run and 2,000 in the 2-km family run.

Runners will pass Lin'an landmarks including Tiaoxi North Street, the Qingshan Lake water forest — known as the "matcha forest" — and Tech Avenue.

The event is also introducing a special ranking for local runners and more online interactive activities. Organizers are applying for Class A certification from the Chinese Athletics Association, aiming to raise the race to a nationally recognized professional standard.

A bird's-eye view of participants hitting the road during a previous session. [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]