THE 2018 Shanghai International Half Marathon will be held on April 22 with 15,000 runners competing for the US$10,000 prize money.

The 21-kilometer race will start at Pudong’s Oriental Pearl TV Tower at 7am and pass through Nanpu Bridge, Shibo Avenue, Qiantan Park and finish at the Oriental Sports Center.

Registration started yesterday and will end at 5pm on Friday. Runners can log on to the event’s official site of www.shang-ma.com or download the APP for registration.

The organizers will hold a lucky draw on March 15 to distribute the running spots. Those confirmed will have to pay 160 yuan (US$25) entry fee before 5pm by March 18.

The top finishers of last year’s Shanghai International Half Marathon can register for this year’s competition through a green channel, which is also open to the best runners of the 2017 Shanghai International 10K Elite Run, 2017 Shanghai Changning International Half Marathon and 2017 Shanghai Fengxian Half Marathon.

Runners who have registered for this year’s race but cannot take part will have to fill in withdrawal applications between April 2 and April 7.

The organizers will then hold another draw on April 7 to fill in the vacated spots to avoid the spaces being misused or even sold to other runners.

The organizers are expecting a big demand for spots for the April 22 event after the Shanghai International Marathon dropped its half marathon event last year.

“With the increase in the number of runners over the years, we have been adjusting the quotas for the running events to best serve the runners,” said Zhou Jin, general manager of Shanghai Donghao Lansheng Event Management Company, the organizer of the event.

“The Shanghai International Half Marathon, in its fourth year now, has grown with the number of participants rising from 5,000 to the current 15,000,” Zhou said.

Zhou said they had set aside 200 “charity” berths for competitors who were willing to pay 1,500 yuan entry fee. The money will be deposited with the Shangma Charity Fund to buy sports items for children in poverty-stricken areas in provinces of Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Qinghai and Yunnan.

The organizers will set up three snack and drinks supply stations at 12km, 17km and 18.5km along the route. Bands will perform along the route to cheer on the runners.

Apart from the official medical support, 240 runners will also be trained for emergencies.

The top 600 male and 300 female runners will win a direct entry into the 2018 Shanghai International Marathon in November. The men’s and women’s winners will walk away with US$10,000 each in prize money. The top Chinese male and female finishers will be awarded 10,000 yuan each.

The route of 2018 Shanghai International Half Marathon.