The 2019 Shanghai International Marathon, featuring a total of 38,000 participants, was held on November 17, with Paul Kipchumba Lonyangata from Kenya becoming the first male runner to cross the finish line of the full marathon at Shanghai Stadium, clocking a time of 2:08:11. This year marks the 24th year of the annual road running event. Post-race, the organizers analyzed the data of the past years and delivered a report on the development of the Shanghai International Marathon.

According to the statistics, most of the top rankings were won by African runner, but there are also many Asian runners. This year, for instance, Yang Dinghong placed 9th in the men's full marathon clocking in at 2:15:22. Yang was the first among all Chinese athletes.

(The top ten runners’ results of Shanghai International Marathon from 2015 to 2019)

Data also shows that the fastest ten runners were all males, but there was not much time difference between the results of male and female athletes. Ethiopia’s Yebrgual Melese Arage successfully defended this year's women's championship in a time of 2:23:20.

The Shanghai International Marathon is not a marathon event with the most participants, but it is surely one of the fastest in China. This year, apart from over 50 invited runners, people could see a group of elite runners on the course (runners whose results of the full marathon in the 2018 Shanghai International Marathon meet the required standards in their corresponding age group according to the Implementation Measures of Rating Common Runners’ in CAA Marathons and Related Sports qualify as elite runners).

In 2018, the number of qualified elite runners was estimated to be 5,149, accounting for 20% of the participants of the 2019 Shanghai International Marathon. That means 1 to 2 out of 10 racers were elite runners.

Since 2015, the number of participants finishing the race of the Shanghai International Marathon has been on the rise and so has been the average result. In 2018, the number of finishers increased by 8,270 from 2014. The average result of both men and women runners reached 4:18:58, 12 minutes and 23 seconds faster than that of 2017. What’s more, in 2018, 721 runners ran under three hours, breaking the record in China’s domestic marathon races.