????TEN thousand runners from about 30 countries and regions are expected to participate Sunday in the 2013 Shenzhen Angel International Marathon, which is the city’s first major urban running event and includes three races based at Shenzhen Civic Center in Futian District. ????Organizers are offering prize money totaling US$142,000 (before taxes) to the top eight full-marathon runners in the men’s and women’s divisions. ????The organizing committee invited 39 of the participants. Ten of them have finished marathons in less than 2 hours and 11 minutes. ????The marathon will start and end at the Civic Center. The route for the full marathon, of nearly 42.2 kilometers, travels west along Shennan Boulevard to Nantou Checkpoint before turning toward Diwang Mansion and then back to the Civic Center. ????The 21.1-kilometer half-marathon follows the marathon route but ends at the TCL building near Shennan Boulevard in Nanshan District. ????The route for the 6-kilometer fun run extends along Shennan Boulevard to the west before runners turn at the intersection with Xiangmei Road and then head east until the intersection with Caitian Flyover, where runners turn again and head to the finish line at the Civic Center. ????The routes were selected according to factors including safety, transportation, traffic impacts, and the best display of Shenzhen’s image and urban environment, organizers said. ????Several roads will be closed or subject to traffic controls during Sunday’s marathon, which starts at 7 a.m. and is expected to end at 1 p.m. Roads in the Civic Center area will be closed throughout the event and underground parking will be open only to vehicles with certificates. ????To minimize the event’s impacts on traffic, police will control vehicles on affected roads section by section according to the progress of the races. ????There will be more than 230 judges, including more than 10 international judges and about 30 national judges. ????When races start, runners are advised to pay more attention to the chip attached to their clothing than to the starting gun, as runners’ start times will begin when the chips pass the monitoring point at the starting line. The chips are an effort to avoid a surge at the starting gun. ????A total of 15 beverage stations will be set up along the routes. The stations will provide self-prepared beverages, organizing committee-designated beverages and water. There will also be water stations every 2.5 kilometers. Every runner can get a box of milk before and after running. ????About 380 portable toilets will be provided during the event. The first toilets will be set up at the 5-kilometer point and more will be installed every 2.5 kilometers afterward. ????(Wang Yuanyuan) | 