Photo: Courtesy of the Chinese Athletics Association

A year-round online marathon series was launched on Friday, as the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA) aims to promote running throughout the country after the COVID-19 epidemic thwarted mass events to be held in the country.

The new online series will have each marathon event held during a seven-day window, with participants submitting any of their finishing times for a 42.195-kilometer run completed in a week as their competing result.

The series will run until October 2021.

Marathon events had sprouted across China over the past few years before the epidemic halted all sports activities. The latest prevention measures only allow sports events to be held with limited participants.