On April 12 the Beijing Half Marathon concluded, and front-runner Wang Wenjie improved the previous half marathon national record by 31 seconds with 1:01:15. With this result he jumped from 14th on the all-time list to first, leaving Chinese runners just 15 seconds away from the 60-minute mark in the half marathon. Wang Wenjie is the third athlete this year to enter the all-time top ten, following Jia Erenjia and Renqing Dongzhibu. On that list the oldest performance is Xiao Zhaxi Ciren’s 2024 national-record run when he broke the record in Renshou, Meishan; the remaining times have all been repeatedly refreshed by athletes over the past two seasons. In the first half of 2026 the national records for the half and full marathon, as well as debut-marathon records, were all broken. The 2026 season for Chinese men’s marathon has clearly accelerated, making the second half of the year even more eagerly anticipated. #Beijing Half Marathon#national record#Wang Wenjie#trail running boom