In September, marathon racing across mainland China officially bids farewell to the summer cooling window and dives into the golden‑autumn PB season, with a total of 33 races firing their starting guns over the month.

The schedule unfolds like a "stepwise" warm‑up: six races kicked off on September 6, rising to eight on the 13th, and then surging to ten on the 27th. Such a dense rhythm is rare at the opening of the autumn racing season.

The 33 races span Liaoning, Jilin, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Hebei, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Jiangxi, Shanxi, Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Sichuan and Yunnan — from the Northeast plains to the Northwest Gobi, from the foothills of the Taihang Range to the shores of Erhai Lake — everywhere offers crisp autumn conditions perfect for PBs.

September 27 is this month's "super marathon day," with ten races going off simultaneously; the most eye‑catching are the Taiyuan Marathon and the Hengshui Lake Marathon.

The Taiyuan Marathon is an A‑class Gold‑label event under the Chinese Athletics Association — a flat course and comfortable climate have long earned it a reputation among runners as one of the "fastest autumn courses." The Hengshui Lake Marathon is an A‑class full‑marathon event with a straight, open loop around the lake and has long been famed in the running community as a "must‑PB marathon." Did you manage to secure an entry for either?

From the border new city of Kokdala to Harbin's Central Street; from the foot of the Tianshan to the banks of Hengshui Lake; from the vineyards on the eastern slopes of the Helan Mountains to the morning mist over the Shunan Bamboo Sea — every September race is an outstanding choice for enjoying a rare early‑autumn run.

So, which race did you sign up for this September?