Participants of the 2017 Hangzhou Women's International Marathon pose for a group photo in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Dec 3. [Photo/WeChat account: zgwcjzx]

Seven thousand beautiful female runners crossed the starting line of the 2017 Hangzhou Women's International Marathon in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Dec 3, after the pistol went off.

The event is sponsored by cosmetic firm Mary Kay China and organized by Chinese Athletic Association, Hanzhou Sports Federation, and Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone. This is the first marathon launched particularly for women in Hangzhou.

Three groups including a 21.0975 kilometers half marathon, a 6.8 kilometers mini marathon, and a 3 kilometers fun run were arranged for the runners.

The routes of the event were carefully designed and enabled runners to enjoy the beautiful views of Qiantang River.

Beauties together with beautiful views made the event gain the title of the most beautiful marathon.

In recent years, marathons have grown in popularity in China, but women-only marathon events are very few. Paul Mak, president of Mary Kay China, considered that an event launched for a specific group will give its participants a sense of belonging and a better experience.

This marathon aims to advocate women's health and show women's confidence, which coincides with the idea of Dailybenefits®, a new health brand of Mary Kay Inc dedicated to bringing Chinese women and their families with more health products and a healthy lifestyle, said Paul Mak.

Mary Kay's Dailybenefits® Anti-Oxidant, which went on the market in May, stood out from thousands of products on display at the 17th China International Healthcare Expo that ended on Nov 30, and won the Excellent Healthcare Product Award.

A fair integrating a bazaar, pop-up shops, and stations for rest was also organized during the marathon to give runners after-game services.