Marathoners compete in the inaugural Dongqian Lake Marathon in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on Dec 8. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

More than 7,000 runners from 20 countries and regions across the world attended the inaugural Dongqian Lake Marathon in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on Dec 8.

The event consisted of a full marathon, half marathon and mini-race. A total of 2,000 people signed up for the full marathon race.

Ethiopian runner Asrat Melaku Kasik claimed first in the men's full marathon with a time of 2 hours 22minutes and 3 seconds, while Chinese runner Cao Fengying claimed victory in the women's full marathon with a time of 2 hours 51 minutes and 4 seconds.

Chinese runners dominated in the half marathon race.

Xu Long won the men's half marathon in 1 hour 11 minutes and 5 seconds while the women's title went to Wang Lingna with a time of 1 hour 28 minutes and 19 seconds.

As a national A-class sporting event is jointly sponsored by the Chinese Athletics Association, Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Sports and Dongqian Lake Administrative Committee.

The race started from the Ningbo International Convention Center and passed by many attractions around Dongqian Lake.

The race is part of local authorities' efforts to raise the awareness of Dongqian Lake and build it into an attractive sports and leisure destination.