Hood to Coast is more than running

"We are a marathon club from Qingdao (Shandong province), and this is the first time we've participated in the relay in Hainan. I have to say that we are all impressed by the running environment and the quality of services provided by the race," said Ma Meng, the team leader of the SRUN team, which won the relay in a time of 7 hours 34 minutes and 22 seconds.

"To prepare for the relay, we arrived days before the start of the event. It was a little bit hot during the preparations, but the race-day weather was really cool which helped us produce such a great result.

"The relay is a team event, so based on the different abilities of our members, we made preparations for each section. We were very consistent. Finally, I want to express my thanks to the organizers who provided us with such a great event."

The local Wenchang Tianhe running group also debuted in the event and relished the experience, having waited for the chance to participate in the relay.