He Yinli (L), a Chinese professional marathon runner from Inner Mongolia autonomous region, wins second place in the women's full marathon, in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on March 19. [Photo provided by organizing committee of Wuxi Marathon]

Chinese runners Yang Dinghong and He Yinli set a red hot pace at the 2017 Wuxi Marathon on March 19, posting impressive times in the rain-soaked race.

Yang Dinghong from Yunnan province ranked fourth in the men's full marathon with a time of 2 hours 13 minutes and 37 seconds. He Yinli from Inner Mongolia autonomous region took home second place in the women's full marathon, posting a time of 2 hours 30 minutes and 26 seconds.

Their rivals included 50 elite athletes from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Eritrea, Uganda, and Morocco, as well as many of China's top long distance runners.

According to the organizing committee, a total of 30,000 people took to the streets for this year's event, with 18,000 running the full marathon (42.195 km) and the remaining running the half (21.095 km) or mini marathon (3.5 km).

Wuxi Marathon, first launched in 2014, aims to become one of China's and even the world's top marathons. It also promotes a healthy lifestyle and encourages more people to take up running.