‘No more public peeing!’ Beijing Marathon organisers warn runners ahead of October event

The Beijing Marathon’s organisers have announced harsh penalties for runners who urinate on the track this year, after scores of participants relieved themselves on the walls of the Forbidden City last year.

In a note to prospective applications for the October marathon, the Beijing Marathon Committee on Tuesday made it clear that “uncivilised behaviour” would not be tolerated.

“Any contestant, if found along the track conducting uncivilised behaviours, such as relieving in public and littering, will be disqualified from the race,” the committee said on its website.

Offenders will not only be disqualified but will also “be reported to the Chinese Athletic Association for additional punishment”, it added.

Such blunt warnings, unseen in previous years’ editions, came after numerous local and foreign competitors last year were photographed urinating beneath the distinctive red exterior walls of the Forbidden City, a world heritage site in centre Beijing, just beside the track.

The photos quickly spread on the internet. Many netizens condemned those acts as embarrassing and untoward for an international event.