As the year-end approaches, the marathon craze continues, with races such as the Guangzhou Marathon and Zhejiang Marathon Elite Race set to kick off this weekend, with the Guangzhou Marathon attracting 26,000 athletes.

Looking at a series of recent marathon events, it is clear that the influence of Chinese sports brands is increasingly prominent. This will also be one of the key highlights of this year's Guangzhou Marathon.

It is worth observing the recent Shanghai Marathon, which concluded successfully and is one of the most significant and noteworthy domestic marathon events of the year.

This year, the Shanghai Marathon officially became the only Abbott Laboratories World Marathon Majors candidate event in China, marking its entry into the ranks of top global marathons, with advancements in event organization and athletic standards. Post-event statistics show that this event attracted 38,000 participants, with a high completion rate of 98.24%, and a record-breaking number of runners finishing the race at 1,466.

Meanwhile, local sports brands are rising in prominence, with Xtep shining brightly. According to data from Joyrun, Xtep ranked first for overall runner apparel at the Shanghai Marathon, with a share of 22.4%, maintaining rapid growth. This marks a successful overtaking of international brands. Xtep also retained the top spot for participants wearing shoes from a brand that broke the three-hour mark, with a share of 19.7%.

Such a strong performance points to a fact: professional and amateur runners are voting with their feet, with Xtep gradually becoming the top choice for more runners, continuously leading the development of running in China.

Taking a broader perspective, Shanghai is a 'core arena' for international brands, so Xtep's leading position at the Shanghai Marathon holds significant meaning, fully demonstrating its competitive advancement.

In addition to the Shanghai Marathon, in 2024, many heavyweight domestic marathons such as the Beijing Marathon, Xiamen Marathon, and Chengdu Marathon, Anta all become well-known brands with the highest market share and demonstrate overwhelming advantages, Anta is also heading towards its own 'Grand Slam'. Especially in the Chengdu Marathon, the wearing rate of Anta running shoes has reached as high as 39.1%, leading the second place by nearly four times, with a 12% higher wearing rate compared to 2023, also the fastest progress among all sports brands on the field.

On the same day as the start of the Shanghai Marathon, Anta also worked together with the hometown event, the Jinjiang Marathon, launched. In the end, including the 8 champions on the Jinjiang Marathon field, the Anta Champion Edition running shoe family helped produce 14 champions in a single day.

Behind this, it is inseparable from Anta's rapid improvement in product strength on the professional running shoe track.

From the national staple racing shoe 160X 3.0 PRO, to the revolutionary design of 160X 5.0 PRO, the further evolution of 6.0 PRO, the 160X series demonstrates increasingly hardcore product strength, helping runners achieve excellent results. In this Shanghai Marathon, the Anta Champion Edition running shoe family's 160X 6.0 PRO and 160X 3.0 PRO both occupy two of the top five spots in the market share, totaling over 15%. They are also the only Chinese brands among the top five.

Anta also empowers product innovation and leadership with continuous investment in scientific research, allocating 2% - 3% of its annual revenue to support technological research and development. The cumulative investment has exceeded 2 billion yuan, including the substantial construction of the world-class running laboratory X-Lab, nurturing the 160X Champion Edition running shoe. In September this year, the Anta Group's Innovation Center, built over three years, was officially put into use, establishing the 'brain' for Anta's R&D and the 'heart' for innovation, further driving the advancement of running shoe technology.

It can also be foreseen that this logic will continue to unfold, injecting momentum for Anta to create more high-quality running shoe products and continue to lead the development of running in China. This also makes Anta's high-quality development characteristics increasingly prominent, solidifying its leadership role, enhancing brand awareness and influence, and is expected to radiate brand power to more people and categories, achieving overall positive development.

As Anta unleashes more potential, the return of value and advancement are also worth looking forward to.