Facial recognition to foil cheaters in Hangzhou marathon

Hangzhou International Marathon on Nov. 4 will use face recognition to prevent fraud and highlight the advanages of modern technology, said organizers.

Yang Yong, general manager of the road race project at Alibaba Group's sports arm Alisports, said Hangzhou will increase the use of technology in this year's race, which passes along West Lake and Qiantang River.

The event in Hangzhou, China's top tourism destination, reported some racers running on behalf of others in 2016. The rule-breakers were later banned from the competition for two years.

The 2018 edition, sponsored by Alisports' fitness app Ledongli, also includes a game that uses the marathon route as background and includes 20 challenges related to Hangzhou's nature, food and culture. Successful participants in the game will share a prize pool.

Another app specially developed for the marathon allows a participant to share their progress in real time running with friends and receive support sent by voice communication.

Yang added the race will offer heart rate monitoring services to runners.