Marathon is proving to be a real winner

People wanting to take part in Sunday's Beijing Marathon had to be quick out of the starting blocks this year because the race is now so popular that all spaces were snapped up by Sept 10 - a month earlier than last year.

Organizers said people are still calling the office on a daily basis to see if they can sign up.

"Our office in Beijing is still receiving 30 to 40 calls a day from those who want to participate in the competition," said Dou Hong, an official with the Beijing Marathon Organizing Committee. "What I hear every day in the office is, 'sorry, registration is closed.'"