The Nong’an Taipingchi Ice and Snow Half Marathon, set for December 29 in Jilin, China, has unveiled a unique set of prizes to draw participants and highlight local agriculture. Winners of the race could go home with a cow, wild fish, geese, or roosters.
According to a WeChat announcement by the organizers, both the male and female winners will receive a cow, which can also be exchanged for 6,000 yuan ($827.81). Runners-up will receive wild fish from Taiping Pond, and other participants could win geese, ducks, roosters, and ten kilograms of rice and wheat.
The announcement captured significant attention on Chinese social media, becoming one of the top trending topics on Weibo. It sparked humorous debates, including how overseas winners might transport their bovine prize.
This event will occur in the Wetland Park of Nong’an County, a major agricultural hub. The popularity of marathon running has surged in China, with 622 marathons and half marathons held in 2023, averaging nearly two races per day, as per the Chinese Athletics Association.
