Pace 'bunnies' hop to it to give runners extra bounce

As marathons gain popularity in leaps and bounds across China, a special group of runners, known as "bunnies" or "pacers", are becoming popular among participants. Unlike regular runners, these pacers stand out with their distinct uniforms, bunny ear headbands and a flag or balloon on their backs displaying target finish times.

These "running metronomes "serve as a marathon's rhythm keepers, helping participants maintain a desired pace throughout the 42.195-kilometer course and increase their chances of completing successfully.

There are different groups of pacers in a marathon, with varying target finish times. For example, runners who follow the "4:30 pacer group" would expect to complete the race in approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes.