According to the IAAF during two days on May 31 and June 1, more than 600 people representing much of the international road race industry will attend the Conference, exploring the positive impacts of road racing on urban settings.

Delegates will represent 100 IAAF label races from around the world, while nearly 300 will come from road races across China.

Divided into three sessions, the Conference will feature presentations and panel discussions discussing the benefits of hosting road races, while addressing some of the challenges.

Some of the topics set to be discussed include the growth of the marathon tourism industry, how to create running culture and the economic benefits of organising events.

The Conference will be held in the lead up to the ninth edition of the Lanzhou Marathon, an IAAF gold label event, due to take place on June 2 and expected to feature more than 40,000 runners. 

The founder and chief executive of RunRepeat.com, Jakob Andersen will deliver the opening address, providing a report on the current global state of running.

"Marathon running has boomed in China lately," Wang Nan, vice-president of the Chinese Athletics Association, said. 

"in 2018, there have been a total of 14 IAAF label road races, eight gold label, four silver label and two bronze label, which means that China now has the most gold label races of any country in the world.

"The IAAF Running Conference China 2019 is regarded as an opportunity for deeper communication of both Chinese knowledge and international concepts.

"It not only brings the spotlight to Lanzhou, but it also creates more chances for collaboration between Chinese marathons and the global road running industry."