The 2011 Xiamen International Marathon is to be kicked off on January 2 with a record of some 80,000 runners participating in six categories.

"The number of participants reaches 80,000 for the first time in the history of Xiamen International Marathon, 30,000 more than last year," Zang Jiebin, deputy mayor of Xiamen municipal government, told the press here on Friday.

The Xiamen International Marathon consists of full marathon, half marathon, 10-km and 5-km races. The runner breaking the marathon world record could bag one million U.S. dollars of prize money, while the men's and women's full marathon champion will both win 40,000 U.S. dollars.

A strong field, including 13 competitive runners from around the world, join in the competition.

Tadesse Tola from Kenya, the men's winner in 2010 Paris Marathon, will lead the field to contend for the prize money, while Chinese runners, including the women's world champion Bai Xue, will probably not run due to the on-going winter training.

To attract more runners, the marathon also sees the debut of wheel-chair half marathon and 10km skating competition.

Launched in 2003, the Xiamen International Marathon is renowned for its charming seaside scenic course, and is hailed by IAAF as the Gold Label Road Race for three consecutive years since 2007.

"Currently it has become one of the two leading marathon competitions in China, which also includes the Beijing International Marathon," said Wang Dawei, vice president of the Chinese Athletics Association.