Beijing marathoners don masks to battle ‘hazardous’ smog

Thousands of runners battled thick smog at the 34th Beijing International Marathon on Sunday, with some athletes donning masks as air 
pollution soared to 16 times the maximum recommended level.

The level of small pollutant particles known as PM2.5, which can embed themselves deep in the lungs, reached more than 400 micrograms per cubic meter in parts of Beijing as the racers lined up, according to the U.S. Embassy, which categorized the air as "hazardous." The World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum average exposure is 25.

Many top long-distance athletes stayed away from the race, which was won by Ethiopia's Girmay Birhanu Gebru in two hours, 10 minutes and 42 seconds. 

“I was basically a vacuum cleaner,” William Liu, a 30-year-old banker, told Bloomberg after completing the marathon.

Organizers made 140,000 water-soaked sponges to available athletes, advising runners to scrub down their skin after it was “exposed to the air,” the Beijing News reported.