The Beijing Marathon (Chinese: 北京马拉松) is an annual marathon race held around October in Beijing, People's Republic of China, since 1981. The race begins at Tiananmen Square and finishes in Celebration Square in Olympic Green. The full marathon is the only distance offered. The marathon is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. The course is certified by AIMS. Beijing Marathon is the first international sport event ever to be held in China. The race is also the first marathon race to use lottery system to allocate entries and the first full marathon race only in China.