Chinese Half-Marathon Offers Cow, Fish, and Poultry Prizes to Attract Runners

Both male and female champions of the half marathon will be awarded a cow, the organizers announced.

A farmer watches over his cow as it grazes through a pile of discarded corn husks on the outskirts of Beijing, in this file photo. Stephen Shaver/AFP via Getty Images

A half marathon in China is using unusual prizes to attract participants and promote local produce, with a cow as the top prize, and fish or poultry prizes for those who finish in the top 30.

The 2nd Nong‘an Taiping Pond Ice and Snow Half Marathon will take place on Dec. 29 in Taiping Pond Tourist Resort of Nong’an County, a major agriculture producer in China’s northeast province of Jilin.