Kunming, February 29: The 2020 Kunming Plateau Half Marathon, originally set to take place on March 28 in the capital city of southwest China's Yunnan province, has been postponed due to the coronavirus epidemic.

A total of 15,000 runners from China and overseas were expected to participate in this year's event, reports Xinhua news agency. The organising committee said that the date for the event will be determined after the epidemic is over.

Launched in 2012, this year's edition was to be the ninth running of the Kunming Plateau Half Marathon.

According to China's General Administration of Sport, more than 50 marathon events have been cancelled across the nation due to the spread of coronavirus.

The death toll due to the coronavirus in mainland China increased to 2,835 on Saturday, with an overall 79,251 cases, according to health authorities.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 29, 2020 03:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).