Over 12,000 people have signed up for the 2019 Ningbo International Marathon, which will take place next Saturday, organizers announced during a press conference on Tuesday.

The eldest runner will be 79 years old while the youngest is only six months old.

They will attend the specially designed family group mini marathon race. Over 5,000 runners will compete in the 3.5-kilometer route.

On the full route marathon, competitors will be able to run across the iconic Hangzhou-Ningbo cross-sea bridge.

Those who are able to finish the full marathon in Ningbo will be eligible to attend the 2020 Hangzhou International Marathon for free.

Notably, the race will be involved with a poverty alleviation project, using the bananas grown by the farmers of an impoverished county in Guizhou Province as food supply for the runners during the marathon.

The race is the sixth stop of the Run China marathon series, which includes 13 city marathons across the country.