Organisers of a marathon in Beijing are taking a ‘great leap’ in the fight against cheats – using facial recognition to stop impostors in their tracks.

Marathon running is booming in China, where more than 300 races were staged last year as a fitness craze sweeps the country.

But the fear of failure in the age of social media has seen some racers seek any means to ‘achieve’ a respectable finishing time – including not even taking part in the race.