Among the thousands of finishers at every marathon, hundreds of registrants go home empty-handed. Although they’ve prepared as much as the person beside them at the start line (or not), sometimes finishing the race isn’t in the cards. Popular Chinese running brand Xtep took it upon themselves to reward the unrewarded at the 2025 Xiamen Marathon, giving out did-not-finish (DNF) gift bags to those who didn’t complete the race.
The DNF gift bags were not made public by Xtep beforehand, which ended up being a surprise to many runners. It makes sense, so runners aren’t given an incentive to drop out on purpose. Written on the Xtep DNF gift bag was the term: “It’s okay, come again.”
The bags reportedly included an Xtep running shirt, a discount on their next purchase of shoes, and a written note that said (translated):
“To the unfinished steps:
You may not have passed the finish line, but you have already surpassed your previous self. At every step, you fought against giving up. Every drop of sweat is in the shape of a dream.
This is not for proof. It’s about the journey in the process.
Continue to work hard for your goal in the present and future.
Keep running.”
Some might see the DNF bags as adding salt to the wound, as runners spent months training only to be given proof of not finishing. However, we see it as a genius marketing campaign from Xtep. What better way to make an impact than to cheer runners up at their lowest point, motivating them to get back on the horse and take on their next challenge.
The Xiamen Marathon in Xiamen City, China, is one of the first international races of the year and typically attracts around 30,000 registrants. It is one of the biggest domestic marathons in China, outside of Shanghai and Beijing.
Why a DNF may be your best learning tool
Although it could involve a lot of gift bags, we’d love to see more races adopt this approach, even though it would be tough to do it as discreetly as Xtep did. Impressive stuff!
