Weather or not, here Snow comes

CCTV9 weatherman Darryl Snow said air pollution will be one of his least concerns when he runs in the Beijing International Marathon this Sunday.

"I don't think the air in Beijing is bad, apart from a few dusty days occasionally," the 26-year-old said.

CCTV9 weatherman Darryl Snow

"The weather may not be sunny on Sunday but the weather experts said it is not going to rain, perhaps only be partly cloudy.

"I'm not sure about the winds that day yet, but it will be a good day for running."

Snow is one of the 28,000 runners registered to take part in the annual event, and is one of the 8,000 who hope to complete the full distance of 42.195 km.

But despite Beijing's air quality was a controversial issue before the Beijing Olympic Games last year, Snow said he did not think pollution was serious enough to cause respiratory or heart illness for runners.

"Many cities have air pollution, and Beijing has fine days," Snow said.

Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebreselassie, one of the world's best long distance runners, withdrew from the marathon at the Beijing Games because of asthma concerns.

But the athlete later said he regretted his decision because the Beijing air was cleaner than expected.

He then ran the 10,000-m race at the Bird's Nest, finishing sixth.

Li Xin, chief engineer of Beijing's environmental protection bureau, said Sunday would be largely free of pollution after rain today.

In addition to the big race, Sunday will mark the four-year anniversary of Snow's arrival in China from Jersey, in the Channel Islands.

Snow is perhaps more commonly known as "Xue Dalong", which translates as "Big Dragon Snow" in Chinese.

He forecasts the weather about 20 times each week on CCTV9, China's international English language channel.

Dalong said he enjoyed regularly running through the "hutongs" in the 800-year-old downtown area.

He also liked jogging in Chaoyang Park, Beijing's biggest park, while listening to his audio books.

"During the event on Sunday, I will listen to a new book by Richard Dawkins, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution," Snow said.

"For me, running is not just a way to keep fit, but also mental therapy."

Snow has enhanced his running training with a special diet since last week.

He has avoided fat, green vegetables and beans and started to eat more carbohydrates like bread and cereals.