Almost 250 runners in a half marathon were caught cheating when traffic cameras captured them taking shortcuts through bushes.

在一场半程马拉松赛中，交通摄像机捕捉到将近250名参赛者作弊--他们穿过灌木丛抄近道。

Organisers of the race in Shenzhen, China, also discovered 18 runners wearing fake bibs and three runners they described as "imposters".

在中国深圳举行的这次比赛的组织方也发现，有18名跑步者背着假号码，另有3名跑步者为“冒名顶替者”。

All who cheated are now facing bans.

所有作弊者现在都面临禁令。

"Marathon running is not simply exercise, it is a metaphor for life, and every runner is responsible for him or herself," organisers said.

组织方表示：“马拉松跑步不仅仅是运动，它是生活的缩影，每个跑步者都应该对自己负责。”

Footage captured by Shenzhen police traffic cameras showed runners cutting through bushes to an adjacent carriageway, instead of continuing along the road and making a U-turn.

深圳警方的交通摄像机拍摄的画面显示，这些跑步者穿过灌木丛跑到邻近的跑道，而不是继续沿着设置的跑道转弯。

Organisers said the 237 people caught cheating would have run two or three kilometres less than the full 21-kilometre (13.1-mile) distance.

组织方称，共有237人被发现有此作弊行为，这意味着他们比完整的21公里(13.1英里)距离要少跑了2-3公里。

News of the cheating led to the People's Daily newspaper -- one of China's biggest publications-- to urge runners to "respect the marathon and respect sporting spirit" in an editorial.

有关作弊的新闻令中国最大型的出版物之一的《人民日报》发出呼吁，在一篇社论中敦促跑步者“尊重马拉松并尊重体育精神”。