XINHUAThestartoftheXiamenInternationalMarathon
COURTESYPHOTOInChina,Marathonraceshavesetoffanationwidecraze
Listenclosely.Canyouhearthat?It’sthesoundofmillionsofrunningfeetpoundingonroadsinChina,andit’sgettinglouderwitheverystep.Marathonfeverissweepingacrossthecountry.
LookingbacktowhenthestagingofmarathonswasjustbeginninginChina,HuangWeikang,formerEditor-in-ChiefofTrackandFieldmagazine,said10yearsago,despitethebustleonthestreets,mostcitizensweremereonlookersontheopeningdayoftheBeijingMarathon.
“Atthattime,marathonwassimplyanornamentaleventinChina,likeaballetoranoperaperformance.Thepublic’sparticipationandpassionwasnothigh.Butnow,itseemstherunningcrazeisgraduallyreachingfeverpitch,”Huangsaid.
InChina,large-scaleroadracessuchastheBeijingInternationalMarathon,ShanghaiInternationalMarathon,GuangzhouInternationalMarathonandsoonareattractinghighdemandforentryticketstheminuteregistrationisannounced.Hundredsofthousandsofapplicantscompete-notonlyforthetopprize,buttowinaplaceintheevent.Runningenthusiastsacrossthecountrygooutoftheirwayandspendlargesumsofmoney,evenonairfares,inordertoparticipateandcompeteinrunning.
StatisticsfromtheChineseAthleticAssociation(CAA)showthatin2017,atotalof1,100marathonevents(withasizeof800competitorsorup)spreadingacross31provinces,autonomousregionsandmunicipalitiesinChinawererecorded.Nearly5millionrunnersregisteredasparticipantsintheraces,anincreaseofcloseto2.2millioncomparedwiththepreviousyear.
Governmentsupport,socialparticipationandstrongmarketingfromthesportingindustryhavegraduallyincreasedinthecountryandledtotherapiddevelopmentofthemarathonindustry,valuingtheracesat70billionyuan($10.77billion).Todate,themarathonindustryinChinahascreatedanestimated720,000jobsnationwide,accordingtoCAAofficialwebsite.
Morethanfitness
Inrecentyears,China’sever-growingfascinationwithmarathonshasbeentriggeredbyitseconomicdevelopmentandhealth-consciousmiddleclass.Accordingtothe2016ChinaSportsConsumptionEcologyReportreleasedbythe21stCenturyEconomicResearchInstituteande-commerceplatformJD,alargeproportionofthemarathonrunnersarefromthemiddleclass,namelythewhite-collarworkers,civilservantsandbusinesspeoplewhoarekeenonleadingahealthylifestyle.
“Noothersportrequiressimplerentrytoparticipate.Allyouneedisagoodpairofrunningshoes,andyouarereadytohittheroad,regardlessofageorgender,”saidLuJin,amarathonenthusiast.Asa45-year-oldsurgeoninBeijing,Lustartedwithhalf-marathonsthreeyearsagoforasimplepurpose–maintainingfitness.Now,heisanoldhandatthesportwhohasparticipatedinmanyinternationalmarathons.
“Runningamarathongivesyouastrongerheartandlung,moredefinedleg,gluteandstomachmuscles,betterposture,possibleweightlossandincreasedstrengthandendurance,”LutoldChinAfrica.
However,thebenefitsofamarathonarefarmorethanphysicaleffects.“Manypeoplefindthatastheytrain,it’sacatalystforreducingoreliminatingunhealthypracticessuchassmoking,excessivealcoholintake,andovereatingjunkfood.Youmightaddafewyearstoyourlife,butyou’llmostcertainlyaddmorelifetoyouryears,”hesaid.AsaseeminglypressuredITengineer,WuYoubecameamarathonaddictuponrealizingtheamountofrelaxationitofferedafterahardday.“Runninglongdistances,increasesresilienceandimprovesmentalclarity,”Wusaid.“Itcanbeaplacewhereyoufindpeaceandsolitude,havetimetothink,andareabletoworkthroughnegativeemotions.Whenyouareupsetandrunning,youwillfindthattheworldisreallysimple,justunderyourfeet.”
Alifestylechoice
Formanyrunners,marathonsareawayoflife.
“Aswegetolder,theplacesandopportunitiestomeetnewpeoplebecomeless.Ifindthatparticipatinginmarathonsisasimplewaytomakefriends,”saidWu,whomadealotoffriendsintheXstopRunningCommunity,arunningclubwith48,000membersestablishedbyXtep,oneoftheleadingdistributorsinsportingmerchandiseinChina.
“Thesenseofbelongingandthemutualencouragementthatexistswithintherunningcommunityareverywarmformany.Weeasilybefriendoneanotheraswehavethesamebelief-tokeeprunningandneverstop,”WutoldChinAfrica.Besides,amarathoncanbeagreatwaytoexplorenewplaces.Forarunnerwhoalsolovestraveling,marathonsareasolidchoice.“Competinginaninternationalmarathonisachancetoexperienceacityoracountryyou’venevervisitedbefore,”saidMengXiangkun,anexperiencedrunnerfromTianjinwhooftenrunsinLondon,NewYorkandMelbourne.
Accordingtohim,there’sauniqueperspectivethatpeoplegetrunningthroughthestreetsofacity,uniqueancientbuildingsoramazingnaturalsettings.Somehowthisjustcannotbeseenbywhizzinginacar.Plus,duringarace,thestreetsareoftencloseddownsoyoudon’thavetobattletraffic.XINHUA2018ZhengzhouKaifengInternationalMarathonstartsinZhengzhou,capitalofHenanProvinceonMarch25Marathonsmarketcities
Inanefforttoincreasepopularity,manycitiesinChinahavebeenscramblingtohostmarathonracesastheyareaboosttowardthelocalcateringandtourismindustries.AccordingtoZhangXin,DeputyDirectorofChongqingSportsBureau,mostofthemarathonsinChinaareheldundertheauspicesoflocalgovernments,evenasfarasLanzhouinthenorthwestChina’sGansuProvince.
“AsChinaisintheprocessofspeedingupitsurbanizationinrecentyears,themunicipalauthoritiesarekeenonaccommodatingsimilarsportseventtofurtherdisplayandpromotetheircities,”saidZhang.
Duetoitslargeparticipationandnationwidemediacoverage,localgovernmentsconsidermarathonstobeanimportantpartofmarketingtheircities.Thus,manycitiessingleouttheiruniqueroutesacrossscenicspotsandhistoricalattractions,notonlytoboostthefitnessofthepeople,butalsotopromotetheirlocaltourism.
Forexample,onApril21,theFanwanLakeWetlandInternationalMarathonwasheldinQianjiang,centralChina’sHubeiProvince.Atelevisedbroadcastoftheeventpresentedthecity’sbeautifulandnaturalscenerytotheworld.Afterthehostingoftheevent,onMayDayholidayonMay1-3,approximately130,000touristsarrivedinQianjiang,agrowthof7.8percentyearonyear,generatingatotaltourismoutputvalueof30millionyuan($4.62million).
Challenges
ThoughChinaisinthegripofasportingboom,themarathonisstillanewsportontheblock,thusalotofchallengesoccurintermsofraceoperationandmarketing.Forexample,cheatingtoenteraracehasbecomeaprobleminsomemarathoncompetitions.Inthe2017BeijingInternationalMarathon,threerunnersusedthesameIDnumber,exposinglong-existingissuesofcontestantsfabricatingbibnumbersortradingentryspotsillegallytorunwithoutregistration.Inordertocurbsuchproblems,inOctober2017,theCAAimposednewruleswhichincludebanningrunnersfromtheracestheycheatedin,andanysecondoffenceresultingintotaldisqualificationfromallCAAauthorizedraces.
Inadditiontoeliminatingcheatinginthesport,theCAAhasalsoissuedguidelineswithregardtoracemanagement,runnerstraining,medicaltreatmentandemergencyaidtoensuretherunners’safetyandwell-being.
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