hug taima tightly and meet a better self
2024-09-23
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spectators cheered for the taiyuan marathon athletes.
the taiyuan marathon track has been renewed and upgraded, allowing runners to experience the beauty of taiyuan.
the contestants took a group photo before the game.
father and son joined forces to challenge tai ma.
on september 22, the 2024 taiyuan marathon (hereinafter referred to as taiyuan marathon) arrived as scheduled.
a marathon is an embrace with the city, a release of the soul, and a process of "self-dialogue". during the 42.195 kilometers, the joyful resonance and emotional resonance between runners and the event transcend the limitations of time and space.
on the track of taiyuan marathon, the sweat on our bodies has not yet dried, but the seeds of another start have been planted in our hearts.
not only run out of vest line, but also run into the scenery line
“i started preparing for the taiyuan international marathon very early and carried out systematic training. i am very satisfied with the result today,” said desalegen jima debule, the men’s full-distance champion of this year’s taiyuan international marathon.
as a world athletics gold label and chinese athletics association a1 event, the high-standard organizing standards of this taiyuan international marathon attracted 34 high-level athletes from home and abroad to compete. the competition between masters has always been the most beautiful scenery on the track.
after the competition, desalegan jima debule from ethiopia won the men's full-course championship in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 30 seconds, breaking the record of the event. the original record of the taiyuan marathon was 2 hours, 8 minutes and 51 seconds, which had been untouched for 12 years.
"the weather in taiyuan made the whole race very comfortable. i was impressed by the beautiful scenery of the track, especially yingze street, which felt very smooth to run on." desalegen jima debule said, "i am very much looking forward to meeting this track again.
the shanxi runners also performed well at home. guo liya won the women's half marathon championship in 1 hour 15 minutes 21 seconds. this jincheng girl, who specializes in half marathons, won gold and silver medals in many marathon events this year.
you'll be cool if you run a marathon and give it your all
at the starting point of taiyuan marathon, jia xiaoguang, wearing a dark red traditional chinese style top and with delicate makeup, took photos.
"this is my first time in taiyuan and my first time participating in a marathon. my teammates are all marathon enthusiasts," said jia xiaoguang, who is from bo'ai county, jiaozuo city, henan province. "under the influence and encouragement of my friends, i also fell in love with running. this time i signed up for a half marathon to experience it."
teammate zhao jihong has participated in marathons for 10 years, and this is her first time participating in taiyuan marathon. "the air here is very good, the city is very clean, and the citizens are very enthusiastic," zhao jihong said. "yesterday, my sisters and i went to zhonglou street to taste knife-cut noodles and baked buns, and we deeply felt the joy of carbohydrates."
marathon enthusiasts arrived at the registration point one after another to register, change clothes, and warm up. at this time, both sides of yingze street were crowded with people. citizens who came from all directions consciously stood outside the cordon, holding national flags and colorful flags, swaying rhythmically, and the majestic gongs and drums ignited the atmosphere. the cheerleaders performed to their heart's content with the explosive music, and the shouts of "come on! come on!" were deafening.
as the race was about to start, jia xiaoguang pulled his teammates together, made a victory sign, and cheered loudly: "taiyuan, here we come, let's cheer together!"
my comfort zone is to run in a comfortable place
"this year's taiyuan marathon is my 38th full marathon," said cheng xiangdong.
cheng xiangdong is 66 years old this year. he participated in the "healthy run" category of the first taiyuan marathon in 2010. in 2011, cheng xiangdong "entered" the half marathon and completed the "double hundred plan" as he wished, that is, running under 100 minutes (1 hour 39 minutes and 06 seconds) and finishing within the top 100 (77th).
starting from the 2011 beijing marathon, cheng xiangdong began to participate in full marathons. he has completed 14 "double gold" marathon events in china so far. during this period, he went to greece and south korea to share the joy of running with runners from all over the world.
"i have written and photographic records of every full marathon i have participated in," said cheng xiangdong. "i have participated in so many half marathons and mini-marathons that i can't even count them all."
cheng xiangdong finished the taiyuan marathon in 4 hours, 3 minutes and 6 seconds. "i have participated in 15 consecutive taiyuan marathons, and this is the second best result. it's a pity that i missed the 4-hour mark," said cheng xiangdong.
"i am very pleased to have been running for 15 years, from mini health runs to half and full marathons," said cheng xiangdong. "i plan to collect the finishing plaques of all 16 domestic marathon 'double gold' events this year."
life is not about how fast you run but how far you dare to run
"today is the last day of my 30th birthday and the first time i have completed a half marathon," liu yifan said. "i believe the future will be better."
"i have loved running since i was a child. i have good physical fitness and have participated in the national middle school track and field championships." liu yifan said, "when i was in high school and college, i was always among the top three in track and field events at school sports meets."
after graduation, liu yifan, who works in a private enterprise, was busy with work and had little time to participate in sports. "but i always believed that i was still an 'athlete' and i still had a chance to stand on the field," he said.
liu yifan participated in the taiyuan marathon mini run last year, but was not satisfied with the 5km race. this year, he tried to sign up for the half marathon. "luckily, i won the lottery, but unfortunately, i didn't have time to prepare for the race." liu yifan said frankly, "the day before the race, i couldn't sleep because i was worried that i couldn't finish the race."
liu yifan finished the race in 2 hours, 46 minutes and 1 second, a result that made him the "most handsome guy" in his circle of friends. when he mustered up the courage and took the first step, he had already become a winner.
"today is my last day of my 30th birthday. completing the race safely is my best birthday gift." liu yifan said, "when running on the marathon road, every step you take on the ground counts. this is the power that sports brings to people. always run forward and always have tears in your eyes."
what you finish is the finish line, what you can never finish is friendship
"i got it, i got it, the freshly-made 'dragon brand'. two more pieces will make up a whole circle." wei peng said.
wei peng, 42, has participated in the taiyuan marathon for the 10th year. as a staff member of xiaojingyu community in our city, wei peng loved playing football when he was in school. now that his friends have gone their separate ways, it is difficult to put together a football team, so he and several friends formed a huayu 6-person group to train and run together and participate in competitions together.
in order to achieve good results, wei peng and his friends gradually resumed training just after the spring festival this year. every morning at 6 o'clock, they would run from west central ring road to peace park, run a few laps on the park track, and then run home. sometimes in the summer, they would play football with their friends at night, and they kept in good shape.
this year, the race started on the renovated yingze street, and the weather was very good, so it was very comfortable to run, and the speed in the first few kilometers was not slow at all. when he ran to the yingze bridge, wei peng took a photo to commemorate this rare moment.
“as long as you swipe your id card, you can follow the system’s instructions to the designated area to pick up clothes and other items. the whole process only takes 5 minutes.” wei peng admitted that each taiyuan marathon is better than the last. “this year, the full marathon, half marathon and parent-child run have separate tracks, so everyone does not interfere with each other. each track has corresponding volunteers to provide services, which is very thoughtful.”
youth has no limits, victory is at your feet
"if i finish the competition, i will be the champion," said wang jiarui.
on september 22, 2024, wang jiarui celebrated his 12th birthday and won the first marathon "gold medal" in his life.
"the family wanted to give jiarui a special birthday gift that was more meaningful and memorable than those traditional artistic photos." his mother, bai yingyu, said that she ordered a marathon "gold medal" online in advance so that her child could experience the feeling of being a champion.
"i was running with that shining 'gold medal' on my head all the way. when the uncles and aunts beside the track saw me, they all gave me a thumbs-up and some even high-fived me to encourage me." wang jiarui said, "i felt like a real champion!"
the first runner to complete the mini marathon was 16-year-old cai rongheng. he has participated in the taiyuan marathon mini run every year since he was 9 years old. after the race, cai rongheng quickly changed his clothes and quietly left the stage.
"i also have an interest class at 9 o'clock." cai rongheng joked, "maybe this is the reason that stimulated my potential and made me the first to finish the mini marathon." cai rongheng said that next year he might bid farewell to the mini marathon and instead try to challenge the half marathon.
"i hope to make continuous progress in both sports and studies and go further," said cai rongheng.
42 kilometers is the charm of perseverance. every time you persevere, it counts.
he xiaojing, a runner from chongqing, has participated in more than ten marathons. he started to serve as a pacer in the chongqing marathon in 2019. this year, he ran the taiyuan marathon for the first time and served as the official pacer for the 5 hour and 30 minute time period.
he xiaojing said that in her first full marathon, she almost didn't finish the race because her shoes didn't fit. it was the encouragement of the "rabbit" that made her persevere. after this experience, he xiaojing said that she also wanted to be a "rabbit".
an important mission of the "slow rabbit" is to encourage beginners and help them deal with emergencies. "being a pacer is a different kind of race experience. when i hear a runner's breathing sound is not right during the race, i help them adjust their breathing, run slowly with us, and persevere."
many full marathon runners will feel exhausted after 33 kilometers, and some will have leg cramps. at this time, the "rabbit" will help them stretch, spray energy gel, encourage them, adjust their pace, and lead them to finish the race smoothly. "today, after 35 kilometers, i overtook many runners, but we have to maintain the speed, so i cheered them on and encouraged them to persevere."
the day before the competition, a friend from taiyuan took he xiaojing to check in at jin temple, tianlongshan internet-famous bridge, and yingze bridge. "this time we ate a lot of taiyuan noodles. i am a chongqing person who doesn't like noodles, but i ate several meals of noodles a day. they were chewy, smooth, and delicious."
don't ask if i run fast or not, just ask that i love it very much
"having us running on the track can also give ordinary runners a sense of peace of mind," said medical runner huang xi.
huang, 39, is from xi'an and has been running for 5 years. she has previously participated in the xi'an marathon, yangling marathon, xi'an city wall marathon and other events. in this taiyuan marathon, huang served as a medical runner in the 2:30 to 2:45 half marathon.
"this is my first time participating in a marathon outside the province, and also my first time as a medical runner." huang xi joked, "at my age, i have elderly parents and young children to take care of. i can take care of people at home and take care of my runners on the track."
as early as april this year, huang started preparing for the taiyuan marathon. her training plan included strength training, interval running, long-distance running, etc. "when i knew i was going to be a medical runner, i trained even harder," she said.
on september 22, the 2024 taiyuan marathon started. huang wei transformed into a "track angel" and took steps with fellow runners.
"the temperature today is very comfortable, and it feels like the best temperature for running a marathon. the track is flat, and there are many supply stations, so we basically didn't encounter any emergencies," huang said. "some runners had leg cramps at the 18th kilometer mark, and i assisted and guided them in stretching their leg muscles."
huang xi admitted that she has become more positive in her life after years of long-distance running. "i feel more relaxed and energetic, and can do more of what i want to do," huang xi said. "i hope i can continue to run healthily, and encourage more people around me to enjoy jogging and gain health."
every step on the road of marathon is a rhythm of yearning for freedom
"the ancient city of taiyuan is very hospitable. whether you win the lottery or not, runners can visit many scenic spots for free, which makes people feel warm." ma le and his wife, runners from inner mongolia, praised.
ma le won the lottery for this year's taiyuan marathon, but his wife did not. after learning that runners who did not win the lottery could also visit the nine major scenic spots in taiyuan for free, ma le and his wife started their trip to taiyuan with great interest.
"we arrived in taiyuan on the 19th. when we got out of taiyuan railway station, we saw the brand new yingze street. this new track makes us happy and eager to try it." ma le said that taiyuan's urban construction is very friendly to running enthusiasts.
during the days of preparation for the competition, ma le and his wife would go jogging in yingze park every morning. "the air is fresh and the scenery is pleasant," ma le said. "there are many people walking and jogging in the park, and everyone feels the convenience brought by the city's development."
on september 20, ma le and his wife went to the classical garden jinci and experienced a journey through time and space. "the buildings here are simple and quaint, with historical and cultural heritage, gurgling water and towering ancient trees. walking a few hundred steps will give you the feeling of traveling through time and space. it is a wonderful experience," said ma le.
after checking in at the jinrentai, the filming location of the 1986 version of journey to the west, making a "yeah" sign in front of a wooden dragon sculpture and taking photos with a thousand-year-old cypress, the ma le couple said in unison: "taiyuan not only has beautiful scenery, but is also very friendly to runners. it's worth coming again and again. we will sign up for the next taiyuan marathon!"
reporter yang erxin chen xinhua liu tao wei wei jia shangzhi
trainee reporter chang wenfei
photography: zhang haoyu, mi guowei, wang yunfei, guo yuanfu, taiyuan evening news
