Jinjiang Online Marathon 2020 kicked off 83196 out of 181524 applicants finished the race

The 7- day Jinjiang Kelme Online Mara⁃ thon wrapped up with 181524 applicants from 34 provincial districts, among whom 83196 runners finished the race, hitting a re⁃ cord high.

The race started for online registration in Gudong (a sports app) at 12:00, Dec.21, 2020 and closed at 22:00, Jan.6, 2021. 70552 run⁃ ners applied for the 5- kilometer course with 34251 finishers, 69922 for the 10- kilometer course with 34251 finishers and 41050 for the half marathon with 16628 finishers.

Figures showed that the male marathon⁃ ers accounted for 63.23% of the applicants while the female ones 36.77%. And over half aged between 26 to 40, 33.13% between 18 to 25.

The applicants were from 34 provincial districts, among which Fujian accounted for the most with 36187 runners. The other top 3 provinces, Fujian apart, were Guangdong, Zhejiang and Shandong.

Jinjiang Online Marathon 2020 was host⁃ ed by Jinjiang Municipal People's Govern⁃ ment, presented by Jinjiang Economy News Of⁃ fice, named by sports brand Kelme and spon⁃ sored by Jinjiang Running Association, Jinji⁃ ang Fitness Jogging Association and Jinjiang Long Running-distance Association.

Runner in Heilongjiang ran with the temperature of -20℃

"I was wrapped up in snow after the running, just like a snowman." Recalling the experience in the online race of Jinji⁃ ang Marathon this year, Wang Zhiliang, from Daqin, Heilongjiang, laughed.

Sept. 31st, 2020, Wang got up at 5 a. m. After washing up, he put on the com⁃ pression, wadded jacket, hooded jacket, hat, scarf, mask and finally anti-skid train⁃ ers. Armed to teeth, Wang stepped out in⁃ to the chilly wind and heavy snow.

It was snowy and freezing outside with the temperature of - 20℃ . Wang ran along the roads around the community and finished the 10k race soon, leaving countless footprints behind in the snow.

Born and raised in Heilongjiang, an inland province in north China, Wang has always been attracted by coastal cities. He said he had been planning a trip to Fujian after retirement, to run the Jinji⁃ ang Marathon once again and to enjoy the local culture.

Brothers in their 60s ran in different cities

About 3500 runners aged more than 60 signed up for Jinjiang Marathon this year, accounting 1.93% of all. Among these senior runners, Lin Yixing & Lin Yizhong, brothers living in different cit⁃ ies, entered for the online marathon with⁃ out telling each other in advance and both of them enjoyed it quite a lot.

"I’ve heard of Jinjiang Marathon though I’ve never been there," said Lin Yizhong, aged 67. He talked loud and clear on the phone, "I really like online races. There is no reason to miss the marathon held in my province." On the day that Jinjiang Marathon kicked off, it took only about half an hour for Lin Yi⁃ zhong to finish the 5k race along the Wulong River, Fuzhou.

"It’s one of my favorite running routes. The great scenery aside makes me feel good in running." At the same time, it was also not difficult for his el⁃ der brother, Lin Yixing, to finished the 10k race in a stadium of their home⁃ town, Putian. It’s worth mentioning that neither of the bothers knew that they both signed up for Jinjiang Marathon be⁃ fore the reporter told them.

At the end of the interviews, the brothers both mentioned that if there is a chance in the future, they would like to go to Jinjiang together to run the marathon, to feel its charm online to of⁃ fline.

Runners’Stories

Commemorate retirement with running a marathon

On January 1, 2021, Li Shaocang, a member of Jinjiang Fit⁃ ness Jogging Associa⁃ tion, finished the race to commemorate his re⁃ tirement.

Li Shaocang was a bank clerk for 42 years. "On January 1, 2021, the day I retired, I signed up for Jinjiang Online Marathon and fin⁃ ished the race." Li Shao⁃ cang said.

"I had been lacing up since 1995. This is the 26th year." Li Shao⁃ cang said, his personal best was 3h 28m. "Now I run every day, with a relaxed body and mind."

Pass the spirit of Jinjiang Marathon to family and friends

Since the beginning of Jinjiang Marathon, Deng Biaoyuan from the Jinjiang Running Association has been busy in planning a route for New Year's Eve Running in order to welcome the new year together with runners. What attracted Deng Biaoyu⁃ an most was the spirit of Jinjiang Marathon, never giving up and persist⁃ ing in fighting, and he also passed this spirit to his family and friends.

"I started practicing running on January 1, 2019. At that time, I was 112.5 kilograms. I was very fat." Due to insisting on running, Deng Bi⁃ aoyuan lost 25 kilograms. Blood pres⁃ sure, blood fat and blood sugar main⁃ tained standard, and the body was much better, "that year I participated in Jinjiang Marathon, and I totally fall in love with the marathon."

After running the last night of 2020, Deng Biaoyuan called on his wife and friends to Jinjiang Gymnasi⁃ um to complete Jinjiang Marathon on January 3, 2021. "My wife did not have any training for running before. This time I taught her some meth⁃ ods. After only more than 40 days, my wife was able to finish half mara⁃ thon." Deng Biaoyuan said.

"Destiny ties us together"

December 31, New Year's Eve. Zhou Junhua, a "post- 80s" runner from Qionghai, Hainan, clocked off but did not rush home. Instead, he chose to run a 10k marathon to ring in the new year.

"The temperature was about 13° C at that time. It was a bit cold at the beginning, but I felt warmer as I ran." When reaching the end, Zhou Junhua opened his arms with sweat and smile. This was his first "date" with Jinjiang Online Marathon.

Talking about the reasons why he participated in the race, Zhou Junhua said that the unique cos⁃ tumes attracted his attention, " the six Chinese characters '有情义，好兄 弟(Together, Fellow Runners)' on the clothes are really powerful."

Zhou Junhua said he was im⁃ pressed by the theme of the 2020 Jinjiang Online Marathon, "On the last day of 2020, I participated in the first online race in my life to make a fresh start."

Encounter with nature in the rain

Hong Yongjin, vice president of Jinjiang Running Association, says that this year Jinjiang Marathon was more playable. Jinjiang Marathon was a form of running according to the fixed route. We provided run⁃ ners with a Gymnasiade route before the race. In addition to experiencing Jinjiang Public Exercise Center, you could enjoy pastoral scenes with charming streams.

"This time I appreciated pasto⁃ ral scenes. I felt the magic of the nature." Hong Yongjin by himself planned the route 20 days before the race, and finally formulated a relatively better road.

"Although it was drizzling that day, runners were very happy. We had an encounter with nature in the rain." As an organizer, Hong Yongjin believed that runners liked the route they set and they were able to complete Jinjiang Marathon, which was meaningful.

　　策划：秦 娴 

　　执行：李诗怡 林小杰 秦 越 董严军 

　　翻译：郑芷芳 张自玲 黄珍珍黄凌燕