Hello, I am a rabbit, a Yongma rabbit.

It is saidHangzhou Bay is a very new area. Ten years ago, it was still a vast sea. Later, it was developed, and the whole city is very new. The hotel is near the starting point, and there is a large shopping mall nearby with everything you could want, which is very convenient.

After studying the route map, I found that the track is very straight, without too many technical sections.

(This is the result of playing too much cross-country, haha. Technical sections usually refer to the road conditions and sections in cross-country races that can reflect the comprehensive level of the participants and have a certain degree of difficulty.)

2 hours and 15 minutes, 6 minutes and 24 seconds per kilometer, with a heart rate between 135-155. This is simply the ideal pace for jogging. I submitted the application form without hesitation and then looked forward to it.

Yongma is scheduled for Saturday, which is ideal because Sunday can be used as a full rest day after the race, allowing for good recovery. Although I have to go to the Chengdu Marathon on Sunday (this is a negative example, haha), I still chose to run two marathons in two cities over two days. Some people say it's crazy, but I have an estimate of my physical fitness. As long as the pace is appropriate, finishing the race shouldn't be a problem. (215+445)

After work on Friday, I set off from Hangzhou. The high-speed train took less than an hour to get from Hangzhou to Yuyao North Station. I met some runners who were also participating in Yongma, and we shared a ride to the hotel.

I think every runner loves the idea of running travel.

After arriving at the hotel, I went out to eat seafood because I heard that the seafood in Ningbo Hangzhou Bay New Area is very good. More importantly, Tsingtao Brewery specially customized a Yongma edition of Tsingtao Beer for this race. The legendary combination of beer and seafood is as delightful as being a celestial being, nothing more than that!

The seafood was very fresh, though not very large. My favorite was the local braised black pork and the small white squid (yes, squid). Stir-fried with green peppers, the freshness of the sea and the crispness of the peppers made a perfect combination.

A popsicle after the meal, happiness like a celestial being~ Carbs+++

This time, the rabbit's gear was provided by Hailes. The men's version was blue, and the women's version was pink. It was quick-drying and sweat-absorbing. In this era of marathon explosions, the quality of domestic brands has improved rapidly.

An alarm clock, late-night talks, what could be happier than meeting long-known friends and whispering in bed?

The alarm clock rang at 4:50, and I was full of energy. The person in charge of the pacers took great care of the rabbits, covering every detail. Since the hotel couldn't provide breakfast very early, the organizing committee had prepared breakfast packs in advance.

We arrived at the site very early and went to the toilet with Panpan. Surprisingly, we found an exceptionally clean portable toilet with blue disinfectant inside, so there was no smell in the public restroom.

One awkward thing for short girls is that when they enter a public toilet, the balloon gets stuck outside.

Everything went smoothly before the start. The photographer arrived early, the media arrived, and the volunteers had already set up lines to distinguish between the half marathon, the full marathon, and the mini marathon.

Everything was orderly and ready to go.

Volunteers, medical rescue, police.

The famous self-media person, Mr. Xu Jin.

All the medical staff were in place!

At this moment, I turned my head and saw something!

I remembered George's favorite from Peppa Pig, dinosaurs~~~~

They are also my favorite!

Oh my, this is too cute! The Tsingtao Beer team - a family of dinosaurs standing in a row, looking up at the sky, inexplicably hit my funny bone, haha. I couldn't help but take a selfie with them.

This race did not have a staggered start, so the rabbits' strategy was for the full marathon rabbits to stand at the front, while the half marathon rabbits stood at the half marathon starting point, taking the gun time.

Marathon results are divided into two types: net time and gun time.

Net time refers to the total time you spend from crossing the starting line to the finish line, while gun time refers to the time from the gunshot to when you cross the finish line.

In marathon races, very few people can achieve the same net time and gun time because there are many people. By the time you cross the timing mat at the starting line, the gunshot has usually already sounded.

This is a small challenge for half marathon rabbits because the distance on their watches may be inaccurate. This means that their own timing tools (apps or watches) may have deviations. Some inexperienced rabbits may collapse because they rush too much at the beginning.

So we decided to synchronize our watches every 5 kilometers, and the calculated time was just right.

As an experienced rabbit, I did one thing before going to bed: I calculated the time for each kilometer at a pace of 6 minutes and 24 seconds and memorized it.

I am very proud of my memory before senility sets in.

Along the way, I reported the time every kilometer with the other three rabbits. The 215 rabbit sister controlled the pace, and I was responsible for making slight speed adjustments when I saw the kilometer markers. At the same time, I announced the expected time for the next kilometer.

With a pace of 6:24, we checked our watches against the timing boards every kilometer. 24*5=120, so the time for every 5 kilometers would end in 0 seconds. Dopamine surged, and I felt smarter!

The Yongma route is actually in the Hangzhou Bay New Area. There aren't many people here, but I was pleasantly surprised by the great atmosphere along the road. When passing through residential areas, I saw people leaning out of high-rise buildings to cheer us on, and there were various cosplays on both sides of the road.

There was a band with a weathered rock style.

There were aunties doing the most dazzling ethnic dance, cute Nongfu Spring mascots, and even a black-clad Charlie Chaplin on the track, complementing the photographer Xiaobaicai's white suit.

At this point, we encountered a small problem. My balloon and the sister's balloon got tangled together. We tried hard to separate them, but even using her teeth, we couldn't untangle them. Our pace slowed down a bit, and we were anxious.

A face with a forced smile.

After thinking about it, I decided that we would hold hands and run to the finish line together. This was at the 10km mark. So for the next 12 kilometers or so, we needed to stick together and face any problems that arose.

With determined eyes and still warm hands tightly clasped together, at that moment, I felt:

Rabbits are also very sacred and an indispensable part of marathons.

Hearing the cheers from the crowd on the roadside, I heard someone shout: Huang Yanzhuo, slow down! I was happy to be remembered and more serious about fulfilling my mission.

At the supply point, the half marathon and full marathon split paths, and our hands almost never let go.

Running a marathon is like leveling up and fighting monsters in a game. You will encounter different challenges. Each race has the same distance, but different stories happen because of different companions, weather, and locations.

Mission accomplished, and I was pleasantly surprised to see elite full marathon runners sprinting to the finish line.

Happily took a photo with the cosplaying big doll.

Took a group photo with my friends.

Gave the balloon to a future marathon fan with eyes shining like stars.

It is worth mentioning the cute little glutinous rice. Yongma was very thoughtful in terms of supplies this time. I got to eat the glutinous rice bananas that I had been longing for, airlifted from Ceheng, Guizhou Province. I was looking forward to it all the way and got one at the supply point, grinning from ear to ear.

At the finish line, I found that in addition to medals, they also gave out little glutinous rice!I wanted the medal, and I greedily took three glutinous rice bananas.

On the way to catch the plane, cheers.

The half marathon distance is neither short nor long. This won't be the first race, nor will it be the last. However, it is indeed a race where I saw the organizers put in a lot of effort and heart, like watching a child grow up, seeing the progress.

The best journey in life is when you find a long-lost touch in a strange place.

Let's run happily together, Yong forward! Looking forward to the 2020 Ningbo International Marathon, looking forward to every year's Yongma, becoming a more professional pacer, and enjoying a better Yongma.

Ningbo, Yongma, see you next year.

END