2017 marathon will be very different
To be fair, in the past two years, marathons have grown like 'wild grass' in China, liberating running from the dullness of physical education classes and allowing the public to truly find the joy of exercise.
Besides the public's yearning for a better physique, this change should be credited to the gradual relaxation of event approvals by the Chinese Athletics Association. However, the more bustling a place, the more chaos it tends to have. Complaints about races have been numerous: substitute runners and bandits have become fashionable, African runners frequently visit, and trail runs have turned into wilderness survival...
Indeed, from an objective perspective, the marathon is a brilliant design where the government, brands, and the public all benefit, creating a win-win-win situation. But in this chaotic and immature circle, flaws and deficiencies have gradually surfaced, culminating in a collective outbreak in 2016.
So, I want to ask:
'How will domestic marathons evolve in 2017?'
1. Substitute runners? Out!
As the first marathon of the year in China, the Xiamen International Marathon has indeed seen some interesting changes. Measures such as banning proxy collection of race packets, introducing chip monitoring on the course, and extending the recording time to 1 hour and 50 minutes have made it more troublesome for substitute runners.
2. African runners getting familiar? No worries!
On December 8, the Chinese Athletics Association announced the launch of the 'China Marathon Majors' alliance in 2017 to integrate the best marathon resources in China, establish top-notch event standards, and promote the internationalization, standardization, and commercialization of Chinese marathons. The aim is to build a higher-level exchange platform and play a demonstrative role in the development and advancement of Chinese marathons.
According to this new regulation, the China Marathon Majors will include several top-quality domestic marathon events and will set up a grand prize for Chinese marathon runners. This move is expected to enhance the organizational level of Chinese marathon events and encourage more Chinese athletes and the public to participate.
Meanwhile, some marathons, big and small, are highlighting 'not inviting high-level foreign athletes' as a promotional point to attract more runners to participate.
3. Upgraded emergency measures!
After the sudden death incident at the Xiamen Half Marathon last year, the Chinese Athletics Association issued a notice on December 12 to strengthen event safety management. The notice stipulated that pre-race preventive notifications should be enhanced, mobile emergency forces should be increased during the race, the number of physician runners and signboards should be increased, and post-race medical volunteer patrols should be strengthened.
4. More attentive organizing committees!
Do you remember the story of African runners collectively taking the wrong route at the 2016 Nanjing Marathon?
Equally bizarre was the Qingyuan Marathon in Guangdong, where thousands of runners were injured, and soap that looked like bread, along with half-rotten bananas, were put into the supply bags, leading to runners mistakenly eating them.
Soap can be 'picked up' and 'scrubbed,' but it can't be eaten! Dear organizing committee, wouldn't it be perfect to put a Codoon nutrition bar in the supply bag? Having one before and after the race can more efficiently replenish energy, much better than soap.
Therefore, I believe that in 2017, some marathon organizing committees need to bring in more professional teams to improve communication and organizational skills, to avoid international jokes like turning the track into a maze and mistakenly eating soap.
Some images are from the internet, please delete if infringing.
Created: 2017-01-05 08:56:50