as a shandong native i didnt know qingdao had so many hills
In October, I signed up for three races in total, all full marathons: Longkou on the 14th, Xi'an on the 20th, and Qingdao on the 28th.
To be honest, I hadn't planned on signing up for Qingdao. But as luck would have it, I won an entry through an event organized by Codoon. With the arrow already on the string, I had no choice but to go. After all, integrity matters, right? Besides, Qingdao hosts numerous events every year like the Qingdao Marathon, Sea Marathon, Night Marathon, and Garden Half Marathon, none of which I've ever participated in.
Even though Qingdao is quite close to me, just two hours by high-speed train, I rarely go there. As far as I can remember, I've only been to Qingdao three times: once many years ago for the Garden Expo, the second time this May for the Laoshan Trail Race, and the third time this summer for a two-day trip to Huangdao.
Before the race, I kept hearing that Qingdao's course had a lot of hills, but I didn't take it seriously. How hilly could a coastal city be? I went to college in Yantai, another coastal city with some hills, but they weren't many or steep. The terrain was relatively flat.
After the previous two weeks of races, I was quite confident about breaking three hours and had basically found the rhythm and techniques to do so. I felt that barring any external factors, breaking three hours in three consecutive weeks wasn't impossible and was actually quite hopeful. Since returning from Xi'an, I mainly focused on recovery runs without high intensity because the intensity in Xi'an was already quite high, and I needed time to recover. Pushing for speed too soon could easily lead to injury.
A long time ago, Codoon contacted me, hoping I could share some marathon tips as a guest at the Codoon Heroes event during the Qingdao Marathon. So, early Saturday morning, I took the train to Qingdao. The gear pickup was at the Olympic Sailing Center, a venue from the 2008 Olympics and one of the sites for this year's SCO Summit. It's a very upscale place with blue seas, blue skies, and white sails. Looking out at the coastline, with skyscrapers in the distance, it was a stunning scene.
This year's Codoon Heroes event also invited the 'Dream Ambassador' of the Qingdao Marathon, Black Cat, to represent the organizing committee and explain the course and route information. Regarding concerns about the course, Black Cat reassured everyone that it was nothing to worry about and to just enjoy the beautiful scenery.
After the event, I watched the sunset by the sea for a while before heading back to the hotel. I stayed in a prime location near May Fourth Square and the city government, about a kilometer from the starting point. There were a Ginza Mall and Carrefour right outside, so I went to the supermarket to buy some food, organized my gear, and went to bed early. It had been a rushed day, and I hadn't had a proper meal or rest.
The race started at 7:30. After eating and getting ready, I checked the real-time temperature: 12°C, perfect! I left at 6:20 and arrived at the starting point within a few minutes. I was a bit early, so I took some photos and wandered around. I thought about going back to the hotel to kill time, but a round trip would take 20 minutes, so it wasn't worth it. Finally, at 7:00, I stored my bag and squeezed to the starting line to get a good position.
I got a good spot in the second row. In front of me were two invited runners from 361°, but for some reason, the staff wouldn't let them into the invited runners' area, so they had to stand in the front row of Zone A.
As part of the 'Run China, Belt and Road' series, the Qingdao Marathon included speeches from various leaders, flag-raising, and the national anthem. The race, originally scheduled to start at 7:30, was delayed by three minutes, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the runners, including me.
Everyone knows that the first kilometer after the start is usually quite exciting, and it's easy to lose control of your pace. As soon as the gun went off, I ran with the crowd, trying hard to control my pace because I knew the hills in Qingdao could be challenging. I wanted to save some energy for the second half. The first kilometer was 4:02, which was fine. Then came a gentle uphill. I worked on lifting my knees to maintain speed. In the distance, I saw a black girl slowing down. As I got closer, I realized she had a side stitch. I ignored her and focused on my own race.
Although the hills on the Qingdao course weren't very steep, they did affect my stamina and the overall race rhythm. Uphills were slow like a cow, and downhills were fast like a tiger. Additionally, the numerous turns and switchbacks disrupted my pacing, as seen in my pace chart (ignore the heart rate; it's quite inaccurate).
The organizing committee put a lot of thought into the course design. The starting point was at May Fourth Square, across from the city government, and the route passed through many famous coastal landmarks like Badaguan, Qingdao Station, Zhanqiao Pier, the Olympic Sailing Center, the Olympic Torch, Lovers' Dam, and the Lighthouse, finishing at the SCO International Conference Center. Along the way, countless tourists cheered for the runners.
However, the course design still had some flaws. There were five switchbacks in total, with three of them between kilometers 18 and 23, along with numerous turns. While turns were manageable, switchbacks were quite challenging, forcing you to brake sharply and then quickly regain your pace, relying solely on sheer willpower.
At 23 kilometers, I finally exited the Olympic Sailing Center. I had studied the route in advance, and I knew that after running straight to around 33 kilometers, there would be a switchback, and then it would be a straight shot to the finish.
But did you think that was the end? No, no, no, the most challenging part was yet to come. From kilometers 23 to 28, there were four consecutive steep hills that left me physically and mentally exhausted. Should I slow down? Walk? Quit? These thoughts kept swirling in my mind. 'I've never quit a race since I started running marathons; maybe I should try it today?' 'No, no, that would be too embarrassing. What would people think of me?' 'Maybe I should just slow down a bit and aim for a 3:30 finish.' Fortunately, after 30 kilometers, it was mostly downhill. I maintained a steady pace, not too fast, not too slow, conserving the little energy I had left.
I finally reached the 33-kilometer switchback. With only 9 kilometers left, I gritted my teeth and pushed on. At the aid station, I grabbed two energy gels and a bottle of mineral water. I hadn't felt hungry after running over 30 kilometers because my breakfast had been a bit greasy. I was afraid of not being able to digest the energy gels and throwing up, so I hadn't dared to eat them earlier. By the latter part of the race, my energy was severely depleted. I ate one gel, rinsed my mouth with water, and poured the rest over my head. Although the temperature wasn't particularly low that day, the wind by the sea was quite strong, making me feel chilly and more alert.
I have a habit of counting aid stations during races. With aid stations every 2.5 kilometers, it gave me something to look forward to. At 35 kilometers and 37.5 kilometers, the hills that had tortured me earlier did so again, this time in reverse.
Seeing the 40-kilometer marker, I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, it was almost over. Just over two kilometers left, and I could walk, eat some bread, and take a shower. The thought excited me. I didn't dare to speed up recklessly, fearing last-minute mishaps. At 41 kilometers, I could see the large crowd of supporters in the distance. Two runners ahead of me weren't too far away, about a hundred meters. I decided to chase them. Gradually increasing my speed, I passed one, then continued to accelerate and passed the second. By the time I overtook the second runner, there were only five or six hundred meters left to the finish. The runner I had just passed seemed unwilling to give up and started chasing me. I don't know what I was thinking at that moment, but I accelerated and pulled away. The finish line was in sight. In the last kilometer, I ran at a pace of 3:48. The moment I crossed the finish line, the time stopped at 3:00:41. I didn't want to run a single meter more; I was exhausted.
I slowly walked to collect my finisher's bag and headed back to the hotel. I had booked a train back to Zibo at 2 PM and needed to hurry back to shower and check out. The finish lines for the full and half marathons were side by side, with a narrow passage in between for dispersing finishers. This design had its pros and cons. On the one hand, it allowed spectators to closely watch and capture the runners' finishing moments. On the other hand, the passage was quite narrow and became congested with people stopping to watch and take photos. It took me over ten minutes to get through to the bag storage area. However, I must commend the organizers for using an entire street for bag storage, with dozens of buses lined up in numerical order, making it very clear and organized.
The Qingdao Marathon was over. I finished 37th in the men's full marathon with a net time of 3:00:33. Although I didn't break three hours, I was satisfied with my performance given the hilly and windy conditions.
I don't know if I'll participate in the Qingdao Marathon next year. I always feel that sometimes the journey is more important than the result.
