Personalized Marathon Training Plan Guide
Preparing for a marathon requires a systematic training plan. RunBox AI coach creates a customized 16-20 week marathon training plan based on your fitness level, goal time, and available training time.
Why Choose an AI-Customized Marathon Training Plan?
- Personalized Assessment: Based on your running experience and fitness condition
- Smart Adjustments: Training intensity optimizes automatically with progress
- Scientific Pacing: Based on your target finish time
- Injury Prevention: Reasonable intensity progression to avoid injuries
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Before the race, I already knew that the Shenzhen Marathon would inevitably have countless points of criticism. Sure enough, the official post from Wisdom Sports was still full of grandiose and positive rhetoric. In contrast, various media outlets were full of negative reviews, complete with pictures as evidence.
To be honest, I read almost all the articles about the Shenzhen Marathon, and the more I read, the more uncomfortable I felt. I also specifically watched the full replay on CCTV, trying to understand what was really going on with this event.
Fortunately, the pre-race 'Reform and Opening Up Peers Running Group,' which required payments of 980 and 1580 yuan, was canceled amid a wave of criticism. The empty activities and accommodations were turned into free offerings. The live broadcast also interviewed relevant runners. Overall, this activity was still meaningful. However, the switch from paid to free felt awkward, and the small profit that Wisdom Sports had in hand was lost, which probably made them feel uncomfortable as well.
One of the criticisms was about the race kit collection for the Shenzhen Marathon. Among large marathons in China, the Shenzhen Marathon is the most frugal, bar none. Major races in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have marathon expos with a great atmosphere. In contrast, the Shenzhen Marathon's kit collection was simply held in an open-air plaza, but at least this year's race pack was quite rich.
The starting area divisions were vague, but this was a minor issue.
I watched the entire live broadcast and found that the event had very poor attendance. It seemed as if the Shenzhen Marathon was held in a remote suburb, but in reality, the course runs through the absolute city center of Shenzhen. The problem was that Shennan Avenue is too wide, and the barricades were placed outside the green belts, on the sidewalks by the service roads. The spectators were really too far from the runners.
The distance between the spectators and the runners is a minor issue.
The various unprofessional behaviors of the live broadcast hosts, their lack of preparation, and their off-the-cuff remarks are not worth mentioning. Ordinary viewers wouldn't notice these details anyway. I always believed that CCTV sent their worst team to cover marathon broadcasts, as there are no ratings to worry about and it's just a political task.
The issues with the CCTV broadcast are also minor.
Fortunately, the three 'Running China' rituals—carrying the flag while leading, draping the national flag at the finish, and the champion taking a photo with the 'Running China' banner—were not seen in this broadcast. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It's rare to watch a live broadcast without being subjected to some metaphysical content.
This is also a very minor issue, not worth mentioning at all.
The unreasonable scheduling of the event was one of the reasons for the chaos. Many people probably didn't realize that the closing time of the Shenzhen Marathon was strictly based on the gun time. All pacers started at the front, while the last runners started more than 20 minutes later. This means that if you arrived late and were at the back of the pack, by the time you reached the timing mat at the start line, you would only have 5 hours and 35 minutes left to finish. If you were a 5:45 runner, congratulations, you would definitely be closed out.
The real climax occurred during the post-race distribution of supplies and the collection of bags.
This video has been widely circulated, showing some of the on-site conditions. The shortage of post-race supplies also happened last year. I saw it with my own eyes; the runners close to the closing time had almost nothing left in their finish bags.
The real question worth pondering is why such things happen.
There is actually a complete process for the distribution of post-race supplies. All runners have a planned route to collect their items after finishing. All finishers should orderly pass through this single line to receive their supplies and then quickly move to the post-race stretching, recovery, and rest areas. Theoretically, it is absolutely impossible for a large number of runners to crowd around the supply distribution area. The only explanation for such a situation is that the post-race supply distribution process was poorly designed.
Once there is a problem with the design, it will have a significant chain reaction on all related work. If runners cannot receive their supplies in time, they cannot disperse quickly, leading to more crowding and frustration, which in turn makes it easier for problems to occur. So, incidents like looting and supply shortages become inevitable.
Of course, another important reason for the supply shortage could be the presence of many unregistered runners. No matter how much Wisdom Sports tries to save money, I believe they would still prepare enough finish supplies. Yet, every year, there are still shortages, which indicates significant issues in the event's organizational design. It's not just one or two problems but a concentration of all problems.
The poor organization of the event is vividly illustrated in the following video.
The post-race bag collection was done in such a way that it was eye-opening. How were the stored bags managed? How were they distributed? Where were the volunteers distributing the bags? How could an ordinary runner get on the bag storage truck? If I randomly raised my hand on-site, would the bag be thrown to me? These questions are baffling.
There is a process for managing stored bags. At least in the events I've participated in, it was well-organized. Either the bib number had the bag storage truck number, indicating where to store and where to collect, or there were fixed tents and locations that were easy to find. The situation shown in the video is unimaginable.
What authority did this runner have to get on the bag storage truck? Considering that the bags might contain important personal items, this safety issue made me gasp. I often store my phone, GoPro, computer, etc., in my bag, and this made me very worried.
Upon reflection, I understood. This enthusiastic runner probably couldn't stand watching the volunteers' work anymore and went up to help voluntarily. Otherwise, who would want to shout themselves hoarse after finishing a race instead of taking a shower and resting? This very act slapped the event organizers in the face. The organizational capability of this event was amateurish at best, worse than some small races in third- and fourth-tier cities. At this moment, the volunteers collectively avoided their duties, relying on a finisher to hold the fort, which is highly ironic.
Wisdom Sports, as China's largest event company and a listed enterprise, relies on CCTV's powerful resources and holds the operating rights for many city marathons. In theory, they should have the most experience and reliability in organizing a marathon. However, every marathon they organize is criticized by runners. The Shenzhen Marathon, backed by one of China's best cities, could only be organized this poorly.
Why?
I think it's because their mindset is completely wrong. Who is the real service target of an event? Most people would think it's the runners who paid the registration fee. All organizational work should be aimed at serving the ordinary runners, right? But is this how Wisdom Sports thinks? Looking at all the events before and after, one can see the clues.
Before the race, they tried to make some money by organizing a 'Peers Running Group.' During the race, the closing time was set unreasonably, completely disregarding the slower runners. After the race, the collection process was too long, and the bag collection was chaotic, showing no respect for the runners' personal belongings. This attitude of doing everything in a way that makes runners unhappy is baffling.
Looking at the official WeChat accounts of Wisdom Sports and the Shenzhen International Marathon, they are full of prosperity and joy. An event that should have been a festival for runners was filled with political achievements. They never genuinely considered serving the runners but only thought about completing a task and reporting to higher-ups using CCTV. When problems arise, they cover them up instead of facing the crisis head-on.
If all the issues were focused on providing a good experience for ordinary runners, I think many problems would not have occurred. However, many incomprehensible results did happen. Wisdom Sports lacks not the ability but the priority of putting runners first, or even second or third.
An event should be accountable upwards, but more importantly, it should be accountable downwards. Only the ordinary runners are the foundation of development. Without a foundation, it's just a castle in the air. All empty slogans are just mirages.
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