[star show] seeking torture rookie: ultra marathon cross country is not enough
Editor's Note:A year ago, he was a 180-pound chubby guy whose biggest hobby was eating. Now, he is a 145-pound sunny young man, tirelessly running on different tracks.
In this issue of Star Show, let's take a look at how a sports 'rookie' with zero foundation advanced to become a well-known running expert—@Xiaolei Jack!
My name is Hou Leilei, people in the circle call me Xiaolei. I used to be a 90-kilogram chubby guy. This weight was quite a burden for my 178 cm height. I felt exhausted even just walking a few steps, let alone running.
That's how I started running.
Gradually, I fell in love with the feeling of sweating and the experience of running through the city. Every inch of land and every drop of sweat represented my efforts. Later, I met my first running buddy through running. His name is Tian Ye, a sunny IT guy who also loves running and the feeling of sweat on his body. From then on, we started running together. I don't remember when he told me he wanted to run the Dalian Marathon. The idea of a marathon seemed so distant to me because I never thought I could persist in running, let alone a marathon. Perhaps it was the fearlessness of youth, but I said, 'Let's sign up together.' After all, I had never been to Dalian, so I treated it as a trip.
We started preparing for the marathon. I remember my first time running more than 10 kilometers was with Tian Ye on the track of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Later, I ran my first half marathon, although my performance was dismal.
That was my first marathon—the Dalian Marathon. After picking up my gear, I met another Dalian running buddy I knew from Codoon, also named Tian Ye. To avoid confusion, I called the Dalian one 'Big Tian Ye' and the one I knew earlier 'Little Tian Ye.' During the gear pickup, I also met another sunny guy named Lin Sen, an aircraft maintenance worker from Changchun, Jilin. We agreed to run the marathon together, but I later found out that all three of them had signed up for the half marathon, while I had foolishly signed up for the full marathon.
When we stood at the starting line waiting for the gunshot, I felt so excited, like I was dreaming. I could actually run a marathon. I had no experience, so I ran very fast in the first half and didn't bring any supplies. By the 22-kilometer mark, I was starving. Desperate, I asked a volunteer for two Snickers bars. They were the best Snickers I had ever eaten. In the latter half, I was completely exhausted and could only walk. Around the 37-kilometer mark, the sweeper bus came, and the driver shouted at me to get on, saying there was food and drink on the bus. I was so tempted, but I had already run 37 kilometers, so I had to keep going. I alternated between walking and running and finally finished 6 minutes before the cutoff time (Dalian's cutoff time is 5 hours). I was so excited and thrilled.
Since then, I started my marathon journey. My footprints have been left on tracks in Lijiang, Zhangjiakou, Chongli, Taiyuan, Beijing, and Shanghai. My best performance so far is winning first place in the 42-kilometer trail run in Chongli, and my personal best for a full marathon is 3:16 in Shanghai.
After the marathon, I learned about ultramarathons. Just then, the Aosen 100+ ultramarathon came up. Without much thought, I signed up, simply to experience it. Fortunately, I finished the 106 kilometers 5 minutes before the cutoff time, which I consider a success.
I became increasingly addicted to running and challenges. After the ultramarathon, I wanted to try trail running. So, I signed up for the Three Gorges 168-kilometer trail race and the 2016 Beijing TNF 100-kilometer trail race, both of which I completed successfully!
I am a running rookie, but I keep running farther and enjoying the challenges more. This year, I signed up for the Xiamen Ironman Triathlon in the second half of the year. I am currently in training and hope to complete it successfully. This is me, a chubby guy who fell in love with sports because of weight loss.