On September 23, 2017, I completed my first half marathon in 1 hour and 50 minutes. At that time, I said it was an inspirational story of a short-legged person defeating thousands of long-legged ones. That race ignited my passion to keep running and gave me the courage and determination to break four hours in my first full marathon later on.

On March 25, 2018, I completed my first full marathon in 3 hours and 54 minutes, successfully breaking the four-hour mark. This was the result of a meticulously planned ten-week training regimen. At that time, I understood that there is nothing fairer than running in this world; the amount you put in is exactly what you will get out.

Later,On April 15, at the Thai Marathon, because the time between my first full marathon and this one was too short to prepare, I ran the first half with a mindset of enjoying the event and accompanying others. In the second half, I pushed myself and finished in 4 hours and 3 minutes, earning a commemorative prize for being the 72nd woman. Then I realized... I could never be satisfied with just enjoying the race and finishing it; if I compete, I must give it my all.

They say 'half marathons are for pleasure, full marathons are harmful.' After two consecutive full marathons, I unknowingly entered a so-called 'marathon fatigue period.' I didn't plan to register for any more races, and my enthusiasm for running greatly diminished. My monthly mileage during pre-race training was over 200 kilometers, but in the month after recovery, it was less than 150 kilometers.

I said I didn't like races because they make me serious and give my all. It's all about running, and there's no one to enjoy a casual park run with. I said I wouldn't easily sign up for any race unless I was prepared to set a personal best or had a chance to win a prize. So whenever someone invited me to a race, I would refuse immediately, feeling that frequent participation was meaningless. Occasionally checking my progress and visiting other cities was enough.

So, when I was invited to the Yanqing Women's Half Marathon, I immediately declined. However, they said:

'With your performance, you can definitely win a prize, at least 200 yuan, maybe even 500.'

'The 200 yuan registration fee will be covered, and you'll get free gear, medals, and a necklace. Why not?'

'At worst, treat it as a long-distance run for the weekend. You might even be pleasantly surprised.'

...

I admit I was persuaded, but I didn't have high hopes for myself. My enthusiasm for running had greatly diminished, and I was mostly focused on cycling. I didn't have enough time to train, but I signed up anyway, hoping that my ten weeks of marathon training would help me improve my half marathon time compared to six months ago.

On April 22, a Saturday, my gym buddies organized a half marathon. Since I had been training strictly according to my plan and hadn't joined them for a while, I decided to join in for fun and to give myself a confidence boost before the race. Surprisingly, I set a personal best and even came in second place.

However, since it was an unofficial event, we relied on our fitness apps for timing, which could have inaccuracies, so I didn't take it too seriously. The following weekends, I enthusiastically participated in cycling activities: on April 29-30, I cycled 280 kilometers on Hongjing Road; on May 5, I cycled 120 kilometers to Jingxi Shibatian. Then on the 6th, I did a long-distance half marathon near my home, swam 1.5 kilometers on the 8th, did three hours of weightlifting on the 9th, joined an Adidas interval training session on the 10th, and swam another kilometer on the 11th. They say you should taper your training before a race to relax your muscles, but cycling reignited my passion for exercise, and I pushed myself hard the week before the race, leaving me sore and stiff.(Scientific training, please do not imitate)

Fortunately, I was only sore and not injured. On the 12th, I showed up at the race as planned and met 'Old Zhao' and 'Morning Bell,' friends of my idol Shen Wuzei, who were the 2:15 and 3:00 pacers for this race. I regretted that my goal for my first full marathon was 4:00, and Shen Wuzei was the 4:00 pacer, but he was in Wuxi, and I was in Zhengkai. For the Yanqing Women's Half Marathon, I knew two pacers, but my goal was 1:45, so it was destined to be a solo battle.

I was used to running alone and didn't mind it, but after the starting gun went off, I suddenly felt a bit lonely. This feeling came from seeing all the pairs around me. Yes, it was the Rose Group, and each woman had a male partner running with her, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, and some even had their male partners pushing them along!

What was supposed to be a women's race turned out to be a display of public affection!

(Image source: official website, please delete if infringing)

At the start, there were too many people, making it hard to run. I couldn't find any gaps to move through, so my pace for the first kilometer was 5:10. I watched the official pacers gradually move farther away...

From the second kilometer, I started to speed up, looking for the 1:45 pacer. Finally, at the 3-kilometer mark, I caught up with one. I said, 'I'll run with you!' However, I didn't get a warm response and forgot what he said. Later, another late pacer joined us, and then I caught up with another 1:45 pacer ahead. So, there were three 1:45 pacers running side by side, and I was the only one following them. I felt a bit flattered; in my previous half marathon and two full marathons, I had never seen a pacer for my target time from start to finish. Now, I had three! I was overjoyed.

However, happiness was short-lived. At the 3-kilometer mark, one of the pacers told me,

'You're currently in fifth place.'

'Oh.'

Following the pacers over two hills, I felt their pace was inconsistent. They slowed down on the uphill and sped up on the downhill. So, at the 4-kilometer mark, I left the pacers behind. At the 5-kilometer mark, I caught up with the fourth-place runner and became the fourth. And I remained in fourth place forever.

Before the 15-kilometer mark, the third-place runner was always within my sight, about 200 meters ahead. What kept me from slowing down was the slim possibility of catching up. After all, there wasn't much scenery to look at on the course, not even people. Occasionally, a few kids would appear, clapping their hands and cheering 'Go!' They were the only 'scenery' on the course.

At the 10-kilometer mark, an elderly man was exceptionally enthusiastic.

'You're in fourth place now, just one more to be third!'

I waved and smiled,

'I can't catch up...'

Then a few medical staff repeated my words and laughed. It was the kind of laugh that I had made them laugh.

Maybe they thought I was joking because I was running easily. Later, I vaguely heard some spectators discussing that I looked relaxed and might still have a chance to get into the top three. However, I really couldn't catch up.

From 2.5 kilometers, when I first wanted to drink water, I realized this race would be particularly tough. It wasn't as easy as usual, and my heart rate never dropped below 170. After 10 kilometers, my left thigh started to hurt, and my right foot was chafing. Adjustments didn't help. Then, a phrase from my brother Yuke popped into my mind:

'Training is largely to make finishing the race more comfortable, not just to improve your time.'

Yes, I hadn't been training seriously and scientifically lately, so I deserved to feel uncomfortable.

After 15 kilometers, the runners ahead of me were completely out of sight. The randomly playing music was all slow, sad love songs. I didn't slow down for the first two kilometers, but after 17 kilometers, I struggled to keep running. Then, some spectators would occasionally shout, 'Push harder, run faster!'

However, I had lost my fighting spirit: I couldn't catch up to the third-place runner, and I was tired. As long as the 1:45 pacers didn't catch up, I would still achieve my 1:45 goal. The prize for fourth place was the same as for tenth place, so why push myself so hard? The more I thought about it, the harder it was to run. When I reached a water station, I looked back to see if anyone was catching up, then slowed down to eat some watermelon and drink more water. After satisfying my hunger and thirst, I regained my fighting spirit: to be better than my goal.

With 5 kilometers, 4 kilometers, 3 kilometers, 2 kilometers, 1 kilometer, 800 meters, 600 meters, 400 meters, 200 meters left... In the end, when I crossed the finish line, I couldn't speed up. Instead, I felt a sudden burst of energy when I stepped on the timing mat, jumping three times and smiling like a fool. When I first started running, I didn't understand why others cried when they crossed the finish line. After a year of running, I still don't understand why they cry. Maybe I'll never cry at the finish line; no matter how tough it is, I'll always smile.

After crossing the finish line, I received my result notification: 1 hour and 43 minutes. Then came the interviews with the host and reporters. Later, I couldn't remember what the host asked; it felt like a dream.

Thank you to everyone who loves me.

Finally, I received flowers, my finisher's bag, my finisher's medal, and attended the award ceremony... Yes, the award ceremony is worth mentioning. Previously, I could only see photos of the top three on the podium in various public accounts or news pictures... This time, I took the podium photo myself!

Yes, I was fourth. Morning Bell said:

'Fourth place is the best! — From an Arsenal fan.'

While running, I suddenly realized—

The pacer who reminded me I was fifth at 4 kilometers was in my WeChat contacts;

The photographer at the 10-kilometer mark was the same one from the Five Rings Challenge;

Morning Bell, the 3:00 pacer, had trained with us in an AR session a few days ago; Old Zhao, the 2:15 pacer, was a friend of my idol Shen Wuzei and also a good friend of Morning Bell;

A member of the same running group, whom I had never met before, started the race with me and took the bus with me afterward, turned out to be a former colleague...

People started to recognize me, or I would suddenly be called out by someone. The running circle is so small; it's all familiar faces.

After a year of running, I've met so many excellent friends.

I began to understand what it means that 'those who are better than you work even harder.'

My Codoon updates are often recommended by the official account, and sometimes I get featured in articles or get free product testing opportunities. I increasingly understand why 'the harder you work, the luckier you get.'

I never intentionally drag friends into running, but more and more people around me fall in love with running because of me. Maybe this is the meaning of persisting in running... It's not about how much you gain, but how many people you influence.

I still want to thank everyone who has encouraged and helped me on my running journey; thank you to every friend who has taught me to grow and be strong; thank you for every comfort and recognition I received when I was down. Thank you for being so excellent and willing to spend time reading my race report.

*The copyright of this article belongs to the author. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
The article only represents the author's views and does not represent Codoon's opinions.