Anna's Next Adventure: 2009 Hangzhou International Marathon

2009 Hangzhou International Marathon

My main purpose for visiting Hangzhou was participate in the Hangzhou marathon …. well, not the marathon itself but the ‘short marathon’, a run of 14km. It was a beautiful place to run – along tree lined streets next to the lake with hundreds of locals, tourists and locals lining the way cheering all the runners along.

The sun rises over the marathon site

Pre-marathon entertainment

My plan was to run it fairly slowly because I hadn’t done any outside runs or long runs for a while (due to the smog and sore knees) – I aimed to finish in around 1 and a half hours. I managed to surprise myself by finishing in 1 hour and 14 minutes which included missing the start of the race (more on that in a minute!), stopping to re-tie my laces, battling the crowds of Chinese runners and slowing down to take pictures along the way. A bonus was that I finished feeling really good – in fact, my muscles still feel good , no DOMS for me!

Some local runners get ready to run

The start line - just a second after I took this picture, I realised that it was actually my race that had begun!

The run was ‘very Chinese’, despite the ‘international’ tag attached to its title. Firstly, there were the competitors. A huge range of runners participated ranging from those very serious runners who looked like they lived for running, and then those who had clearly woken up and thought ‘Hmmmmm, I might run a marathon today’. It was these runners that I found most amusing – mostly men who turned up wearing jeans and jackets who I saw having a smoke before they began the run. Some of them even ran carrying their event bags that had been distributed the day before. The event had many different options available to runners, including a ‘Couples Run’ which included an event t-shirt with the words Love and Beloved on the back!

The leafy green streets of Hangzhou

Smoggy lake

Then there was the event itself. As I mentioned, I very nearly missed the start of the run because of the poor organisation. I had been told that my event was due to start at 8.10am (not 8.30am as the website listed) – I was told this by several of the event volunteers and it was also printed in the race booklet given to me on Saturday, so I assumed that it was correct. The marathon and half marathon were due to begin at 8.00am, so at about 7.50am, I wandered across to the start line to finish my stretches and watch the beginning of the big events. At 7.55am, the gun went off for the first race and I began cheering the runners on. It was several seconds later that I realised that everyone was running, including those in my event! I had to quickly push my way through the crowd and begin running – too bad if I was a serious runner and wanting to perform well!

A still corner of the lake

Old house tucked away behind the trees

It is fair to say that the Chinese culture doesn’t seem to honour the value of using ones initiative, foresight or the value of thinking things through in a logical manner. This race was a prime example of this. For example, during the run, the official photographers van parked itself in the middle of the track, forcing runners to stop, form a single file line and walk around the van. Another example was the water stations where runners had to wait for the volunteers to pour cups of water. Luckily later in the race, they worked out that it would be easier to offer bottles of water to people to save time. The crowds of runners were very ‘Chinese’ as well – stopping smack bang in the middle of the crowd to answer their mobile phone, pushing past at a mad sprint, only to stop bent over puffing directly in front of you and other such things. As I have been told many times before, patience is the key to living happily in China!

Stick with this guy and you'll finish the marathon in 5 hours - the 5 hour pace maker

A well prepared and serious runner!

Before moving to China, I never thought that I would enjoy running so much and have the opportunity to run in unique running events here in China – around the sky scrapers of Shanghai, along the Great Wall and then around the perimeter of the West Lake in Hangzhou. Where will my next running adventures take me, I wonder? City2Surf in Sydney perhaps? The Rocky Mountain marathon?!