On the morning of the 24th, the 2021 Beijing International Long-distance Running Festival-Beijing Half Marathon fired in Tiananmen Square.
This is the 57-year-old Li Huazhong participated in the Beijing Half Marathon for the 6th time since 2014. He failed to win the lottery in 2017 and the 2020 event was cancelled due to the epidemic.
Li Huazhong is running.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
The fate between Li Huazhong and the Beijing Half Marathon is far more than that.
In the 1980s, he participated in seven or eight rounds of Beijing, and that was the predecessor of the Beijing Half Marathon.
For more than 30 years, running has witnessed his life trajectory, and it has also allowed him to gain a lot of special feelings.
health
In the 1970s, when Li Huazhong was still in school, his teacher particularly liked long-distance running, and this habit also affected him.
"When running, it gives people a sense of motivation. For example, I ran 5 kilometers today and 10 kilometers tomorrow. After running, I am very excited-I can achieve this goal." Li Huazhong said.
Li Huazhong (second from right) took a photo with his runners when he was young.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
Running brings him not only psychological satisfaction, but also physical health.
"Every time I use a body fat scale to measure it, the result is three or four years younger than the actual age, and there are very few minor colds or other common colds."
Li Huazhong's long-distance running road was interrupted for a while in the 1990s.
This is because he was transferred to work in another place, and his personal life became busier after he got married.
But slowly, Li Huazhong found that his physical fitness was obviously not as good as before.
"I am 1.66 meters tall and weighed 140 kilograms. This weight is very high. After several years of exercise, I have returned to normal again, basically around 120 kilograms."
Li Huazhong is running.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
In addition to the half marathon, Li Huazhong has also participated in the Beijing All Marathon more than a dozen times.
He said that after running for so many years, he has not encountered the knee wear problem that many runners are now worried about.
“I’m basically training every other day, every time I train between 10-20 kilometers, and I basically participate in mountain climbing every week, but it has no effect on my knees.”
He said that good running habits are the most important.
"The correct thing is to warm up before training, and perform cold stretching after training to move all the joints."
Friendship
Li Huazhong was still a single boy when he participated in the Beijing Tour of the City in the 1980s.
Before every competition, Song Wanxin, who was training with him, would call these bachelors home and ask them to eat beef and mutton to supplement their nutrition.
Li Huazhong (second from right in the front row) took a photo with his runners when he was young.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
"Big Brother Song is a Muslim. He always organizes us to cook the beef and mutton saved by the family for us, and he has given us a lot of help."
At that time, these runners formed a long-distance running team. The coach was called Cheng Jun. When the team grew strong, there were hundreds of people. They called themselves "Cheng Jiajun."
The "Cheng Jiajun" long-distance running team had a great influence on Li Huazhong.
"One is that I have made a lot of runners, and there is a group that cares about and helps each other during training, work, and life. This has a great impact on me."
After several decades, the young men who practiced long-distance running together grew older and gradually dispersed. Li Huazhong did not train in the "Cheng Jiajun" normally.
But the friendship between the players did not break up.
Li Huazhong and his runners are running.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
"Basically every year on the third day of the first lunar month, we will have a party. The coach is now close to 80 and lives in a nursing home, so we basically go to the nursing home to visit the coach."
Li Huazhong said that the old coach Cheng Jun, Tian Yuqiao, and the current coach Zhu Xingyou have all told them that in the process of running, the relationship between family, work and running must be properly handled.
Speaking of these runners and coaches, Li Huazhong's tone was obviously cheerful.
Indeed, making friends with strangers because of hobbies and friendships lasted for decades. Such an experience is very precious to anyone.
life
Since the previous participation in the Beijing Half Marathon was in good condition, before the Beijing Half Marathon this year, Li Huazhong wanted to achieve a personal best score of 1 hour and 22 minutes, which he ran in 2016.
Beijing Half Marathon in 2021.
Image source: Beijing Half Marathon Organizing Committee.
But in the race, when he ran to 14 kilometers, his heart rate was a bit high, so he adjusted for more than one kilometer.
In the end, Li Huazhong's finish was 1 hour 23 minutes and 07 seconds.
He himself concluded that the high heart rate may be caused by the rising temperature at that time.
During the whole running process, Li Huazhong ran with a runner who is now training together.
But after running, he didn't go out to gather with friends, but went straight back home.
At home, his lover and father-in-law are waiting for him.
“Originally, they wanted to go to the scene, because they were older and my father-in-law was in his nineties, so I finally let them watch the live broadcast in front of the TV. After running, I rushed home and shared with them the joy after running. "
Li Huazhong's lover does not usually have a running habit, but basically walks for an hour to an hour and a half every day. "She especially supports my training." Li Huazhong said.
Li Huazhong is running.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
Li Huazhong, who currently works in the community, has a lot of trivial matters in his work.
During the epidemic last year, he would be on duty at various checkpoints basically every day, and sometimes he worked more than ten hours a day.
Li Huazhong said that looking at China as a whole, including Beijing, the epidemic prevention is doing well. “I want to fight for the North Horse race in the second half of this year and achieve PB (personal best).” (Author Wang Hao)