Pictured| Marshal He Long
preface
In 1957, Marshal He Long received a letter, and when he opened it, he found that it was written to him by a coal worker named Zhang Liangyou. We don't have a marathon in China.
In the face of this letter, He Long solemnly replied, but Zhang Liangyou is a very stubborn person, obviously not to achieve the goal of vowing not to stop, after which he wrote two letters to He Long, it is precisely because of his persistence that the marathon was established as a National Games event, and China's first marathon record was created.
Why doesn't China hold a marathon?
On November 7, 2022, 95-year-old Mr. Zhang Liangyou passed away, most people may have some impressions of this name, but in the history of marathons, this is definitely a pivotal name, what you don't know is that he is the "first person in China's marathon".
In 1927, Zhang Liangyou was born in Anhui, he has loved sports since he was a child, and he is even more fond of running.
Even though he became a coal miner at the age of 12, he continued to run.
Pictured| Zhang Liangyou receiving the award
At that time, Mao Zedong proposed 'developing sports and enhancing people's physique', calling on everyone not only to study well, work well, but also be in good health, and in response, Zhang Liangyou directly began his running career.
He was serious about running, saying at the age of 22: "Because of liberation, the Chinese people stood up... I would also like to write to General He Long suggesting that he hold a national marathon,...... "At this time, many people took his words as a joke, and they never expected him to really realize it.
At the beginning, he first connected 5 kilometers and 10 kilometers a day, then started from jogging and close running, and gradually changed to fast running and long-distance running, but because he himself was not scientifically guided, his running performance did not improve significantly.
Success does not happen overnight, and this sentence is very applicable to Zhang Liangyou.
He himself is not a genius player, at the beginning, he was a "stupid bird" in the eyes of everyone.
At the age of 25, Zhang Liangyou participated in the 10,000-meter race for the first time, at that time he thought he was fully prepared, and as a result, in the end, all the competitors had finished running, but when you look at the field, you will find that there is actually another person running, and there are still three laps, this person is Zhang Liangyou.
Pictured| Old photo of Zhang Liangyou
The onlookers saw that he was still running, and directly began to coax, and some people shouted "fool", "not yet on the field", "not embarrassed", these unbearable ears fell into his ears with a gust of wind, Zhang Liangyou was extremely embarrassed in his heart, but still insisted on running the race.
At the time of the final award, Huainan City still issued an encouragement award to Zhang Liangyou, hoping that he could continue to exercise and not give up running.
Zhang Liangyou did not disappoint their encouragement, he really insisted on running, since this race, completely let Zhang Liangyou recognize his strength, he began to insist on running on the road rain or shine. Once he even met the mayor driving by directly, and the mayor has always been very impressed with Zhang Liangyou, so he got out of the car to encourage him after seeing him.
When he was a miner in the Huainan coal mine, the factory practiced a three-shift system in the morning, noon and evening, and Zhang Liangyou spontaneously chose to work the night shift in order to be able to go for a morning run, and when he got off work in the early morning, the first thing he did was to run, and then go home to take a bath and sleep.
Zhang Liangyou's efforts have borne fruit.
In 1954, Zhang Liangyou regrouped to participate in the competition, and finally won the third place in the 10,000-meter selection competition in Anhui Province.
The following year, he won the long-distance running championship of the provincial games with a good time of 33 minutes. In the same year, Zhang Liangyou won the men's 10,000-meter championship at the Shanghai National Games.
Pictured| Zhang Liangyou participating in the competition
In this way, Zhang Liangyou has made great achievements in running, but, in Zhang Liangyou's opinion, this is his first step to climb the mountain, after the race, he went to search for related books, and finally found a book about marathon published in the Soviet Union, he gritted his teeth, bought it for 5 cents, and finally took it back to his hometown like a baby.
"I didn't go to school and couldn't read, so I found someone to read it to me, and according to the book, I kept running distances." Zhang Liangyou said.
Since then, he has been running 50 kilometers a day, and since then he has been training by running errands for his subjects.
In this way, Zhang Liangyou systematically practiced the marathon for himself for two years, and the contact for such a long time was fruitful, but after waiting for so long, he still did not hear any news about the marathon race, the mountain is not me, I will go to the mountain, so he thought of a way.
In 1957, Marshal He Long received a letter, and when he opened it, he found that it was written to him by a coal worker named Zhang Liangyou. We don't have a marathon in China.
In the face of this letter, He Long solemnly replied: Not long after China's liberation, you have to wait to run a marathon, and it will take several years before you can run a marathon.
Pictured| Marshal He Long
However, Zhang Liangyou is a very stubborn person, obviously not to achieve the goal of vowing to stop, so he wrote another letter, now someone can run a marathon, because we don't hold it, in the future I want to send out the results of running in this way, along with photos.
The photographs are of the route map and finish line of the test race that he attached. To this end, he also conducted a marathon test with several long-distance runners in Caijiagang, Huainan Province, and the distance of this test was still measured by himself, or with a 30-meter tape measure, for a whole day.
This time He Long did not reply, Zhang Liangyou fought more and more bravely, he wrote a third letter, and finally, the relevant personnel of the State General Administration of Sports came to Huainan Xie Er Mine to find Zhang Liangyou, "Who runs a marathon?" Zhang Liangyou stood up, "Where can you run?" What about the route? The next day, they took Zhang Liangyou to the field to measure and verify the results, at this time Zhang Liangyou became more and more worried in his heart, for fear that the measured results would be different from his own, and he ran less, and the final result showed that the measured distance was 300 meters more.
The state staff first gave him a test to determine that he was indeed very strong, and finally held a marathon at Zhang Liangyou's strong request.
Pictured| Zhang Liangyou
In this way, Zhang Liangyou was sent to Liangyuan Dianbu (town) in Feidong County, Anhui Province to test the marathon, and the route was the switchback road from the store port of Hebang Road to Liangyuan.
At that time, the competition environment was not good, even if the competition venue was uneven, there was wind and sand from time to time, it can be said that the environment was too bad, but even in such an environment, the 30-year-old Zhang Liangyou still ran a time of two hours, fifty-two minutes and thirty-four seconds and six seconds. This result was directly confirmed by the National Sports Commission as the first marathon record in New China, and Zhang Liangyou became the "initiator of the New China Marathon", and the second place in this race was more than three hours, which turned out to be his apprentice; The top three are all from their Huainan coal mine, and they usually exercise with him, and everyone motivates each other.
If you have time to look through the "Centennial of Chinese Athletics", you can find this paragraph: "Hefei held the Anhui Provincial Marathon Test, and Zhang Liangyou ran a score of 2:52:34.6." ”
However, in the face of this achievement, Zhang Liangyou is not satisfied, in his opinion, this result is completely unsatisfactory: "Not satisfied, the road condition was poor at that time, there was no asphalt road, it was all gravel roads, and people ran with sand and dust on their faces, which had a great impact on the game." ”
However, even so, Zhang Liangyou's credit cannot be erased. Along the way, he has also witnessed the development of the Chinese marathon.
In 1959, the marathon was officially established as a National Games event;
In 1981, Beijing held the first Beijing International Marathon, which directly created a precedent for Chinese urban marathons;
Pictured| Zhang Liangyou holding a torch
In 1998, the Beijing Marathon was the first to open to the public...
Zhang Liang's friendship and Chinese marathon complement each other, and he has witnessed each other's growth along the way, and even though there are more and more people running around him, he himself has never thought of stopping.
In 1984, he participated in the 17th World Senior Championships held in Los Angeles, USA, in which he won the third place in the team;
In 1988, he participated in the International Invitation Tournament held in Beijing and won the sixth place here;
In 1998 and 1999, he participated in two consecutive senior games held in Beijing, and won a gold medal and a bronze medal respectively;
In 1986, he went to the provincial sports meeting and finished fourth in the competition;
......
In 2008, he participated in the Olympic torch relay as a torchbearer.
I don't know if everyone noticed him on TV back then.
Pictured| Liangyou holding a photo
Running is my pleasure and my goal
On the road of running, Zhang Liangyou is not alone, because behind him is his favorite wife Shang Dian'e.
At the beginning, Zhang Liangyou ran in front, and his wife rode a bicycle in the back, the two accompanied each other for two years, under the encouragement of her husband, Shang Dian'e finally took that step, with him joining the run, this run is 30 years, and, in the process, Shang Dian'e's gains are not small, her asthma is also miraculously cured in the long-term running.
After retiring, Zhang Liangyou continued to devote himself to the marathon, and his apprentice Wei Pulong said: "Before there were few races in the mainland, he went to Hong Kong to compete. ”
Wei Pulong and Zhang Liangyou met in 2014, in his heart, Zhang Liangyou has always been her idol in her mind, and then revealed that when Zhang Liangyou went to work before, everyone called him "Zhang Madman", Zhang Liangyou not only ran by himself, but also led the people around him to join the marathon, and then he became the deputy director of the titanium alloy factory, and he directly led more than 30 workers to run together and participate in the marathon.
No matter how many years have passed since this incident, Wei Pulong can remember it clearly.
Pictured| Wei Pulong's young photo
As an apprentice, Wei Pulong did not lose the face of his master, and in 2013, at the age of 61, he also participated in the Shanghai full marathon.
In 2014, he sold the house left to him by his mother, and then used the money to establish the Hefei Marathon Sports Association, which shows that he also loves marathons deeply.
Forty-three days later, he ran a personal record of 3 hours and 58 minutes directly in the Osaka Marathon in Japan.
Wei Pulong's name has also become more and more influential, and finally in 2016, he was shortlisted for the highest honor in the Chinese running industry, the Chinese marathon runner, and has since become a household name in the horse racing circle. At the same time, he also organized the Blue Sky Disabled Branch of the association, saying:
"It is my original intention to make sports and health a way of life for people, and it is a very meaningful thing to organize runners to participate in running training and events, so that they can gain a full sense of achievement and a positive attitude; Especially the disabled, they also have the right to run, we should hold more of these activities, let them feel the hope of life, enjoy the joy of marathon. ”
In 2018, Wei Pulong directly founded China's first street-level marathon culture museum and participated in the race in Boston, the birthplace of the world city marathon, and he also achieved a good result of 3 hours and 40 minutes in this race.
Pictured| Wei Pulong
Under the influence of his master, Wei Pulong was not idle, he not only founded the horse racing association, but also began to accept apprentices and students.
Among this batch of apprentices, the person who satisfies him the most is Liang Jing, for no other reason, he is too potential, Wei Pulong cannot miss such a good seedling, and then in order to train him more attentively, he directly let Liang Jing live in his own home.
Liang Jing also did not betray Master's trust in him and began to constantly create and refresh records:
In 2014, he won the championship with a score of 149.51 kilometers in the first Jinan Super Horse Race, which directly set a new record for the Chinese people's 12-hour super horse performance.
In 2017, Liang Jing directly won the 24-hour Hangzhou Super Horse Championship.
In 2018, Liang Jing won the championship again in the 800 Quicksand Extreme Competition.
Returning to Zhang Liangyou and his wife Shang Dian'e, the two of them are also idle people, and the two of them continue to run and compete in various places, including the Hong Kong Marathon and international sports exchanges in Taiwan and South Korea.
Life goes on, running doesn't stop.
Pictured| Liang Jing
The two of them shocked countless people, in 2014 they went to participate in the Zhengkai Marathon, this year 87-year-old Zhang Liangyou appeared on the field with his 82-year-old wife Shang Dian'e, attracting attention from the outside world, in addition to the age of the two of them, but also the specially made "1314" race bib they carried.
At the beginning, many people did not regard the two of them as competitors, and even felt that they were just here to make up the numbers, as a result, the two proved with practical actions: ginger is still old and spicy, in this race, the two still tried their best, and finally took 7 hours, 57 minutes and 30 seconds to complete the whole process, just like that, the two became the "world's oldest husband and wife duo to complete the marathon." ”
On the road of running, the couple has been insisting, and the total distance they have run together has exceeded 500,000 kilometers, and they can directly circle the earth's equator 12 times, which sounds jaw-dropping.
In 2018, Zhang Liangyou and his wife also ran hand in hand on CCTV's "Happy Chinese" program, "I want to run until my heart does not beat", this sentence comes from Zhang Liangyou, he does what he says.
In April of the same year, at the starting point of the Hefei Half Marathon, he became the leader of the marathon. At that time, although Zhang Liangyou was already silver-haired, he was physically healthy and full of spirit.
Pictured| Zhang Liangyou group photo
Such a mental state makes it difficult to believe whether he can run the whole process, but Zhang Liangyou did it.
Of course, Zhang Liangyou's achievements are inseparable from his own efforts,
Every day at 3:30 a.m., they would meet to get up and get ready to go out for a run. He still insists on running 10 to 12 kilometers, and his wife insists on running 20 kilometers. Mr. Zhang Liangyou was interviewed by Huashang Daily after the race, and in the interview, he said that he and his wife had not stopped running, "In the past few years, rain or shine, in recent years, the children have worried about accidents in rain and snow, and they will not let us run on rainy and snowy days." ”
For them, running is no longer a simple sport, but their spiritual pillar, something that accompanies them all their lives, even if they are old, but running will never stop.
"Like everyone else, I have moments when I want to give up. Whenever this happens, I remind myself that I must persevere, and perseverance is victory. Zhang Liangyou once said, "I have not been a big official in running marathons all my life, making a lot of money, but winning health, longevity and happiness, which is what I am most proud of." Running is my pleasure and my goal. ”
The 2019 Anqing Yingjiang International Half Marathon, which was the last open race in which Zhang Liangyou participated. This time, he not only participated in the press conference, but also insisted on donating 1,000 yuan of transportation subsidies given to him by the organizing committee.
Pictured| Zhang Liangyou and his wife
In 2019, Wei Pulong also took 92-year-old Zhang Liangyou to a physical examination, and the final examination showed that "there is nothing wrong." ”
The last time the two met was on September 28 this year, and Wei Pulong remembers that "he had a feeling of aging and being overwhelmed."
As he grew older, Zhang Liangyou did not give up running, but still maintained the habit of running 10 kilometers at 3:30 every morning.
In the end, Zhang Liangyou fulfilled his promise, he and his wife ran hand in hand to the end, for a lifetime, and ran like this for a lifetime, until the heart did not beat.
At 10:07 a.m. on November, Zhang Liangyou died at his home in Yizheng, Jiangsu Province, at the age of 95.
Pictured| Zhang Liangyou and his wife
His life is wonderful enough, and he has always struggled for running, Zhang Lao has broadened the length and depth of his life, and he deserves the admiration of all of us!