Wen Road Angel
Because of a tragic accident, a niche sport was brought to the public, which no one wanted to see. But on the other hand, this incident also tells us to learn to revere nature. Previously, the sport taught us to persevere until the last minute, and now, it teaches us to learn to give up. After the accident of the Yellow River Stone Forest Cross-country Race in Baiyin, Gansu, a senior runner with 7 years of cross-country running experience said.
The pain in my left foot wasn't over, and my right foot was protesting. In my experience, there are probably five or six blisters growing on each of my left and right feet. My mind went blank and I just kept monitoring my breathing, 1, 2, 1, 2.
The mountains were silent in the middle of the night, the moon was half blocked by clouds, and the lights of the city in the distance could be faintly seen. Although my heart was highly loaded, the oncoming wind brushed against my skin, and I felt a sense of physical sadism and great mental comfort.
People who run are in pain and enjoy it. /Unsplash
I am a runner with 7 years of trail running experience, and the above is just a normal night running exercise. In order to participate in the next cross-country race, I set a strict training plan, even if it is raining, I can't rest, and if I am lazy, the previous efforts will be meaningless.
7 years ago, work socializing put my body in a sub-healthy state, fatty liver, gallstones all came to the door. So I started running. From running and playing by myself to participating in city marathons, and then from mountain marathons to triathlons and cross-country races, I really became a trail runner.
In the past, I used to think about where to go to play cards and drink every time I had time, but as I started participating in cross-country running, the entertainment almost disappeared from my life, and sometimes I had to sacrifice my job to run.
Almost all trail runners transition from marathons. Compared to running on the city's cookie-cutter roads, one of the attractions of cross-country racing is the beautiful scenery of different places. Over the years, I have participated in many competitions such as Hunan Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain Cross Country Run, Ring Siguniang Mountain Super Trail Run, Huangshan Triathlon and so on, and the scenery is still unforgettable.
The wild scenery adds a romantic touch to trail running. /Unsplash
But trail running is definitely not as simple as "running on the line". Because a cross-country run of more than 100 kilometers generally lasts more than ten to dozens of hours, you have to consider the weather, temperature, road conditions, routes, terrain, supplies, equipment; in addition, you must also constantly adjust your mental state in this long tens of hours, make accurate predictions about physical conditions, and respond to changes in the external environment at any time.
By choosing it, you are choosing a "madman" lifestyle.
In order to maintain a good physical condition, you must adhere to the cruel training, the general highway 10 km running is "scratching the itch", more need to train yourself in different environmental conditions, rain running, snow running, hot summer running, injured continue to run... Just keep testing the limits of your body.
After trail running, I learned that I would not be mentally weak, but too much exercise would also be mentally weak, and it felt like people were evacuated.
Long endurance sports such as trail running are not only physical sports, but also mental willpower sports. "Pushing your limits" is what makes the sport appealing.
The calm on the face of every runner who finished the race was as calm as water after the violent shock of the heart. /Pexels
Usually, in addition to trail running, I also came into contact with triathlon. In 2016, I participated in a triathlon competition in Huangshan. According to the regulations, after riding the 90-kilometer car, the runners should start running vertically along the steepest road. It was then that I had one of the most memorable accidents of my life.
Since the race is divided into three stages, swimming, cycling and climbing, we had to change our gear for each process. Before the race, our cycling bags and hiking bags were transported to various points. At that time, after riding to the Huangshan running point, I was dumbfounded after receiving the backpack open, I confused the bag, and there were no running shoes in the bag in front of me!
After I informed the staff of the organizing committee, they said they could not help. I was not convinced by this and ran barefoot. The first 10 kilometers is a winding road, the ground friction is still small, I can bear it, but then I have to really go up the mountain, the ground is full of sand and gravel. Before I could run a few steps, my feet began to bleed, and I tried to ignore the pain and speed up, but instinct drove me to slow down.
Running to the mid-levels, a well-meaning tourist could not look down and took me to the visitor center to buy a pair of shoes. I just put on my cloth shoes and stumbled through the whole process, and I was not ashamed.
Beyond the limits of the human body, beyond the pain of the flesh. This is the most fascinating and brutal part of most sports. /Million Dollar Baby
For people who run the circle, the most taboo is not that there is no finish, but that they abandon the race halfway. If you give up the game on your own when you have the physical strength, I can't tolerate this. The problem of not having shoes is actually a problem that must be solved by yourself in trail running.
Many people mentioned that in this Yellow River Stone Forest 100-mile trail run, all the people killed were cross-country runners, because they ran the fastest and met the more cruel extreme weather; on the other hand, they almost all had super willpower and endurance, which also prompted them to continue to persist in the harsh environment.
If the sport used to teach us to persevere until the last minute, now it teaches us to give up.
Through this tragic experience, all of us, including the organizers of the Games, should learn to fear nature and think clearly about all the problems that may be encountered in advance. In addition, the ability to help or call for help in the wild, including how outdoor sports protect the rights and interests of people with disabilities, are all issues that must be considered in the future.
How to prepare to protect athletes is the first priority for both the organizers and the athletes themselves. /gritstoneadventures.co.uk
In the past, many media, including our people who run circles and organizers, were particularly keen to sanctify extreme sports such as trail running and give it more things, such as finding the purpose of life, purifying the soul, and living in harmony with nature.
But after running for so many years, I gradually understood that running is running, and there are not so many winds and snows. Putting the security problems in place is a victory.