During this time, "the mayor runs the whole marathon" has not only become a hot topic in China's running circle, but even quickly out of the circle, occupying the headlines of major mainstream media.
Last weekend, the Xiamen Marathon started, and nearly 30,000 runners stepped out of the pulse of Xiamen. After the game, a screenshot of the circle of friends on social networks went viral.
The screenshot shows that Yao Fei, the 52-year-old deputy mayor of Quanzhou, also participated in the Xiamen Marathon and completed the 42.195-kilometer race in 3 hours and 38 minutes.
Yao Fei, the 52-year-old deputy mayor of Quanzhou, completed the all-Malaysia project.
Coincidentally, at the SCO Kunming Marathon, which ended earlier, Liu Jiachen, the mayor of Kunming, who is also 52 years old, also participated in the full marathon. According to reports, Mayor Liu Jiachen recorded a net time of 3 hours, 47 minutes and 48 seconds, ranking 116th among competitors in the 50-54 age group.
What's more interesting is that Mayor Liu Jiachen's certificate of completion was signed and issued by himself.
According to media reports, this is not the first time Mayor Liu Jiachen has participated in a marathon. In January 2022, he participated in the Kunming Half Marathon in Kunming, and crossed the line with his runners at the end of the race. The Kunming Marathon, which was rescheduled in March 2023, also saw him, when the weather was hot, and he finished in about 5 hours.
Liu Jiachen, mayor of Kunming, issued a certificate of completion for himself and was praised.
In some past road races, there will also be local officials who will take to the track to lead the race, but there are not many mayors like the two mayors who have attracted the attention of the whole network. The reason for this is related to the involvement and professionalism of the two mayors.
Judging from the results, Yao Fei's 3 hours and 38 minutes and Liu Jiachen's 3 hours and 47 minutes can be regarded as the level and ability of serious runners in the running circle. Liu Jiachen has an average pace of 5 minutes and 24 seconds, and can run 10 kilometers for about 50 minutes, while Yao Fei is faster.
Chen Penbin, the world champion of the extreme marathon and one of China's top ten athletes, commented, "The level is quite high, and the running is very fast, which is enough to show that he is a senior runner and has at least 5 years of long-distance running foundation to achieve such results." ”
Marathon is a sport that challenges the limits of the body, and it is not a challenge that people without sports experience can complete casually, and if you want to complete the whole marathon in about 3 hours and 40 minutes, you need at least 100 kilometers of training every month.
Being able to complete the marathon is enough to show that several mayors are serious runners who have been running for a long time.
Unlike team events such as basketball or football, the marathon does not have a "play with the leader" or "handicap the ball", nor does it turn the event into a personal show, which may be why, when the results of Mayor Liu Jiachen and Vice Mayor Yao Fei circulated on social networks, netizens unanimously praised them.
"I guess I'm the mayor who knows how to run marathons", "Amazing, I'm inspired", "This speed has killed 90% of runners...... Netizens have given similar comments.
Over the past decade, sports events have become one of the most important ways for a city to build its personality and culture. At the same time, a national carnival like the Volkswagen Marathon can also drive more people to join the upsurge of national fitness while stimulating consumer demand for clothing, food, housing, transportation, travel, shopping, entertainment, etc.
When the mayor who "can run the whole marathon" runs with his runners, it will undoubtedly make the popular sports event more friendly and attractive, and also make the marathon become the "bronzing business card" of the city.
The mayors completed the marathon, bringing human value beyond competition to the city's sporting events.
During the Xiamen Marathon, in a forum with the theme of "Exploring the Force and Confidence of Sports", Yi Jiandong, a sports scholar and professor at Wenzhou University, said that the marathon was a "troublesome thing". Runners have to put in a lot of effort to do the sport, but the feeling of joy after the race is an important reason for everyone to participate in it.
And in the process, the runner's own life is also enriched. "Sport is an important means to achieve the three goals of health, happiness and happiness in life. Yi Jiandong said frankly.
The mayors also took the lead in joining the sports and truly became an athlete, not only to promote the development of the city's cultural and tourism industry, but also to help cultivate grassroots sports culture in another way, so that the masses can appreciate the charm of sports.