The Asia-Pacific Business School Desert Challenge (hereinafter referred to as the Asia-Pacific Business School Competition) is a competitive, experiential and cultural outdoor competition among the MBA schools of top business schools in the Asia-Pacific region. The first competition was held in 2012 in the Tengger Desert of Alxa League, Inner Mongolia, and has been held for 11 consecutive years, with more than 130 participating universities, covering more than 500,000 MBA groups of business schools in the Asia-Pacific region. The team members of each school hiked through the 70-kilometer desert in a team to experience and practice the competition concepts of environmental protection, cooperation, perseverance and responsibility.
The Asia-Pacific Business School Desert Challenge is known as the second classroom of the business school, and has been certified by the world record as the world's largest desert trekking challenge, which greatly enriches the outdoor activities of the business school, builds a communication platform for the business school, walks with the strong, and constantly completes the transcendence and transformation of individuals and teams.
The "Yasha Talks" series of talk shows kicked off, and the previous participating students came here to share their origins and gains with Yasha. In this issue, we will walk into Peking University and listen to the story of Deng Guomin, the coach of Peking University HSBC Business School's MBA Yasha Competition, and Yasha!
The moment he gritted his teeth and hit the line, flowers, applause, clusters and cheers poured in from all directions, the world was obviously noisy, people were noisy, and the cells of his body were clamouring pain, but he felt peaceful.
In August 2022, Deng Guomin went to Europe to compete in one of the world's most difficult trail running events - The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc), which spanned three European countries (France, Italy, and Switzerland), and circled Mont Blanc, with a total distance of 171km and a cumulative climb of more than 10,000 meters. This is his third time in the competition, and after the first two feathers, he has become more and more courageous, and once again went out to finish 23:04:39, successfully winning first place in Asia, setting the best finish time for a Chinese mainland male player in UTMB.
Guest of this issue
Deng Guomin
Coach of MBA Yashasai, Peking University HSBC Business School
TheNorthFace签约运动员
China "Prince Yueno Xiao"
1st place in Asia in the 2022 Tour de Mont Blanc trail run
2021 TNF100 Moganshan Trail Running Challenge 70KM Group Champion
In the eyes of everyone, Deng Guomin is an elite cross-country runner with more than ten years of experience and countless platforms, China's "little prince of cross-country", and the "strongest coach" of the MBA Yasha competition of Peking University HSBC Business School, leading the team to make a number of historic breakthroughs in the Yasha competition, but in his eyes, he is just a lucky grassroots player who has turned his love into a professional in perseverance, like a player, enjoying the ultimate happiness and freedom brought by running.
For him, the fun of running may not only be shuttling through the mountains, rivers, lakes and seas where the air is silent, measuring the vast and boundless land with his feet, but also the breathing and heartbeat from slow to rapid and then to steady, the sense of satisfaction after surpassing the physical limit to achieve the goal and the sense of accomplishment of giving way to the world, and the tranquility and abundance of the soul from love.
From marathons to trail running, follow your heart
Deng Guomin is an out-and-out sports enthusiast, who has been involved in various sports such as football, basketball, and table tennis since childhood, and his relationship with running is because of a "beautiful accident". In his second year of junior high school, he was forced to sign up for the 1500-meter race in the school sports meeting due to a shortage of manpower in his class, and he won the championship with a bang. As a student, he participated in many school-level competitions as a member of the school's track and field team, and often stood on the podium to live up to expectations, and constantly broke various records.
But his unconcealed talent for running did not lead him to the path of professional training as a sports student. He was admitted to the School of Materials and Energy of Guangdong University of Technology, and joined a listed company in Dongguan as a process engineer after graduation. For Deng Guomin, the yearning for freedom in his bones makes him unable to accept boring work, and he also bluntly said, "People like me who like to be outdoors, it is completely against my nature to let me stay here, I don't like this job, and even special rejection." ”
There are thousands of choices in life, and perhaps only by experiencing and trying can you find what your heart really desires. On the contrary, the path of advancement of non-professional athletes allows him to withdraw from the various utilitarian costs and gains and losses, to achieve the ultimate in pure love, and to find the way forward in exploration.
Over the years, no matter how his studies, career, and life have changed, and how his 24-hour time has been squeezed by all kinds of trivial matters, running is what he has always insisted on. From the first 1500 meters to the first 5000 meters, 100 kilometers, middle and long distance running, long-distance running, marathon, cross-country running...... Deng Guomin conquered the distance again and again, challenged himself, and stepped onto a broader stage step by step.
From 2010 to 2017, Tang devoted himself to training and participating in marathons, and his first marathon was the 2012 Hong Kong Marathon, with a finish time of 3 hours and 5 minutes. A year later, in the Shanghai Marathon, he improved his time to 2:36 and went from being one of many runners to one of the best amateur marathons in China. Since then, he has participated in dozens of marathons without stopping, running five in the craziest month, and each time his time is improving.
According to Deng Guomin, as his performance in various competitions has gradually increased, his love for running has increased unabated. At the same time, the requirements for themselves are getting higher and higher. He was no longer satisfied with running in the hustle and bustle of the city, and under the guidance of his running friends, he began to get into cross-country running. "Compared with marathons, trail running makes me feel more free and fun, running freely in the mountains, appreciating the myriad changes brought by nature, and exploring the unknown with my feet and breath. "
2021 TNF100 Moganshan Trail Running Challenge 70KM Group Champion, 2021 Danxia Mountain 100km Champion, 2020 Chaigu Downs Kuocang Trail Race 85K Champion...... It seems that from the moment he decides to do something, there will be frequent good news without accident.
When asked what the motivation for this extreme self-discipline and perseverance has come from in the past ten years, he simply said that because of love, because of the freedom and tranquility brought by running.
It seems effortless, but in fact it is a desperate effort
Along the way, this simple love has also won him many flowers and applause, and there are too many dazzling records in his running record book. In more than 100 games, he has also experienced highs and lows, and has seen the glory and trough. Looking back on his many experiences, UTMB is undoubtedly an event with both highs and lows in Deng Guomin's running career.
In terms of status, UTMB can be understood as the World Cup of trail running, bringing together the top runners from all over the world, not only with a high difficulty coefficient and hard to find, but also regarded as a dream palace by many off-road enthusiasts. The same is true for Deng Guomin, who in 2019 issued a "battle letter" to UTMB and successfully won a valuable opportunity to participate. Self-disciplined like him, after sufficient training and preparation in the early stage, he is full of energy, in excellent condition, full of hope to start from the starting point, and has been playing steadily, each check-in point is only one or two minutes away from the original planned time.
With his steady and steady style of play, he gives a very clear impression that there are no accidents. But perhaps for hundreds of kilometers of "World Cup" level trail running, unpredictable bad weather, rugged and bumpy tracks, the rhythm of the runners, and physical overdraft are the expected "standard", but it is never possible to predict which success or accident will come first.
"I fell short near Courmayor", Deng Guomin said regretfully, "It was a very simple journey, and I made a very low-level mistake carelessly, and all my preparation and hard work were in vain." However, with a foot injury, he relied on his willpower to continue struggling on the track for about 50 kilometers until his ankle was so swollen that he could not race, and he had no choice but to quit halfway.
"This is the only time I have quit in all the events I have participated in, and I have never thought of giving up even if I am tired and painful," he admits, because of the defeat and blow of the game, he felt like he was in hell, shutting down all social platforms, trapping himself in failure, and unwilling to communicate with others. Unfortunately or fortunately, he hasn't learned to lose yet, and the drive and competitiveness to admit defeat and vow to achieve his goals has brought him back to reality and began to think about how to train to achieve a "trough rebound".
In the 2020 and 2021 UTMB competitions, Deng Guomin also registered, but unfortunately could not be completed due to various reasons such as the epidemic. Until this year, after the hellish training of the dog days in Shenzhen, the test of the mentality and running environment of the epidemic, he strictly implemented the pre-race preparations such as running an average of about 160 kilometers per week, climbing about 5,000 and interspersed with targeted strength training. With the blessing of the right time and place, he once again went out to finish the race with a time of 23:04:39, winning the first place in Asia, creating the best finishing time for Chinese mainland men's players in UTMB.
It's easy to enjoy the cheers and accomplishments of the peak moment, but the drop from the peak is the most soul-striking test. In Tang's view, planning and goals are indispensable and important factors for him to continue to compete and achieve great results. But the hardships and hardships have come to fruition, and he once said: "My aim is to keep training, all year round." "Without years of hard training, it may be just a dream to talk about goals without hard work and determination.
There will always be goals and pursuits, and we will always be moving forward. In Deng Guomin, every achievement in the past is the motivation for him to enter the next stage and achieve the next goal. "Freedom is endless, while loneliness is eternal. I don't have a limit or an ultimate goal on the running track, but I always have the enthusiasm to sprint and surpass my previous self, set new records, and break new limits. ”
Let ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things
The non-stop running opened a window for him to appreciate the wonders and customs of various parts of the world in international and domestic competitions, meet like-minded partners, and get the sublimation of body and mind.
Today, running is no longer just a hobby and habit in his life, he has participated in every race, set foot in every trail, and climbed every mountain, allowing him to realize the transformation from an amateur runner to a professional athlete step by step. In addition to participating as a professional athlete, he also has an additional identity - the coach of Peking University HSBC Asian Sand Competition, imparting experience, continuing love, and allowing ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.
He said, "As a team event full of unknowns and changes, one of the greatest values of Yasha is to defend the glory of Shaou in the name of the team, and challenge itself and strive for the honor of the institution. As a coach, his idea is also very simple, "to lead the Peking University HSBC business army to show their heroic posture in the desert, improve their sports performance and achieve better results, and at the same time teach them to enjoy the outdoors, experience the fun of running, and continue to persevere in the post-Yasha era, unlocking a healthy lifestyle." ”
Referring to his leadership style and characteristics, Deng Guomin laughed and said that he may be "the coach who will not scold people in the Yasha competition", which belongs to the calm and rational encouragement type. In the process of daily training and competition, unless the team member says to give up, what he talks about is: relax, don't be so tight, enjoy the process, don't worry, steady, and then play more fun things after the game...... Like his own idea of training running, he believes that the scenery and fun in the process are far more important than the result, "It's time to work hard, as long as everyone can adjust their mentality and face Yasha with a full and high-spirited state of mind, the final result will be no matter what the result is." ”
Since Deng Guomin served as the coach of Shasai in 2019, after he joined the team adhering to the tenet of "having fun and training hard" and the concept of "enjoying the process and digging fun", through the joint efforts of everyone, Peking University HSBC has also greatly improved the overall level, and Sha9 won the third place in the team, making a historic breakthrough and achieving the results of 2 female players. Sha 10 finished 6th in the team and many competitors stood on the platform, while the women took home two championship trophies and one runner-up trophy. As for the secret of good results, Deng Guomin summed it up as: first pull into the "pit" and then train efficiently, do a good job in team cohesion and willpower building, and trust and support each other.
From the Sand 5 competition to the completion of the Sand 10 competition, Peking University HSBC Business School MBA Sha You has already imprinted his own team spirit and spirit on the Yasha competition.
On the field, they were like a cohesive red flame, in the boundless yellow sand, on the delicate and soft sandy land, they took uniform resolute steps, burning a red and black strong back, across the Tengger Desert.
In addition to the competition, the parade organization, tent construction, and backpack placement are also uniform, infecting the surrounding business school crowd and spreading the spirit and style of the business military academy of Peking University HSBC Business School.
It is better to be prepared than to fight, rather than to be unprepared
According to Deng Guomin, the training purpose of Peking University HSBC's sand race is mainly efficient, and the training cycle will be basically finalized before the official start of the sand race, from laying the foundation in the early stage, selecting team members for long-distance running endurance training in the middle stage, and then to targeted special training in the middle and late stages, turning to improving the ability at the skill level, including how to bear weights, how to exert force, how to use trekking poles, how to cooperate more efficiently with AB team members, etc., to build a strict and professional training system. When it comes to improving skills, Deng Guomin believes that the control and handling of details by the Peking University HSBC team in this regard is also a point that distinguishes it from other universities.
In the process of coaching, Deng Guomin also pays special attention to the communication and exchange with the players, and maintains a good relationship with the players. "As a team event, everyone needs to trust and support each other, and work together as a rope. Yasha is not only a test of individual running skills and ability, but also the willpower and belief to persevere to the end, but also the team's cooperation and strategy. ”
They adopted the strategy of bringing the old with the new, infecting and inspiring Xinsha with the energy of Lao Sha, guiding and passing on the baton day after day during the training period, establishing a deep sense of Yasha feelings and responsibility, and pushing Xinsha forward. At the same time, it will also organize a two-day and one-night outing, where the players bring their relatives and friends, so that everyone can get to know each other and establish friendship in the hard training and play, and cheer for each other in the game.
With the experience of leading the team in the two sand competitions of Sha 9 and Sha 10, Deng Guomin is more and more handy with the identity of the coach. The brilliant results of the first two competitions and the results of hard training also made the Peking University HSBC Sha friends high morale and full of confidence in the Sha 11 competition. However, due to the epidemic, the event was constantly postponed, and the long-term battle hit the mentality of the players. Deng Guomin also said, "The morale that has been stimulated with great difficulty has been suppressed because of the postponement, and it is easy for people to relax their training if they are too long." In addition to the epidemic, training is often affected by the lockdown of team members or training venues, sometimes being chased by security guards at the school gate, and being evicted by the administrators in the park. ”
As the coach and the spiritual core of the team, Deng Guomin tried his best to calm the emotions of every player and work with everyone to cope with the severe challenges. Organize online exercise check-ins, group stair climbing, and other training to compensate for the amount of exercise...... For the glory of the team and the Shaou Award, the preparation team of Peking University HSBC Sand Competition has been working hard and trying their best to overcome many difficulties.
Sha 11 is about to set off, and I believe that the existence of all obstacles in the process will only make the final victory of Peking University HSBC, a military academy iron cavalry led by Deng Guomin, more sweet.
Go alone and go far, and achieve each other
"He is the first person to cross the country in South China, and he has opened up a new world for the fighters of Peking University HSBC: training, supplies, and equipment have hidden details and skills. He is like a magician, turning stones into gold, turning Xiaobai into an elite and an amateur into a champion. His sentence with me has soothed many restless souls. In the hearts of the Peking University HSBC Iron Army led by him, he is the backbone of the fastest, farthest and most stable and will never fall, and he is an example representative of their continuous alignment and drawing strength to move forward.
When others were tired and quadriplegic and weak, or worried about being caught up and overtaken, Deng Guomin calmly encouraged and supported the team members to move forward, looking calm and calm, as if he had planned for the game and won the game. The confidence given by the "strongest coach" of the first person in off-road really gave everyone a heart-saving pill.
Perhaps in the hearts of many Sha friends of Peking University HSBC, Deng Guomin has helped many people, but in his heart, they are not achieving each other. Just like in the UTMB competition that played a pivotal role in his life in August this year, when he walked alone and gritted his teeth to sprint, his heart was full of the encouragement, support and care of his friends before the race, and he ran faster and more resolute with the idea of not disappointing their expectations.
Yasha is not a one-man arena, but a team challenge, and the unique charm of the event lies in the fact that you can stand shoulder to shoulder with the giants and strive for a common goal. And after experiencing the death-like common battle of Yasha, the friendship of "Sand Friends for Life" established in this way is also more sincere and warm, hot and unique, and unforgettable.
As a three-time sand friend, in the process of leading Peking University HSBC to participate in the competition and training, Deng Guomin also found that many of the players who participated in the Asian Sand Competition, many team members may not be able to run 5 kilometers or 10 kilometers at the beginning of training, but after insisting on training, they can achieve 70 kilometers for three days and two nights, overcome extreme bad weather, and conquer the desert beyond their physical limits.
He sincerely felt that Yasha had inspired endless potential, gathered countless energies, witnessed too many impossible possibilities, and the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction brought by this kind of finish could never be imagined without experiencing it once.