Immediately following last week's End of the China Marathon "Super Weekend", the Shanghai International Half Marathon, which has been separated from runners for two years due to the epidemic, was "rekindled" at 7:00 a.m. on April 18 at Fenghe Road in Pudong New Area, which is also the first international marathon event ushered in Shencheng since its launch in 2021.
Looking forward to it, for the love of the voyage
The 2021 SPDB Shanghai Half Marathon, with the slogan of "Recharge, Back Stronger", has a total of about 6,000 participants. With the sound of the starting gun, the runners set off from Fenghe Road in Pudong New Area, passing through Lujiazui, Expo Source and Qiantan Sports Park, etc., to the Oriental Sports Center where the finish line is located, and in the 21.0975 kilometers of the journey, they can not only feel the excitement brought by the running, but also enjoy the beautiful city scenery along the way.
In the men's group, Wang Zhuang won the championship with a time of 1 hour 06 minutes and 57 seconds, zhang Xinyan won the women's group with a time of 1 hour 13 minutes and 06 seconds, and the two also won gold medals in each group in the 2020 Shanghai International 10 km Classic.
The number of runners in this year's half marathon has shrunk significantly compared with previous editions. The 2021 Shanghai Half Marathon has a total of about 6,000 participants, and in the 2018 and 2019 competitions, 15,000 seats were opened. Despite this, the completion rate of 6,000 participants this year reached 99.15%, higher than the 98% completion rate in 2019 and 2018.
At the finish line, runners flocked to the area. The expression on the faces of the finishers conveys that they are proud of their persistence and perseverance from the heart.
This year's half-horse race attaches great importance to epidemic prevention and safety. Before the race, all participants, including runners and staff, were strictly screened, their itinerary in the 14 days before the race was verified, and a negative nucleic acid report was provided in Shanghai, and a total of 1600 staff and volunteers received nucleic acid testing. After the race, in addition to the timely disinfection of the venue, supporting facilities and functional areas by the epidemic prevention personnel, the organizing committee also sent a new disposable medical mask and hand sanitizer to the runners for the first time.
Mr. Shao, who undertook the epidemic prevention work at the scene, told the author that the event was equipped with a total of 12 epidemic prevention personnel, all of whom were in place at 2:45 a.m., and completed all the pre-game killing work at 4:30 a.m. From the sound of the starting gun to the athletes' arrival at the finish line, the epidemic prevention personnel once again hygienically treated all the toilets and tents, and carried out systematic disinfection and finishing work after the race.
A total of 15 support ambulances were equipped with a cycling ambulance team to escort the participants. In addition, a total of 21 medical rescue points and 3 designated hospitals were set up along the track, providing a strong guarantee for the safety of the runners.
Reunite half a horse and give back with heart
Due to the epidemic, last year's Shanghai Half Marathon could not be successfully launched, but this year's 2021 Shanghai Half Marathon provided many intimate services for the participants, which to a certain extent made up for the regrets left last year.
In addition to the road running standards on the horse, this event is equipped with clothing belts and subway commemorative cards for all participants, and each runner can receive benefits such as a completion package, an external race allowance and a commemorative medal after the completion of the race.
In terms of anti-heat measures, the organizing committee not only built an awning on the riverside track in Qiantan Park, but also added 3 ice stations and 4 spray stations to help the runners physically cool down. In addition to the regular drinking water station and energy supply station, the half horse also set up 4 additional special music stations along the track to help the participants get a pleasant body and mind during the run.
Mr. Lu, 68, is one of the contestants and a regular in the race, achieving a time of 1 hour and 42 minutes. Since he began to participate in the Shanghai Race in 1990, not only has he never missed a Shanghai All-Malaysia Race, but he has also been able to keep every game since the Shanghai Half Marathon was held. However, due to the impact of the epidemic, Shanghai Half Horse pressed the pause button last year, this time reunited with Half Horse and completed the race, Mr. Lu felt physically and mentally satisfied: "I usually have the habit of running all the time, long-distance running has brought me health, good health is the cost." This year's half-horse atmosphere is very good, very happy, this time is to test themselves, do not care about the results, focus on participation. ”
After running the full track of half a horse, Ms. Zhu, 31, said she could run another five kilometers. When asked about the biggest attraction of the half horse for herself compared to the whole horse, Miss Zhu also told the author bluntly that the half horse is more relaxed and easy to run. She believes that the length of the marathon can be very flexible, which is conducive to most people choosing to participate according to their actual situation, and she also calls on more people to participate in the marathon.
Sports Shencheng, running non-stop
A city's ability to host international sports events reflects the city's economic strength and international reputation to a certain extent. According to the content released by the 2021 Shanghai International and Domestic Sports Events Plan (first edition), Shanghai is expected to host 113 large-scale sports events (national and above) in 2021, of which 55 are international sports events.
The Shanghai Marathon, the Shanghai Half Marathon and the Shanghai 10km Elite Race are the three major international marathon events in Shencheng, and the continuous consolidation and improvement of their brand value are inseparable from Shanghai's achievements in the cause of national fitness.
According to the latest "2019 Shanghai National Fitness Development Report" released at the end of 2020 (referred to as the "300 Index"), the three individual indicators of "fitness environment", "sports participation" and "physical health" of Shanghai citizens are in the "satisfaction area", and the "fitness environment" has reached 83.7 points.
According to statistics, the total length of various types of citizen fitness trails (green spaces) and cycling trails in Shencheng is 1680 kilometers, and there are 1565 citizen fitness trails (green trails). Relying on the construction strength of such sports infrastructure, it provides fertile soil for the holding and development of marathon events in Shanghai.
In view of the future development trend of the half marathon in Shencheng, Associate Professor Lin Zhanglin from the School of Economics and Management of Shanghai University of Sport believes that the continuous emergence of urban trails reflects that the behavior of citizens is changing, and as the number of people with more leisure time is growing, half marathon events will have a more solid crowd base. In addition, due to the relatively short mileage of half a horse, the location of its events will be more room.
In the future, Lin Zhanglin believes that the half marathon will continue to improve the fun of the event, and the event will be more closely combined with the greening and landscaping of the city, and at the same time, because of the lowering of its threshold, there may be a trend of popularization and youth in the future.
The return of the 2021 Shanghai International Half Marathon has rekindled people's enthusiasm for running, and if this time it fails to participate, the 2021 All Malaysia Race in November this year is looking forward to meeting you. in Rokai