Sports take to the comeback trail

Snacks provided

This year, the Chengdu Marathon attracted 10,000 runners. In addition to basic necessities such as water, 20,000 cups of hot ginger tea were offered to competitors, as they had to deal with much colder weather, with the event being staged a month later than previously.

Organizers also prepared a range of local snacks, including rice noodles, tofu pudding and bobo chicken for runners at supply stations scattered throughout the course.

A total of 20 "cheering points" were also positioned along the course, where the athletes were cheered to the sound of drumbeats and Chinese folk music.

However, creating such an atmosphere was no easy task for the organizers, whose main priority was safety. They worked with six local health departments and hospitals to draw up comprehensive epidemic prevention regulations and a contingency plan for emergencies.

A total of 800 medical workers, first responders and volunteers were positioned at 24 medical stations on the course, with 22 ambulances on standby.

Runners had to produce a negative nucleic acid test result within seven days of the start and their travel history for the previous 14 days. All staff members and support teams were given comprehensive epidemic prevention training.

Pleasant surprise

The Nanjing Marathon also attracted huge attention at the weekend, as it was a qualification event for the postponed Tokyo Olympics. The field of 10,000 included 12 Chinese national team runners.

Peng Jianhua, from Jiangxi province, won the men's title with a personal best time of 2:08:50, while Li Dan, from Liaoning province, won the women's title in 2:26:59.

Peng, who is hoping to make a breakthrough at the Tokyo Olympics, said: "I'm surprised by the result. My pressure is also my motivation, and I have confidence in myself.

"I will keep training with my coach, and I hope to further improve with winter training. The postponement of the Olympics has given me more time to adjust and more chances to train and compete ahead of the Games."

His coach, Xiao Li, praised Peng's performance, saying: "I'm truly satisfied with the result. This is the first official marathon event he has joined this year. Due to the pandemic, we spent almost a year training, but had no events to participate in."

Tian Xiaojun, a vice-president of the Chinese Athletic Association, or CAA, said the Nanjing Marathon, the only Olympic Marathon qualifying race staged in China to date, was a great chance for the national team and provincial team runners to test their skills.

The country's elite runners start their winter training shortly, so such an event is vital for them to gain more experience, Tian said.

In addition to marathons, other long-distance and cross-country running events are returning nationwide.

For example, organizers of the Spartan Race, a series of obstacle events of varying distance for endurance runners, originally aimed to stage 49 races in 13 Chinese cities this year, but the pandemic disrupted their plans.

The Spartan Race only returned in the second half of the year, with seven events staged since July. Organizers drew up detailed epidemic prevention regulations and limited the number of competitors for each event to ensure safety.

Runner Liu Yue said: "I hadn't participated in any outdoor sports since the pandemic emerged, but thanks to the virus being successfully contained in China, I can finally return to events like the Spartan Race. I really enjoyed it."

Earlier this year, many people thought it would be impossible for the 2020 BMW Hood to Coast China Relay to be staged in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, in September.

However, thanks to the organizers' efforts, 374 five-member, one-car teams challenged themselves on a 147-km regular course within 21 hours, while 35 10-member, two-car teams took on a 234.3-km course. The courses were divided into 16 and 29 sections respectively, with one team member required to complete each section while the others traveled by car, interchanging at the end of every leg.

On Dec 12, the second Hood to Coast Relay race of the year will be staged in Sanya, Hainan province. A total of 420 teams have signed up.

Shui Tao, a deputy secretary-general of the CAA, told Xinhua News Agency the association is planning for the return of a wide range of running events in low-risk areas nationwide, but races will still not be permitted in medium-and high-risk areas.

Event organizers must obtain approval from local epidemic prevention departments, and while the scale of events should be limited, the CAA is encouraging the hosting of more such activities, Shui said.

"The pandemic has resulted in the emergence of online running. By October, China had hosted 368 such events, attracting some 52 million participants," he added.

"These events meet demand and are a solution to the lack of offline competition. They also lower the risk of the virus spreading."