I made my triumphant return to Beijing (via Guangzhou for a two-week quaratine) back in August and it wasn't long before I was itching to get on the road again.
Soon after getting back to China I started dating Hannah and she informed me that she was doing the Hangzhou half-marathon. She said that registration was closed now, so I seized the opportunity to sound heroic. "That's such a shame as I definitely would have done it with you! I'll be there to support you though!" I often make statements like these as I get to sound like a truly good guy without having to do any of the hard graft.
I've learned not to say these kinds of things to Hannah any more as she often finds a way to make it happen. She contacted the race organisers, but was told what she already knew about the registration. Undeterred, she then contacted some of the race sponsors and found me a spot to enter. I was entered on behalf of China Insurance...I think. I had only known Hannah for a matter of weeks and now she has me signed up to run 21.1km! How do these things always seem to happen to me?
I had about 6 weeks to get fit enough to finish it. I wasn't aiming to break any records, my hope was just to get across the finish line without embarrassing myself in front of my date. Nothing puts a date off quicker than desperation and embarrassment, two things I have in abundance.
I began with a 10km, then 15km before finally ratcheting it up to 20km a week before the race. They were long, cold nights of endless running. I really questioned how much I wanted to have sex with Hannah when I was putting in those kilometers. And these were Beijing kilometers where the air is not clean and the cold is unforgiving. I'm certain I lost a few months off my life expectancy during training.
The race was due to take place on the morning of Sunday 1st December. We went down on the Friday night to explore Hangzhou. It's known for its scenic lakes and temples. It is truly beautiful there and continues to raise the question in me "why do I live in scummy Beijing?"
We got a good nights sleep for the race the next day as it begun at 7am. That should be enough to deter any sane people from entering. However, the people that sign up for long distance races are not sane. Each one of them had run hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers in preparation for the race. Running is their passion and this is what they train for. Running is my passion too but it usually means running from my problems.
The race started and 10,000 people set off with an excited skip in their step. About 200m in and I realized I needed the bathroom. I had to pee at the side of the road like the dirty foreigner I am. I think I had a little too much excitement in me.
In my training, I had managed to complete 20km in about 1 hour 55 minutes which was respectful but hard. Today, I didn’t care about the time. The run was a lot easier than the training as the adrenaline takes over. The air is much cleaner, the scenery much nicer and friendly people all around shouting encouraging words. 加油! Jiā yóu!
We did it together and when we crossed the finish line, we got notified that Hannah beat me by 0.2 seconds. Not that we’re competitive or anything.
I thought that it was a great achievement as 400 days earlier I was lying in hospital with a broken leg wondering if I’d be able to run again (a bit overblown, I know). It allowed me to move on from that trauma and now I play football and run without any fear.
When I crossed the finish line, I thought that it would be the one and only long-distance race I enter, but I have to say that I enjoyed it and would be tempted to do another one. In the end, I have to say thank you to Hannah for pushing me to complete it. There is no doubt that I would never have done it without her.
