I booked the hotel half a year in advance. Wuxi runner Li Yaoqiang: It’s been three years since I started running.
"I booked a hotel room half a year ago, because the horse racing must be held on Sundays in those two weeks. I booked for two days, and then canceled one day as soon as the time was confirmed..." Li Yaoqiang, a runner from Wuxi, Chatted with reporters about "experiences" in participating in the horse launch. He arrived in Shanghai by high-speed train today and will start his sixth "journey" tomorrow.
Li Yaoqiang is a member of the Wuxi DreamChasers running group. This time, the running group has more than 20 runners coming to participate in the marathon. Many of them have participated in the marathon many times. But Li Yaoqiang is undoubtedly the luckiest among them. He started running in 2015 and has participated in five consecutive races since that year, and he has received "tickets" for all of them. Later, due to the epidemic, his relationship with Shangma was interrupted for three years. However, the organizing committee of the event was very humane and kept his winning number until this year's horse race. "Finally, I am back to the horse race. I have been preparing for the horse race this year." His preparations included booking a hotel in advance. "After all, it is a race." Having been here so many times, we all know that the hotels near the starting point and the end point will be very popular, and the prices will also fluctuate upwards." Speaking of this, he felt a little proud, "After all, the horse racing is so popular. The runners in our running group all believe that the marathon is the best in the country, bar none!”
Such comments come from Li Yaoqiang’s personal experience. For example, the supply stations along the race route are really numerous and abundant. “I remember that the supplies included bananas, raisins, tomatoes, sushi, meat floss cakes, salt pills, chocolate, sports drinks, and energy bars. ...It was definitely a food marathon that I kept eating all the way to the end.” The water station also left a deep impression on him. “Almost every time I drank water, the volunteers handed me a water cup with their hands, which was very considerate.” The cheers on the track. The group is also his unforgettable memory of starting a horse. "The atmosphere was great all the way. The music station, the aunt cheering group, and the foreign cheerleaders made people enjoy the game. The way of mixing the gongs and drums team and electronic music is also very Shanghai-style..."
The experience of riding a horse in 2019 made him admire the "first aid response speed" of riding a horse. "It was a hot day when I started the race. A runner fell directly in front of me because of exhaustion. I saw the emergency personnel rushing over immediately. In less than two minutes, an ambulance also arrived at the scene to perform first aid measures. "It's too fast." Li Yaoqiang believes that the history of horse racing is not long, and the reason why it has become a platinum-label event is due to its persistence in details. “Getting on the horse made me feel the seriousness of this event.”
After three years of absence, many runners from other provinces and cities who, like Li Yaoqiang, sincerely hope to participate in the marathon and like the marathon, can finally renew their relationship with the horse this year, and the horse is welcoming the horse in his best condition and attitude. The arrival of old friends.
