The 34th Beijing international
marathon kicks off Oct.20, despite the day’s hazardous air index which soars
above 340 against 25-50 designed by the World Health Organization. As a runner,
I not only participated, but completed the race in a little over four hours.
Why on earth would people run a marathon in
such a toxic air?
Why on earth would I run the race?
I never forget the first physic education
class at my university. According to requirement, we have to compete the run of
1,500 meter in a certain time. So a group of us, led by a strong and tall guy
from an oilfield along the yellow river, started running the circle.
When we crossed the finish line, the person
who felt mostly relieved is not one of us, but our strong and tall PE class
representative. He bent down on this knees and throw up his gut out. That’s
pretty much the beginning and the end of my distance run training.
After moving to Beijing more than two years
ago, I have picked up running. The last year, I even run my first Beijing
marathon, which happened to have strong wind blew away a blanket of smog I run
to the end feeling thrilled.
So I already have a medal from Beijing
marathon, the medal, although addictive, is not the motivation for this run.
Race fee could be another reason. After
thinking thoroughly, the few hundred Chinese yuan is also neglectable, compared
with unforeseeable immediate and long-term damages to the body and mind.
So, what exactly, is the reason for the
race? I can think of three reasons:
1.
If the history is such that a
marathon has to be held under toxic air, then as a runner I want to be the
witness to the history
2.
I have never run wearing a
mask, why don’t I experiment it on my own body? Does it work? Can one wear a
mask and run to the finish line of a full marathon?
3.
Who are the runners so determined
to run?
Even on the morning of the race day, I was
not convinced to run. I wondered if there is a lasts-minute announcement from
the Beijing organizing committee to cancel or suspend the race. There have been
such cases. The most recent one is being New York City, which in 2013 cancelled
the New York Marathon amid the aftermath of super storm Sandy.
So, can Beijing, for the health sake of
tens of thousands runners and make the similar conclusion? I started searching
for any news, no luck.
Sitting on the subway train to the starting
point, I met several runners. One standing next to me is running his first
half-marathon. He was dragged by one friend and entered a lottery for the
half-marathon due to overwhelming applicants. His friend wasn’t chosen, but he
was.
Beijing marathon became such popular, a
sign of the strong social demand for health and fitness in Beijing.
I looked out of the train windows,
searching for signs of Olympic Torch Tower, a landmark clearly seen miles away
in a normal day or even lightly polluted day, but nowhere to be seen now.
Oddly, running in the bad air feels like
running in high-attitude Mountains, and I constantly feel short of breath.
The mask proved to short-lasting. To
improve air ventilation, I decided on a light-weight mask one filter opened.
While closed tightly via elastic bands, the
mask trapped warm air inside it. While walking should not be an issue, running
is a different story. The warm air quickly accumulated inside the mask, dampening
it. By one hour mark, the mask started changing shape. Meanwhile, the moisture
made the each breath heavier and harder.
One and half hours into running, I felt the
mask has effectively stopped working. I took it off for quick seconds and put
it back on, hoping to revitalize the only protection from the choky air.
The strategy worked, for another 20 minutes
and the mask gave up. I took off and went on without it.
Less than two hours, that’s my experiment
with mask in a marathon race.
Without any protection, I ran for another 2
hours and twenty minutes, before crossing the finish line.
And during the last few kilometers, there
were literally no runners wearing masks.
During the last section leading to the
finish line, the biggest topic for every runner is, where the finish is. After
hours of running and exposing to the toxic air, every one is eager to put it behind
them and just finish it, so they call it a day and can hide inside.
However, the pollution is so heavy that the
red-colored finish gate is nowhere to be seen from hundreds of meters away, even
the Bird’s Nest, the landmark next to the finish, only showing an obscured sketch.
The toughest section is around 37
kilometers, where I started feeling nausea. Despite fatigue, cramped legs and
pain, nausea is something new to me, and I have never felt that way before. I
felt a little panic attack, afraid of not being able to finish even coming this
far.
I knew that I can’t throw up, which would
take the remaining energy from my body. So I carried on, and stopped briefly at
a drinking station, using fluids to force down the urge to throw up.
The nausea, however, remained with me to
the next day. As to any mid-to long-term health impact, I have no idea.
Upon crossing the finish line, young volunteers
customarily handed one white plastic bag to me. Inside is customarily a medal
and some small-packaged snacks. This year, a large towel from the sport
sponsors is been replaced by a light paper vest printed with Beijing Marathon
logo.
Under a barely glowing sun light due to the
smog, the paper vest provides shivering sweet-soaked runners with paper-like
warmth.
The medal is about the same weight as the
one from the last year.
Holding it, I can’t stop wondering, is the medal
the proof of the completion of just another marathon race?
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