Guang'an / Yichang / Changsha. Guang'an, Yichang, and Changsha: three cities, three races, and a 2017 pilgrimage squeezed between research days.
Bright clothes, angry horses, blazing red flowers - a pilgrimage to three cities
As a second-year veteran researcher who is wandering on the edge of scientific research, he originally had no racing plan for the second semester of 2017, but he was too determined to live a life of death and could not hold back his wandering heart. In addition, those 21k and 42k came from time to time to tug at his heartstrings, which made him feel that life was too trivial and needed a shock from time to time to become fresh. So, in the end, he was shaken and he started to wander again. I went to three cities, Guang'an, Yichang, and Changsha, for three people, and started a pilgrimage with red flowers all the way.
Guang'an - Deng Xiaoping
To be honest, I didn’t know where Guang’an was before. I only knew that it was the hometown of my brother Long, the “god of the ball”, “number one point guard” and “guardian of civil engineering men’s basketball” at Wuhan University. During my trip to Changzhi in the first half of the year, I got to know Sister Mengru, an energetic outdoor expert who has studied in Portugal for many years. She strongly recommended Guang'an to me, the hometown of Deng Xiaoping. She also told me that there will be many volunteers wearing revolutionary clothes to salute you along the Guang'an Horse Road. It is very interesting. This is my first impression of Guang'an.
In the blink of an eye, it was October, and I was stuck in the lab working on the plan and structure of my thesis. I was frustrated and anxious. I flipped through the Chinese Marathon Calendar during the break, and suddenly saw that I could still sign up for the Guang'an Marathon. I also saw that everyone in the ticket circle was wandering around on October 1, so I simply put aside the complicated work of the thesis and caught the last train of the Guang'an Marathon on October 14th. If you want to run, of course it’s a marathon. Just like that, accompanied by the spring breeze of reform and opening up, I left as soon as I could, put on my running shoes, and went to see Grandpa Deng.
My plan is to go there on Friday night and return to Wuhan on Monday morning. No matter what, don’t let horse racing take up too much of your normal working time. This is the principle and the bottom line. So this trip was hurried and urgent.
After 14 hours and one night of hard seating, I arrived in Guang'an, Sichuan. It was cloudy and surrounded by fog. I could see the fairy spirit on the top of the mountain, the sky and the earth were beautiful, and the distant mountains were winding. There is a saying in Feng Shui: "Mountains come slowly, this is the coming dragon; there are fairy spirits above, soldiers and horses below, the front is yang, and the back is yin, this is the dragon's lair." I thought, no wonder Grandpa Deng Xiaoping, who I admire very much, came here.
Returning to the topic of horse racing, when I got off the train, I saw two uncles wearing running shoes and walking out of the platform together. It seemed that they were here to run a marathon. In line with the principle that runners in the world are one family, I went up to say hello to them. After exchanging a few words, I realized that everyone was here for Grandpa Deng. After taking a short rest at the youth hostel, we went to pick up the equipment. The volunteers were very considerate and personally gave each contestant an anti-substitute bracelet to prove their identity. There are two brands of Guang'an Marathon. The one before the race is a black cat and white cat medal, which is full of Deng's humor (see Deng Xiaoping's quotations for details). In the souvenir section, I bought a souvenir shirt with the words "Quit Lazy" and Deng's quotations. I was completely attracted by these two words. In the evening, I asked my brother Long what was delicious in Guang'an, and then I went out to find a roadside shop and ate eight bowls of local specialty meat. I couldn't live up to the horse racing and delicious food, and I was very happy.
I had a great sleep at night, because I hadn’t run for a long time, so I thought it would be enough to run for 4 and a half hours. I had no expectations for the results, because the purpose of this trip was to make a pilgrimage to Grandpa Deng, and the meaning of the Red Marathon was to commemorate the revolutionary martyrs. I found a perfect reason for myself not to run too fast: You are here to receive red education, so why run so fast? Wouldn’t it be better to experience the red education for a while? Before the race, I told Sister Mengru that Guang’an’s goal was 430. Sister Mengru replied: I hope you can reach 400. I burst out laughing and thought: Don't make trouble.
发枪起跑！ The weather was neither hot nor cold, it was an overcast day, and there was no big sun. I ran very comfortably. Unconsciously, I followed the 4-hour rabbit for about ten kilometers. The team was divided into several waves. I joined the team of Brother Yong, Sister Yaqiong, and Sister Xuemei. Brother Yong was very professional and guided us from time to time on how to run at each stage, including how to save effort in stride and arm swing, and how to control the rhythm. I benefited a lot. After the halfway point, there was a big uphill stretch for several kilometers, which everyone found very difficult. The big uphill was followed by a big downhill, and then another big uphill, like a roller coaster. Sister Yaqiong fell behind, and Brother Yong and Sister Xuemei quickly occupied the first group. At about 30 kilometers, Brother Yong and Sister Xuemei could no longer be seen in front of me, and Sister Yaqiong also disappeared behind. After all, you still have to rely on yourself for the second half of the marathon. I chewed an energy gel and shouted: "Made, try your best!" There was a big turnaround at 30 kilometers. Going uphill first and then downhill was really rough. I looked at the pace and found that if I kept going I could break 4, which is just ten kilometers. I maintained a pace of 540, counting mile by kilometer. Just when I was full of expectations and thought it would be no problem to break four, my breath suddenly stopped. At 35 kilometers, my breath stopped. It was really life-threatening. I could only lower the pace and run slowly. I was determined not to stop, and I maintained this pace for 2 kilometers. I felt it was okay, so I returned to the pace of 530. I passed the wall-hitting and bifurcating periods, and I came back to life. The last 3 kilometers were very easy, and I ran to 357 as expected. Sister Ru hit the nail on the head. At the finish line, I saw Brother Yong and Sister Xuemei. I was very happy to add them as friends. After all, we had fought side by side and our relationship was very deep. Later, I became a friend of Sister Yuqiong and we made an appointment to meet again (unfortunately, we didn’t win).
After stretching, I rode a motorcycle and went back to the youth hostel to take a quick shower before catching the train. Along the way, I asked about the location of the bus station in Northeastern dialect. The citizens were very enthusiastic and gave me directions in pure Sichuan dialect. Finally, following the navigation, I found the bus to Guang'an Railway Station. The 2:30 train was late, but luckily, everything was just right. At the train station, I met Uncle Youqiang, the running god I met when I first came to Guang'an. We added each other as friends and looked forward to seeing each other again. In this way, I transferred from Guang'an to Chongqing, then took a bus from Chongqing and returned to Wuhan via Guang'an (I was thinking all the way. WTF, what ticket did I buy?). When I arrived in Wuhan, at seven o'clock on Monday morning, I packed up and went to the laboratory. Everything was as usual, I went quietly and returned quietly. I wanted to keep a low profile, but I was a detective, so I found the ticket at noon, and then followed the clues and found out that there was a marathon in Guang'an on the weekend. In this way, I became a negative example of going out for fun. Although I didn’t stay in Guang’an for a long time, I felt great and everything was worth it.
宜昌——我的导师
I signed up for the half-marathon in Yichang because I promised to take a friend to complete his first marathon, and Yichang is the hometown of my graduate tutor. If Deng Xiaoping determined the fate of China, then my tutor may have determined part of my life trajectory. The destiny of the individual and the country are always closely related to each other, so I also define this trip as a pilgrimage.
We arrived in Yichang on the afternoon of Saturday, November 4th. I have to say that Yichang is a livable city. There are no traffic lights. When walking on the road, motor vehicles will actively give way to pedestrians. It is really warm. The last time I heard of such warm traffic rules was in Hangzhou. This time we stayed in a youth hostel, with a climbing gym on the first floor and accommodation on the second floor. The environment was great. After settling in, we went to pick up our equipment, still wearing red T-shirts, and rode Mobike in the evening to find food in Yichang city. Probably because it is adjacent to the Three Gorges, the uphill and downhill slopes in Yichang city were unimaginable. Fortunately, it was a half marathon, so running with others would not be too stressful.
We arrived at the starting point very early the next day. The wind was howling. Since we arrived too early and it was not yet dawn, we huddled back to the surrounding hotel and waited for half an hour. Finally, before starting, we followed the flow of people and rushed to the starting point. On the edge of the Yangtze River, the wind was sunny and the crowds were crowded. It was really a good day for running. Since my friend was the first to start the race, the speed was not too fast, and the process was uneventful. Although a few bridges along the way were a bit annoying, everything else was actually fine. What was particularly touching was that at the end of the team, there were parents bringing their children to clean up the garbage left by the runners. The city is warm, and the people are even warmer. The half marathon was completed in less than 2 and a half hours, and the sunshine at noon was really beautiful and warm. On November 5th, on this sunny day, a half-marathon on the edge of the Three Gorges was recorded.
The next day I went to Qingjiang Gallery. It was really beautiful, with green mountains, green water, painted boats and tourists. I returned to Wuhan University in the evening and was myself back on campus. In short, the significance of the trip to Yichang is greater than horse racing. The city is full of outstanding people. No wonder it has such a good mentor like us (shh, please allow me to flatter you).
Changsha - Chairman Mao
If I had to use one word to describe my trip to Changsha, it would definitely be "囧", two words would be "very embarrassing", and three words would be "super embarrassing". 4 words "so embarrassing". Going to Changsha, there was a real drama of people on the embarrassing journey. But I still have to say, no matter how embarrassing it is, it’s worth it just to be able to pay homage to Grandpa Mao at the head of Orange Island.
Originally, the long marathon was in October, but due to force majeure, it was postponed to Saturday, November 18th, and the Houguanhu Half Marathon collided with the train on November 19th. I had no choice but to give up on Houguanhu. The embarrassment of Changsha was that I missed the train when I went there and had to change my ticket. When I came back, I took the subway backwards and missed the train, so I had to change my ticket. I didn’t consider the heavy rain and wind in Changsha, so I only brought I had to buy a pair of shoes; I lost my wallet while retrieving equipment and had to look for it everywhere; my pocket bag broke during the whole marathon and I had to hold my phone in my hand; my shoelaces came on several times and I had to mess up the rhythm of tying my shoes; my phone automatically shut down when the battery ran out of power and the app data was not saved, so I had to give up on the original plan of completing the marathon online and offline at the same time. Many embarrassing things came together to form Chang Ma's first impression.
Because of embarrassment, it is more worth remembering, because people will cherish those warm things more when they are in embarrassment. For example, we have a small group of six people in our youth hostel. Like-minded people always collide with each other and everyone is warm. For example, I saw my undergraduate roommate Da Song, a top student at Hunan University, who came to the train station to pick me up on a small electric motor in the wind and rain. He insisted on treating me to Hans in the evening, not to mention how warm it was. Another example is the free subway provided by Changsha for us.
Back to the topic of horse racing, let’s get straight to the point. We picked up the equipment. The next day, our youth host group took the free subway at night and went straight to Helong Stadium, which is the starting point of this competition. I heard that we encountered the coldest day in Changsha in several months. The cold morning seemed to instantly transport me back to the Northeast. After starting, my body warmed up a little. It was another full marathon. Because the environment was too harsh, there was no requirement for performance. Just finish the race safely. It was windy and rainy all the way. The first supply point seemed to be at 10 kilometers. I personally think it was set a little further, less than 20 kilometers. When I came to Orange Island, a huge statue of Chairman Mao was right next to the runners. Everyone stopped to take photos with the Chairman. I wanted to join in the fun, but the moment I took out my phone, my wallet broke and I had no choice but to continue running. Maybe it was too cold and I kept wanting to go to the toilet. There were many detours along the way to go to the toilet. The 30-kilometer bridge was facing wind and rain, which made me think about stopping for the first time. But I was glad that I persisted and continued back to Orange Island after crossing the bridge. It would be windier and rainier, and it was a headwind. However, looking at the finish line that was just around the corner, I tried my best to persevere. The last 2 kilometers were uphill and my shoelaces were untied. Just like that, I ran back to the finish line in embarrassment and rushed into the shivering crowd at the finish line. The official result was fixed at 4 hours and 03 minutes, which was quite satisfactory.
On the way back to my residence, I passed by Changjun Middle School and took a group photo. I heard that this is Brother Shuo’s alma mater and the best high school in Changsha. I was very happy because I, a scumbag, could also come here to enjoy myself as a top student. We tidied up at the youth hostel and then said goodbye to everyone in the group. Unfortunately, the six of us could not take a complete group photo. I took the bus back to Wuhan in the afternoon (the embarrassing incident will not be described again), followed by a dinner with the sports department in the evening and a group meeting on Sunday the next day. The trip to Changsha was the worst marathon experience I have ever experienced, but a group of people running can also warm up a city. "The Biography of Mao Zedong" is the first biography of a great man that I have read completely. I have wanted to go to Shaoshan to visit the great man's hometown for a long time, and now I feel it is just right to commemorate it by running. Although Changsha is embarrassing, the joy is unknown.
The long horse racing is over and it’s time to enter the winter break. Those who go to school go to school well, and those who go to work go to work well. It’s time to write papers and papers, and it’s time to do experiments. Everything is as usual, life is dull, but it is not boring. I still want to see the distant scenery, and I still need to complete the list at hand, which is fulfilling and busy. You may think like this, why are everyone so keen on horse racing? Hmm...I thought about it for a moment, maybe horse racing is a gas station. Stimulating the tense nerves from time to time will make us more passionate to face complexity and challenge ourselves. At least I don't want to become a greasy middle-aged man so quickly, and I can't achieve the so-called "Buddhist type". I just saw a sentence posted by Steve on WeChat, "Still young, still hopeful, okay." Life needs the occasional bright clothes, angry horses, flames and flowers to embellish it, and I still dare not forget that sentence: "If you never forget it, there will be an echo."
I can’t write anymore. Writing insights is not my style. I’ll stop here. When I didn’t want to engage in scientific research, I wrote 4,000 words in one breath. Writing tweets is faster than writing papers. I record my life when I’m tired and leave some of my grandpa’s glorious deeds to my unborn grandchildren. I won’t have any material to brag about after Alzheimer’s disease. Okay, stop writing.
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Words | Arsenan
Photos | Arsenan
Design | Arsenan