A bilingual running story hub for American friends and Chinese readers: English marathon stories here, with a direct switch to the Chinese story index using the same Run50 / RunCN / RunWorld structure.
The same U.S. story map from the Chinese edition, with completed states, city dots, and English story links in one place.
China marathon stories collected on one map, with highlighted provinces, regions, and city markers.
37 stories · ordered by race timeline
Race date: November 8, 2020. A socially distanced Louisville Marathon moved into Beckley Creek Park, with staggered starts, a quiet forest course, and a hard final 12 kilometers.
Race day comes first, then the half-year journal: moving, Waverly, vaccines, local runs, and a less locked-down America.
Race date: October 24, 2021. State 2 of Run50 started in the dark near Tower City, crossed Lake Erie light and industrial bridges, and ended with a medal that looked exactly like Cleveland felt.
Race date: November 7, 2021. State 3 of Run50 and my first World Marathon Major: Staten Island, the Verrazzano Bridge, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Central Park.
Race date: July 24, 2022. State 4 of Run50 crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, ran through fog and sudden sun, and ended with a medal beside the bay.
Race date: November 5, 2022. Run50 State 5 at the 15th Indianapolis Monumental Marathon: autumn rain, Monument Circle, run-walk intervals, and a 4:55:12 finish.
Race date: December 11, 2022. State 6 of Run50 at the 50th Honolulu Marathon: fireworks, Waikiki, Diamond Head, no cutoff, and 47's first marathon finish.
Race date: February 26, 2023. State 7 of Run50 in Atlanta: Olympic rings, Coca-Cola, CNN, hills, and a long road-trip weekend.
Race date: April 29, 2023. A hometown Derby-season marathon with Churchill Downs energy, city streets, and running friends.
Race date: May 7, 2023. Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon brought bridges, hills, rain and a full Queen City tour.
Race date: May 21, 2023. State 8 of Run50 in Denver: Colfax, stadium grass, mountain light and Mile High air.
Race date: June 17, 2023. State 9 of Run50 in Anchorage: no aurora, but Alaska mountains, coastal trails and summer-solstice light.
Race date: September 23, 2023. State 10 of Run50 at the inaugural St. Joseph Missouri Marathon: parkways, heat, hills and a wedding weekend.
Race date: October 8, 2023. The 45th Chicago Marathon: Grant Park, the L, Chinatown, roaring crowds, Kelvin Kiptum's world record day, and a second finish beside Siqi.
Race date: October 28, 2023. Running U.S. State 12 at Nashville, TN. A hot city greenway run with a minor league baseball stadium finish, crossing the Cumberland River, and surviving a PW.
Race date: November 5, 2023. Running U.S. State 13 at Marshall University in Huntington, WV. A beautiful autumn loop race with a football stadium finish, placing a flower on the 1970 team plane crash memorial, and a PR.
Race date: December 3, 2023. State 14 of Run50, from the Alamo and River Walk to Fort Sam Houston, greenway miles, one late Texas hill and a 4:12 finish.
Run50 State 15 as one Florida arc: Key West New Year, Orlando speedrun, Universal, and Disney Marathon.
Race date: January 28, 2024. A wrong-date plane ticket turned a finished state into an accidental double-run, complete with construction zones, heat-stroke miles, and a Portuguese connection.
A North Carolina coast marathon with winter legs, ocean wind, Atlantic light, and a medal that refused to be subtle.
Race date: March 3, 2024. A Southern weekend road trip down to Arkansas for the legendary dinosaur medal, looping the aviation giants and wooded forest parks.
Race date: April 14, 2024. A neighborhood loop road race designed for those who can't qualify for Boston—featuring trailer RV camping, a clicker lap-counting system, and a trophy for the slowest.
Derby season, familiar streets, friends all over the course, and one fourth try that finally broke four hours at home.
A conversational English edition prepared from the Run50 read-along script.
Run50 State 20: cheese-state pride, unexpected heat, and the final Cellcom Green Bay Marathon finishing through Lambeau Field.
A conversational English edition prepared from the Run50 read-along script.
Run50 State 21 at Millennium Meadows Marathon: a river sunrise, a hot park course, and a 4:44 finish that became a lucky sign.
From Niagara Falls into New England foliage, this was a small-town marathon through Keene, quiet roads, autumn forests, and a campus finish.
Four years after my first U.S. marathon, I returned to Floyds Fork for a hometown loop that closed the PhD chapter.
The first race of 2025 stitched together a Dallas layover, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, LSU purple-and-gold, and a warm Finish Fest.
America's Toughest Road Marathon turned 26.2 miles into a mountain fight through Roanoke and the Blue Ridge.
A hometown Derby weekend with a Friday 5K, Saturday marathon, three medals, one cake, and my 50th marathon finish.
A long drive to the northern plains, a pink-sky start, cornfields, heat, and the halfway mark of the Run50 quest.
Wind, cattle, wheat fields, and gravel roads turned a tiny ten-runner marathon into a champion's story.
A drive into Vermont's Green Mountains for a summer race of barns, flags, village roads, and rolling countryside.
A cold-weather Rocket City run through Huntsville, aerospace history, a giant rocket, and a year-end reunion with friends.
Buckeye Marathon started in the Phoenix desert and ended beside a runway, with saguaros, dry air, and a finish time I did not see coming.
A two-day drive from Kentucky, then 26.2 miles of park rollers, a dead-straight forest trail, hot pork buns, and the trip home.
Farm roads, forest shade, rivers, wooden bridges, Mayo Clinic in the distance, and another sub-four finish.
19 stories · cities, regions, and race years
From the steel tank on the football field to a proud son at the Harbin Marathon finish.
Guang'an Marathon, Yichang Half, Changsha Marathon, and a pilgrimage threaded through Deng Xiaoping, a mentor, and Mao.
A rainy Xiamen Marathon, a Zengcuo'an reunion, and the first full-marathon chapter of 2018.
Wuhan, Wuxi, cherry blossoms, a college marathon, and three spring race notes.
1911 memory, East Lake, Han Marathon volunteers, and Wuhan at full volume.
Rain on the wall, the Qin plain, Terracotta Warriors, Huashan, and Hukou Falls in one heavy Chang'an travelogue.
The Yellow River, beef noodles, Zhongshan Bridge, Gaolan Mountain, and a Lanzhou Marathon with roaring local energy.
Guiyang Marathon heat and climbing, Qingyan, Yelang Valley, Yangming Cave, and Fanjing Mountain as one southwestern lesson.
Haikou arcades, Hainan sea wind, an unfinished race, and a city story still worth keeping.
Han Marathon, Wuhan University, River City, pre-graduation homesickness, and a private Wuhan memory.
Dalian's west coast, the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea divide, a trail race, and a hill story for the Northeast.
Wuhan University graduation, family visiting Wuhan, East Lake, and a photo album that arrived two years late.
Songhua River, black soil, Northeastern home, and a delayed Harbin Marathon memory.
West Lake, Qingzhiwu, Westlake University, and a half marathon that helped me restart.
Race date: November 24, 2019. Scaling 119 floors and 3,398 steps of the Shanghai Tower to reach 632m height during a stressful visa waiting period.
Dongqian Lake cycling, a 4:08 full marathon, curry with an old friend, and a post-race walk into Fenghua history.
Race date: October 19, 2025. A Three Kingdoms city, the Han River, old city walls, Tang-style palaces and an unexpected 3:57 finish.
Race date: November 16, 2025. Li River views, karst hills, spray trucks, a Messi jersey chase, and my family waiting at the finish.
Race date: November 23, 2025. A 5 a.m. start, expressway tunnels, Victoria Harbour wind, Tseung Kwan O Bridge, and one last uphill punch.
4 stories · outside the U.S. and China
A ten-year Singapore promise, campus pilgrimage, Marina Bay night, and a Sundown Marathon from midnight into morning.
A Bangkok running weekend through temple light, night streets, the Erawan Shrine, and the warmth of Thailand.
Race date: August 31, 2025. 2,240m altitude down Reforma to the Zócalo, followed by sun-drenched pyramids and a ride home with a carful of friendly locals.
Race date: December 21, 2025. The Leaning Tower, Arno River, Tuscan villages, Ligurian Sea, and an Italy trip through Venice, Milan, Florence and Rome.