RunCN #21 | West Lake Half Marathon and a surprise encounter

A landscape and a university

I graduated from Wuhan University in June. Since then, I have gained a lot of weight and my mentality has gradually changed. I always like to touch my belly when I have nothing to do, and then joke with my friends that my boyfriend has retired and is no longer a legend in the running circles. If you need anything, please come to me in the academic circle.

My friend replied: "Brother, you are still young." He touched his thick hair with his hand and felt that his friend was right. At least he is not bald yet. Then he will consider retiring when he becomes bald one day. Be an action person and run a half-marathon in West Lake to get a feel for it and see if it's okay.

Shanghai and Hangzhou are really close. The train takes less than two hours. I chose Qingzhiwu next to the West Lake for accommodation. The environment is very good.

West Lake is the only lake cultural heritage in China on the World Heritage List. The "Ten Scenes of West Lake" that have been passed down from the Southern Song Dynasty to this day are still places that tourists must visit when coming to Hangzhou to make a pilgrimage. The "New Ten Scenes of West Lake" selected in the 1980s also became famous and became the new favorite of tourists.

I heard that the sunrise in West Lake is very beautiful, so I set the alarm clock for five o'clock in the morning, ready to catch up with the morning in West Lake.

At 5:30 in the morning, I followed the navigation system and rode my bicycle to the "Shenzhou Base" by the West Lake. The Internet said that it is a good place to watch the sunrise.

"West Lake China" is a corner of the West Lake. There are about a dozen small boats lying quietly on the water. With the sparkling waves, it is different from the flow of people on the broken bridge. It has a leisurely feeling of "crossing the wild without a boat".

An old man and a young man were already waiting here. We thought the sunrise at West Lake would be magnificent, but we could only see the blush of the sunrise here. The man told us that if we want to see the complete sunrise, we can go to Su Causeway opposite. The water surface of the West Lake is filled with white water vapor, and in the light pink halo, there is an indescribable dream. But it was a bit regretful that I didn’t see the complete sunrise.

The uncle is a local and said he could take us to another scenic spot to make up for our regrets. After riding for about two kilometers, we arrived at Wu Zhuangyuanfang. The scenery here is very beautiful and exquisite.

Wu Zhuangyuan Arch is an archway on the west side of Yuhu Bay on Santaishan Road. It was first built in 1214 and rebuilt in 2003. It looks very impressive. Next to Wu Zhuangyuan Square is the former residence of Huang Gongwang - Zijiu Thatched Cottage. Huang Gongwang, the author of "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" by the Yuan Dynasty painter.

I had the famous Hangzhou soup dumplings for breakfast, then picked up my running equipment. At noon, I went to the Yuquan campus of Zhejiang University to talk about life with Brother Ganger, a senior fellow from Wuhan University. Brother Ganger is an academic tycoon with a doctorate from Zhejiang University. Brother Ganger treated me to a meal at Zhejiang University's Little Lehui, which is said to be the most delicious canteen.

Farewell Brother Ganger, I took the bus for an hour and a half in the afternoon and went to Westlake University in Yunxi Town to meet the 17-year-old sister who was a check-in student. Westlake University is opposite Alibaba Cloud Valley. It is the most dynamic and potential university in China and aims to become China's "Harvard".

I have always wanted to see Westlake University, and this time I finally got the chance. 17th sister picked me up with her campus card and took me into the school. Westlake University is not big. We walked around in a circle for a while and returned to the campus gate. 17th sister said: "Teacher Shi Yigong will run here around 8 o'clock every day."

I looked at my watch and saw that it was only 5 o'clock, so I was probably out of luck, but when I looked up, I saw Teacher Shi Yigong running into Westlake University wearing running gear. I was so lucky. I walked up to Teacher Shi on tiptoe, and tentatively asked Teacher Shi if I could take a photo. Teacher Shi said very cheerfully: "No problem!"

Academician Shi Yigong can be said to be the most talked-about academic figure in China and a banner figure in the Chinese academic circle. What makes me most happy is that Teacher Shi is also a running enthusiast, and his equipment is very cool. It turns out that Teacher Shi and I also have the same hobby. Running and scientific research are not contradictory for Teacher Shi. Obviously, Teacher Shi has a good balance. This is also the direction I want to work hard.

The 17-year-old girl treated me to a meal at the Westlake University cafeteria, and was lucky enough to meet my check-inmate Quyang, who was in a similar direction to me, and checked in successfully.

My previous dormitory was right next to East Lake. Running to East Lake was my favorite. The scenery was beautiful. The area of East Lake was six times that of West Lake. So I always had a disdainful attitude towards running to West Lake and felt that it would not be enjoyable.

This competition is hosted by "Aitu Ye" and is divided into two categories: 4 kilometers and half marathon. The total size is only 400 people, and the half marathon requires six laps. You must know that East Lake can set up n half-marathon tracks, and can even hold a 100-kilometer race around the lake without turning back, so my excitement before the race was not very high.

However, on the race day, the scenery of West Lake really amazed me. Unlike East Lake, which is rough and majestic, West Lake is exquisite and has a unique charm. Although it is restricted by the scenic spot, the track is still arranged to be held here in Baidi. I think the organizing committee must have actively fought for it.

In the morning, I rushed to the starting point of the Lu Xun Statue Lawn. When passing by Gushan Road, I happened to encounter the sunrise over the West Lake. It can be said that besides meeting Shi Yigong by chance, this was another big surprise in my weekend trip to Hangzhou.

The event was not large in scale and the weather was very good. We started on time at 8 o'clock. We started from the Lu Xun Statue Lawn. We passed through Baidi, Beishan Lake, Gushan Road, Pinghu Qiuyue and finally returned to the Lu Xun Statue Lawn. However, the half marathon required six laps.

The track was held in an open venue, and tourists in the scenic area would also cheer for us. It had been a long time since I had run a half-marathon. I started running quite seriously and never took out my phone to take pictures. When passing by Beishan Road, everything seemed familiar, and the memory seemed to return to those shining student days on Wuhan University East Hunan Road.

After passing through the crowds of people on weekends, passing by the former residence of Chiang Ching-kuo, we came to the broken bridge and the remaining snow-white embankment. The wind in the West Lake was very comfortable, and the hand-rowed boats on both sides were full of ancient style.

The city buildings in the distance are vaguely visible, seemingly real and illusory, like a painting. The exquisiteness of West Lake cannot be compared to East Lake. It is really a lucky thing to be able to run here. If I had not participated in the competition, it would have been difficult for me to run so freely in Baidi where there are so many tourists.

Unknowingly, four laps passed and I was in good condition. Although I had gained weight, I still had some foundation. On the fifth lap, I was trapped by the pink girl, and I finally came to my senses. I simply became a Buddhist. I ran, stopped and took pictures, and completed the half marathon in nearly two hours.

The medals looked better than I imagined. After the race, everyone sat on the lawn to rest. The sun shone on their faces, drying the sweat, leaving white salt stains, and the salty taste of running filled their mouths.

At noon, Brother Gang'er treated me to another Internet celebrity cafeteria at Zhejiang University. It's a true brother. It's a real deal. Then we had a video chat with Junior Brother Wu Dabin in the afternoon, and it seemed like we were back two years ago.

During my short weekend trip to Hangzhou, I met people I wanted to meet, bumped into big guys I didn’t expect to meet, and ran a half-marathon that I hadn’t run in a long time.

Use running to remind yourself that you need to lose weight and look forward to good things happening in the future.

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