On November 10, the 2012 Vasque Hangzhou West Lake Trail Run was held as scheduled by the shores of the West Lake. Amidst the drizzling weather, globally equipped runners set off at the sound of the starting gun and ran along the 28-kilometer mountain trail. "Running in the rain" became a much-talked-about highlight for this year’s participants and added even more excitement to the event.
A total of 350 runners from various countries registered for this year’s trail run, with nearly 300 successfully completing the course. Cai Daguang, a runner from Hangzhou, won the men’s young and middle-aged group championship with a time of 2 hours, 38 minutes, and 44 seconds. French athlete Alexandr Sybillain finished just two seconds behind, taking second place. The close battle for the top spots brought loud cheers at the finish line, making the event truly thrilling.
Another major highlight was — "running in the rain." While other major races such as the Beijing Marathon, Shanghai Marathon, and Hangzhou Marathon were postponed, the trail run was not affected by the weather. This made this year’s event even more challenging and perfectly embodied the off-road running philosophy of "no barriers, come rain or shine."
"We considered for three days — many athletes had already booked their flights, were on their way, or had been waiting for this for a whole year — before finally deciding to go ahead with the race as scheduled," said Xiao Luo, organizer of the trail run. "Of course, the final outcome proved that the runners were quite mature and capable of handling tough road conditions and slippery surfaces, with a high completion rate. From another perspective, after so many years of development, the trail run itself has also matured."
Because runners had to tackle the mountain trails in the rain, the organizers made meticulous arrangements for safety measures. These included deploying more volunteers along the course to guide runners, having two ambulances on standby, strengthening registration procedures, and providing ginger soup at the finish line aid station, among other things.
The newly introduced rule this year — removing aid stations and promoting the concept of eco-friendly trail running — received strong support and response from many runners. Those who completed the race voluntarily signed up on a wall to join the eco-trail running movement. Eco-friendly trail running embodies the public welfare and cultural aspects of the event.
Sponsored by Vasque and organized by the Hangzhou Mountaineering Association and Hangzhou Fengxue Outdoor, the Hangzhou West Lake Trail Run has enjoyed seven successful years of collaboration. Many participants are not only fans of the trail run but also loyal users of Vasque trail running shoes. This year, the male champions, runners-up, and third-place finishers in the young and middle-aged group, as well as the female champion, all wore Vasque shoes, showcasing the influence of Vasque’s off-road running culture. This 28-kilometer West Lake trail can be seen as the starting point of China’s off-road running movement — from here, the sport began to grow rapidly in China.
Mr. George Brown, Vasque’s International Sales Director, who has attended the event for six consecutive years, was once again present at this year’s trail run. Many runners warmly greeted him and took photos with him like an old friend. Another new face from Vasque, Chris Miller, is the brand’s U.S. Sales Director and also a triathlete. He came to Hangzhou West Lake specifically to compete in this race. He was happy to experience the Hangzhou West Lake Trail Run, saying, "If I hadn’t gotten lost, I would have had a better time." The beautiful scenery along the route was also a key reason why Chris and many foreign runners wanted to return.
