On April 15, the renowned traditional mass sports event in Beijing, the 2012 Beijing International Long-Distance Running Festival, started at Tiananmen Square. Nearly 20,000 long-distance running enthusiasts from more than ten countries and regions participated in the event.
Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Sport of China Duan Shijie, Vice President of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association Jiang Xiaoyu, and Secretary-General of the Beijing Municipal Government Sun Kangle jointly signaled the start of the various race categories. Beijing Vice Mayor Liu Jingmin attended and delivered a speech. Members of the National Gymnastics Team, Lv Bo and Yang Yilin, also appeared on site to support the event.
This year’s running festival featured arrangements in terms of events, distance settings, and route selection that not only met the professional requirements of event organization but also fully considered entertainment value to attract widespread public participation. Among them, there was a “10km Run” for professional athletes, a “Family Run” designed for all generations of a family, and a “Mini Marathon Health Run” that combined fun and fitness.
This year, the organizers also introduced an aerobic exercise originating from Sweden. Before the race, a Swedish coach led nearly 20,000 participants in warming up to music in a simple and novel way. The organizers also set up a Health Run London Olympic Theme Park at the Tuanjiehu Stadium, the finish line of the race. Athletes who reached the finish line could undergo health condition tests there.
The Beijing International Long-Distance Running Festival originated as the Beijing Spring City Running Race. As a large-scale and influential traditional mass sports event in Beijing, it has a history of 56 years. Last year, with approval from World Athletics (formerly IAAF), the Beijing International Long-Distance Running Festival officially became an international event. In addition, Beijing has successfully secured the hosting rights for the 2015 IAAF World Championships, making this year’s running festival the promotional launch event for the 2015 Beijing World Athletics Championships.
The event was hosted by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports and the Chinese Athletics Association, and organized by the Beijing Sports Competition Management Center. The Fitness Industry Development Center of China Sports Press Group served as a supporting unit, providing services such as member recruitment and media promotion for the event.
Li Xueying
Bian Guangming