The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon (“SCHKM”), a major sporting event in the new year, will be held on 21 January (Sunday) and will be divided into full marathon, half marathon, 10km race, 10km wheelchair race and wheelchair experience race.
This year’s SCHKM Route starts at Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and passes through Waterloo Road, Lin Cheung Road, West Kowloon Highway, Stonecutters Island Bridge, Tsing Ma Bridge, Ting Kau Bridge, Western Harbour Crossing, etc., and ends at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. BBOLD has invited Hong Kong long-distance runners Virginia Lo and Cici Wan to share their long-distance running journey and tips for breaking through before the marathon.
Virginia was initially recommended by her school teacher to participate in the cross-country competition, and the more she ran, the more she wanted to improve herself, so she went out to practice with her coach.
However, sometimes you can’t be too demanding of yourself, let the pressure affect the process, and lose the fun of running. During her first year of junior college, Virginia suffered from physical and psychological stress due to problems with her reading and training direction, and she suffered from hormonal imbalances, and gained 20 pounds.
In the face of her poor form, she realized that she should face up to her real needs first, she shared, “I don’t want to push myself to continue racing, but instead take a step back and enjoy running in another way, hoping to regain my passion for running. After two years, I felt physically and mentally ready to compete again, so I went back to the field and continued to chase time.”
Sharing the Strength and Inspiration of Running to empower others
In addition to being a long-distance runner for more than five years, Cici is also a yoga instructor, and sometimes Cici shares her personal experience of running with the students in her yoga classes. What makes Cici happiest is that some students are infected by her passion for long-distance running, and take the first step to try running, which makes her feel that she can also transfer energy to others and lead others to build a healthy running.
I believe that when you feel that the more you are involved in something, the people around you will also feel it.
A Game of Self-Discovery and Strength
Before she got into long-distance running, Virginia was curious about many things, but she was prone to “three-minute heat” and lacked patience. Since she started her long-distance running journey, she has learned that there are many things that cannot be rushed, and she has slowly developed her patience: “It is important to be consistent in long-distance running, and you may not be able to run well in every race, but if you want to improve, you must persevere and work hard. At home, I have more time than ever to reflect on my shortcomings, and then review what I can do better next time.”
Long-distance running is a protracted battle to be completed in different environments, geographies, physical and mental states, and the improvement of skills is not complicated, it is the simplest fight “perseverance”, Virginia added: “When I practice, I often fantasize about the situation of my race, and no matter how hard I work, I will persevere.”
However, the epidemic in the past few years was also the most difficult time for many people to persevere, and the plan to pursue their dreams was affected by many uncertainties. Cici was once suspended for a year due to the pandemic, but during this period, she still maintained her daily practice to maintain her physical and mental fitness, and was able to return to various competitions after the epidemic, fortunately because of her daily practice she was able to quickly catch up with the progress of her practice.
Cici shared, “Usually every time I practice I have a goal to achieve today, even if I am already running and depressed, I will jog, even bury, or even do any good to complete the goal, it is to stick to myself.” Completing the goal again and again, the perseverance and faith gradually piled up in Cici’s heart to become her strength.
Cici adds: “Sometimes you can use willpower to persevere in class, but I believe that you can overcome every lesson and the difficulties in life by persevering in daily life.”
See you in SCHKM
In the last Standard Chartered Marathon (the 25th Standard Chartered Marathon), Luo Yingchao ran 1 hour, 20 minutes and 23 seconds in the half marathon and won the women’s championship. This time, she took the whole marathon to the next level, and for the first time she challenged the devil’s track, and she was physically and mentally ready: “I will try my best to run.” In addition to intensive training, she enjoys staying at home to rest when she relaxes, and spending time with cats and dogs is her happiest time to “recharge”.
Cici, who has also participated in the Standard Chartered Marathon for many years, is also a regular participant this time, and said that he will try his best to strive for a higher ranking this year, but more importantly, he will enjoy the process of racing with many competitors and feel the strength of everyone.
She also reminded everyone that they need to be more careful about their bodies when they are approaching the race, and do a good job of stretching after exercise to maintain muscle elasticity and avoid injury, because the muscles of the feet will become tense after running, and if they are not properly relaxed after running, there is a chance of overexertion, sleep cramps, and even injury. Everyone has been preparing for the race for many days, and of course they have to play in the best condition: “Come on, let’s meet you!”
Source:IG@virginialyc, IG@ceciliawsw