2017 Vancouver Marathon Experience

The 2017 Vancouver Marathon is definitely a very tempting event for many people who like running, especially long-distance running. You can run a marathon of your life in the clean air of Canada. Share below about your experience participating in the 2017 Vancouver Marathon.

On the morning of May 7th, local time in Canada, I participated in the 46th Vancouver International Marathon with excitement, and finally finished the race with a score of 518, which is considered a PB.

The Vancouver Marathon is held on the first Sunday in May each year. On May 7, around 7:30 local time, my cousin who lives in Vancouver drove me to the starting point of Queen Elizabeth Park (——). Marvin was the latest I’ve ever arrived since running a marathon.

It was a sunny day, and although the temperature was only six degrees, I didn't feel cold. When I arrived at the starting point, my first impression was that there was no chaos, order, and no congestion. This may be the reason why I was late. Another reason is that the half-marathon starts at 7:30 and the starting point of the 8-kilometer race is arranged at Stanley Park at 9:00, which does not affect all horses running at Queen's Park at 8:30, so the runners present are basically ready to participate in the entire race. Competition.

In fact, the route of the Vancouver Marathon is the most representative. No wonder the Vancouver Marathon has been awarded the title of "Top Ten Marathons in the World" by Forbes magazine, and CNN also called it one of the "most worthwhile marathons in the world." It's no exaggeration at all. Only those who have experienced it personally will feel passionate about these titles. I experienced it and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the track.

Vancouver’s marathon course is connected to many landmarks, 70% of which are waterfront parks. Along the way, you can see snow-capped mountains, fragrant cherry blossoms, green ancient forests, and endless blue seas. The endless coastline makes people fall in love with running, making running a life experience and enjoyment.

Such a famous marathon event certainly requires the participation of Chinese runners. The Vancouver International Marathon Association, Tourism BC and Tourism Vancouver attach great importance to it and held a welcome ceremony for Chinese runners the day before the event.

Let me review it below.

A warm prelude

On the morning of May 6, the day before the marathon, a welcoming ceremony for Chinese runners was held next to the Torch Plaza in the west wing of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Center. Nearly a hundred runners from different cities in China participated in the race.

Before starting, everyone communicated with each other in the square and selected beautiful scenery to take photos. In addition, some runners took out their national flags and took photos. Not to be outdone, I also took a classic photo of the five-star red flag that I had prepared in advance. I felt so excited as I watched the flag flutter in my hands.

After the gathering, the representative of the Vancouver International Marathon Association gave a welcome speech, and then arranged a priority visit to the expo, a VIP shopping experience, and obtained a participation number.

At the welcome ceremony, everyone from Happy Horse was also invited to gather and communicate together, and the runners rushed to take photos with everyone.

The names of all the contestants were posted on the bulletin board on the side of the hall, arranged in alphabetical order, and I soon found my name and entry number: 8775.

On the other side of the hall, wonderful pictures of the 45 marathons held previously were released.

Then Ambassador Ma Wen explained the track process and shared competition skills, and through questions and interactions, everyone learned about the precautions for the entire event.

In the sharing session, a representative of local Chinese runners, Taiwanese actor Ma Ke, was specially invited to share his touching story with the marathon.

It turns out that as early as 2007, Marco had a traffic accident on the highway after filming "Heart Medicine" and was seriously injured. According to the doctor's diagnosis at the time, he might be paralyzed for life. Later, for treatment, he interrupted his acting career in Taiwan and made a special trip to Beijing for conservative treatment. During the years of treatment, he went through rehabilitation training. With his will and belief in refusing to admit defeat, it was difficult for him to walk a few meters and run a short distance. Marvin, who participated in this race, was Marco's first full horse after his recovery. As he said, "I have been preparing for this marathon for 10 years." No exaggeration at all. Marco’s spirit and perseverance are truly admirable.

Now let’s return to the most beautiful track in this game.

The most beautiful horse text

The host will lead everyone to warm up with passionate music such as stretching before running. When the gun fired and the host counted to one, we all crossed the starting line and began Marvin's 42.195-kilometer journey.

When I first started running, I happened to meet two girls from Fujian passing by. I was very happy to see Chinese runners abroad. Because the country is strong, Chinese people have participated in international competitions all over the world.

There is a steep slope at 8 kilometers along the route from Wenzhou to Wenzhou. Here, I was halfway through my run and decided to walk up because it was too steep. At the same time, in order to preserve my physical strength, I firmly believe that all the hardships going up the mountain will be rewarded by going down the mountain. It is said that there is also a competition on this steep slope called the Climbing Competition. On this slope, the starting point and end point are marked. The title of Climbing King is given to the foreigner who passes this section the fastest, so foreigners spend more money.

Wenzhen is worthy of being the most beautiful marathon. Let everyone appreciate the charm of Forest City. UBC is so beautiful.

There are beaches, forests, coastlines, boulevards, sports fields and libraries. You can see everything you want.

Residents on the roadside spontaneously cheered for the runners.

I am wearing a red coat with "China" printed on it. I was so excited to hear that "The Voice of China" was on the track. I lamented the pride of my motherland. A foreign audience actually said "Come on China", which surprised me and gave me warmth and strength. I subconsciously gave him a high-five to express my gratitude. Originally, the ordinary "Come on" doesn't make any sense, but when you are abroad and English is everywhere, it is particularly loud and inspiring.

The band performed very well. It is understood that there are 28 music stations arranged along the track. Music brings excitement to runners and motivates them to move forward.

The clothes storage truck is UPS, the toilets are equipped with toilet paper, and there are toilet seats specially arranged for men, which is convenient and saves space and waiting time. However, I heard from runners that the medical station arranged was not equipped with similar Yunnan Baiyao spray, which was a bit inconvenient. I said: "Brother, this is not China, haha." Fortunately, I prepared it myself.

Run from the shade of green trees to the Pacific coast.

Run across Braddock Bridge and follow the rail route to Stanley Park, the largest urban park in the world.

Along the long track along the coastline, I saw Canada’s longest suspension bridge, the Lions Gate Bridge (——). It’s infinite beauty, all on the road.

After running for 39 kilometers, I saw a spectacular yacht, and the end was not far away.

Before arriving at your destination, take a photo to record the time of presentation.

After passing the terminal gate and receiving medals and food, my cousin was waiting at the terminal early and took a photo of me running.

After receiving the bag containing clothes, go to the locker room to change clothes. After changing clothes, eating something, stretching and leaving.

Actually, I didn’t encounter the reaction of hitting a wall during the warm-up process. Maybe it’s because I was running and taking photos at the same time. It would be a pity not to take pictures of such beautiful scenery. I originally planned to finish the race before 450, but around 33 kilometers, my left knee became a little sore, so I was forced to walk for a while. In the end, I didn't finish the race before 500 meters. However, it is important to complete the race safely. I don’t want to pursue PB randomly as a show off, I want to return rationality to running. This is also the principle behind my running.

When leaving the stadium, you will pass by the gate of the Bank of Montreal, the sponsor of the event, and take pictures.

For a runner, having the opportunity to run such a high-quality marathon abroad is a perfect life, and he will be proud of it. Just as runner @小苏伦 who ran Wenma Spring in 2016 spoke highly of it: Vancouver has probably run so many city marathons, and the only one that can be called "invincible scenery".

Later, Marco on Weibo also found out that he had successfully completed the race. Congratulations to him. From his experience, he saw persistence and perseverance, and he was grateful for life and friends.

Thank you for the second full marathon - Vancouver Marathon, the most beautiful marathon in the world! If you must defeat your opponent, it would undoubtedly be your past self. Every run is to say goodbye to the past and meet a better self.

I am willing to continue working hard on the road of running life and always believe that good things will be in the future!