Shanghai Marathon (5K)

It is only a small victory, I know, but my first of many running goals. I completed a 5K in the Shanghai International Marathon. It was the first race that I have ever competed in, but to be honest, there was not much of a competition. I did nothing to train. I ran a total of 10 miles in the two months leading up to the event, but I am a firm believer that if I am of an average fitness level, I can wake up and run a 5K... and so I did - with 30,000 other people!

freezing at the starting line on the Bund

My friend Beth and I decided to sign up a couple months ago, but we were soon regretting our decision as the air quality was proving to hold strong (by strong, I mean strong enough to give a non-smoker lung cancer)! Nevertheless, we decided to go through with it (with a littler persuasion, ok, a LOT of persuasion). So we gathered at the starting line, crowded with 30,000 other running enthusiasts. It was not difficult to distinguish the professionals from the amateurs. I though Beth and I looked pretty legit - standard non-flattering running leggings and shirt with our numbers secured to the front. Our iPhones strapped to our arms with our favorite hits to motivate us. The real runners, however, were in shorts barely big enough to not be considered underwear and tiny tanks (or topless). While I was doing jumping jacks to keep my body warm before the run, the real runners were running laps to warm up (honestly, who runs before they have to run?).

Anyway, in pure Shanghai fashion, people watching provided the full 30 minutes of entertainment. For starters, there were tons of people in jeans and/or slip on shoes and/or carrying a backpack (?!?!). As we began the race, we saw a girl in a full black pleather cat women suit, a man dressed up like a chicken, and another wearing a blow up sumo suit. There was an old man in his jammies that must have rolled out of bed and thought, "hmm, I think I'll run the marathon...". I wish I would have had my camera in hand recording all that was unfolding around us, but it will forever be locked in my memory.

We completed our 5K in a little more than 38:00, but it was definitely not a race for time. There were so many people in that first 5K that sometimes we had to walk, or even stop to break the crowd. It was a nice run though - down the Bund, up JinLing, to Nanjing Pedestrian Street to Nanjing Rd, across Yan'An and finally ending at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. Beth's family, Kirk and Mimi and our friend Ayesha were waiting for us at the finish line in support of our glory!

It was just a 5K, but it was the first step. Next, a 10K in the spring...