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Bai wins marathon at World Championships

Monday, 24th August 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

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China won its first gold medal at the Track and Field World Championships in Berlin yesterday, with Bai Xue (柏雪） winning the marathon in 2 hours 25 minutes and 15 seconds. Bai, a 20-year-old from Heilongjiang province in northern China, is the youngest woman ever to win a world championship. She's the second Chinese woman to win an international marathon, after Zhou Chunxiu (周春秀), who won the London Marathon in 1997. Zhou finished fourth in Berlin, just over 20 seconds behind Bai. Two other Chinese women, Zhu Xiaolin and Sun Weiwei, finished in under 2:30.

Bai Xue image: Xinhua

Tags: Bai Xue, marathon, world championships, Zhou Chunxiu

Running China

Monday, 1st June 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (4)

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Temperatures are rising, and people's patience with sitting in the office is dropping. It's a great time to train for a road race. In China, there are more opportunities to do that these days. Here are some quick hits on recent running events in China:

The Great Wall Marathon (run this year on May 16) is one of the craziest running events in the world. It consists of a 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon, each with portions run on the Huangyaguan section of the Great Wall, in Tianjin. Those crazy enough to do the marathon face two 3,700-step climbs (and if you've never been to the Great Wall, these rugged stairs are nothing like the ones at your nearby football stadium). Times come out to about 150 percent of usual marathon times, says Rebekah Pothaar, who ran the half marathon and wrote about it for Ctrip and ChinaTravel.net. But in her report on the race, she insists that it's not just grueling, but also an incredible experience.

Li-Ning's Evening Fun Run (May 2) in Beijing's Chaoyang Park drew 2,000 runners, mostly university students, according to China Youthology, a marketing firm that helped plan the event. Judging from the video that China Youthology put together, the 6K run attracted a lot of runners who aren't too serious about training and showed up mostly for the party atmosphere. Participants enjoyed a festival atmosphere, with bands, games, goodie bags and plenty of time to mingle. (The video is really worth watching if you're an event planner or sports marketer in China).

There's an interesting thing to note about these two events. The Great Wall Marathon attracts a majority of non-Chinese participants, and the Li-Ning run appears to have consisted almost completely of Chinese runners. It's not too hard to figure out why. The Great Wall Marathon has an international reputation, and generates a lot of buzz in global English-language media. The Li-Ning event was promoted at universities in (and maybe around) Beijing. But both, on the surface at least, appear to have been successful. Anyone looking at staging road races (or triathlons, or cycling races--even youth basketball tournaments, for that matter) in China, would do well to click on the links above for a better understanding of what fits the market here.

Great Wall Marathon image courtesy of Rebekah Pothaar

Tags: Great Wall Marathon, Li-Ning, Li-Ning Evening Fun Run, marathon, road race, running, sports marketing

August in April

Friday, 18th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (2)

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Thanks to coincidences of scheduling, this weekend and the coming week are a live sports event bonanza in Beijing. From golf to volleyball to synchronized swimming, there are enough test events and corporate-sponsored competitions to keep sports fans plenty busy in the capital city.

Below are some of the highlights coming up in this mini-Olympics week. Unfortunately, BOCOG's "Buy Tickets" link still doesn't seem to work. But tickets for some events can be bought at Emma Ticketmaster. If you don't purchase in advance, tickets should be sold at the door—but get there early to improve your chances of securing your seat.

Basketball
Good Luck Beiijing Women's Basketball International Invitational Tournament
The women's teams of six countries will play every evening over the next week except for Tuesday and Friday. Participating teams are China, USA, Australia, Cuba, Korea and New Zealand.
Location: Wukesong Arena
Time: Saturday April 19 to Saturday April 26. View the complete schedule here

Marathon
Good Luck Beijing 2008 Marathon
Location: Starts in Tiananmen Square and finishes in the Bird's Nest. The route in between has not been published.
Time: Sunday April 20, 7:30 am

Soccer (Football)
Brazil v. Ghana
The women's national teams of Brazil and Ghana face off in a qualifying match in one of the venues that will host soccer in the Beijing Olympics.
Location: Workers' Stadium
Time: 7:45 p.m., Saturday April 19
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Golf
Volvo Open
Days three and four of the Volvo Open will see the whittled down field compete for $2.2 million USD.
Location: Beijing CBD International Golf Club
Time: 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, Saturday April 19 and Sunday April 20. View the complete schedule here.

Volleyball
China Club Tournament (a Good Luck Beijing event)
Teams from all over China compete in a men's and a women's tournament.
Location: Beijing Institute of Technology Sports Hall; Capital Indoor Stadium
Time: April 16 to April 20
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Synchronized Swimming
2008 Olympic Games Synchronized Swimming Qualification Tournament
Location: Water Cube
Time: Saturday April 19 at 3:00 (team free routine) and Sunday April 20 at 3:00 (duet free routine second round)

Fencing
FIE World Championships (a Good Luck Beijing Event)
Location: Fencing Hall (Olympic Green)
Time: Friday April 18 through Sunday April 20. View the complete schedule here.

Race Walking
IAAF Race Walking Challenge
Location: Bird's Nest
Time: Friday April 18 at 9:00 am and 3:00 pm; Saturday April 19 at 7:30 pm. View schedule and results here

Images:
Volvo China Open, Synchroswim2008.org.cn, USA Basketball

Tags: basketball, football, golf, live events, marathon, Olympics, race walking, soccer, volleyball