Final Call for Runners as Beijing Marathon Registration Ends This Weekend

The annual Beijing Marathon (also known as Beijing Hyundai: Beijing Marathon) is back on Sunday, September 17 — but time is running out for runners who want to join. The deadline for registration ends on Friday at 5pm at Beijing United Family Hospital’s (BJU) main hospital. But if time is short, you can visit any of the satellite clinics of BJU anytime between 10am-noon or 1-4pm on Saturday (August 5):

– Financial Street Clinic
– CBD Clinic
– Shunyi Clinic
– Wudaokou Clinic
– Guangqumen Clinic
– Jianguomen Clinic

Bring the following registration requirements:
– A photocopy of your passport, as well as the original copy for verification;
– If you are registering other runners on their behalf, you will need to bring their passports and a photocopy, as well as your own ID and a photocopy of that;
– RMB 340 cash per person for the registration fee.

BJU is supporting the event as its main medical sponsor and also serves as the main point of access for foreign nationals wishing to sign up for the race in person.

So after registering, you have 44 more days to prepared and train for this marathon. Training should be a journey of pushing your mental and physical capabilities beyond what you ever thought possible. A chance to be one with nature, humanity, and your own body as you run through kilometers of varying landscapes.

However, anyone who has run for an elongated period of time knows that there’s no such thing as pain-fee training, which can get increasingly tough when coupled with the need to endure indoor treadmill workouts, something that is often the case in Beijing as air quality doesn’t allow for year-round training outside. The gym can begin to feel like you’re in a prison working your way through a hard labor sentence. Here are some tips to keep your marathon training liberating, fresh, and stimulating.

1. Get Out of the Gym
If you have a kilometer of visibility, get outside for training! Now take this advice with a shake of salt (an appropriate metaphor for polluted air; a little is fine, but a lot can be poisonous). I say if the AQI is below 175 and you don’t have a headache – avoid treadmill monotony.

2. Get Into Nature
Evade chaotic intersection motivation loss by taking your regular running routine along a river, canal, or a park. Anything where there’s more green than exhaust gases will do. Nothing can squander the enthusiasm to run 12 more kilometers than traffic-induced immobility.

3. Take it to the Stairs
If you’re preparing for the Beijing Marathon, a mountain trail race, or a route with slight incline, nothing can give you the upper hand (or leg, rather) like sprinting up and down your apartment complex’s staircase. Factor in some obstacles found in many dark building stairways and you’ll be prepared for anything race day throws your way.

4. Don’t Check Out the Pooch
Avoid eye contact and remain bold when trotting by unleashed pooches. A poodle in designer jeans and a sweater can sense fright just as quickly as a matted, snarling mongrel. They can also pack a mean, skin-piercing nip on the least expected bystander (spoken from experience).

5. Don’t Eat Like a Dieter
Endurance athletes have the luxury of ignoring diet plans trending amongst friends and colleagues. If you’re eating quality foods and listening to your body, you should be fueling adequately for performance, injury prevention, and recovery.

6. Challenge and Entertain Yourself
Chinese culture might not be ready to run outside in shorts, but we know we are. Each time an onlooker gapes at your exposed legs, increase your running pace by 10 seconds a kilometer.

7. The Early Bird Catches the Worm
This might mean that your evening Jing-A carb-loading sessions may have to wrap up a pinch earlier than your non-marathoning pals as the coast is clearest before the hustle and bustle of 10am.

8. Playlists
If the skies are resembling an airpocalyptic foggy blanket sending you to the nearest available treadmill rather than your usual outdoor route, check out the Aaptiv App which gives you a “personal training” session with playlists that’ll suit your preferences and sustain your enthusiasm.

9. Podcasts
When your jog has gotten so lengthy that your mind needs an input switch, check out a motivational podcast such as The Strength Running Podcast that covers a range of topics such as strength training, injury prevention, nutrition, as well as overcoming self-doubt and failure. Learn how to become a better marathoner while becoming a better marathoner.

10. Pack Tissues
If you’re consuming as much as me, what goes in must come out. This is especially true if you’re out early-bird running. Chinese characters to the wise: 女子 means women and 男人 means men.