Peking University, Dec. 9, 2016: On December 2, 2016, the 23rd PKU Winter Running event, part of the 2016-2017 China University Marathon Series was held at PKU, drawing nearly 3000 students and faculty members. The race was organized by the Federation of University Sports of China, and hosted by Department of Physical Education of PKU.
Before the race, Ye Jingyi, Vice Chairman of Peking University Council, Sun Li, Assistant President of Peking University, Xue Yanqing, Vice President of the Federation of University Sports of China, led the 400-meter warm-up at Wu-si Sports Center. At 1:00 pm, after a set of professional warm-up exercises, Xue Yanqing and Li Ning, Director of the Department of Physical Education, fired the starting gun.
Participants were divided into several groups and set out one after another. The 3-kilometer route was like a tour around the campus. It started from Wu-si Sports Center, and went via Yaogan Building, Boya Tower, Weiming Lake, Administrative Building, Alumni Bridge, Shaoyuan, No. 2 Gymnasium, PKU Hall, Student Center, Nongyuan Canteen and ended up back at Wu-si Sports Center. During the run, official staff diverted vehicles on campus to ensure the safety of participants. All the runners wore yellow uniforms and chips were placed on their shoes for timekeeping. Some of them rushed with full speed, while others simply enjoyed running on the beautiful day. After only around 9 minutes, the fastest runner finished the race.
The event was aimed at enriching extra-curricular activities for students and promoting outdoor exercise on campus. Runners who finished the run got a 5-kilometer reward for their extra-curricular exercise requirements, a backpack and a souvenir medal.
Students were so eager to attend this activity that a registration spot was set up on the scene. Despite the freezing weather, the spot was crowded with students who failed to sign up online but still wanted to participate. Sports-loving faculty members also attended this run.
A freshman from Yuanpei College said that he was greatly inspired when he saw an elder but energetic teacher running aside him. He enjoyed the experience and hoped to attend similar activities in the future. A student from the Department of Sociology said that she didn’t expect the event to be so formal. She thought the warm-up brought spirits up and that it would be even better if music was played and entertaining patterns were added during the race.
After the race, students got their souvenir medals and took pictures on the scene.
Written by: Li Guannan
Edited by: Gan Zhonghao
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
