Peking University, April 16, 2017: On April 9, 2017, a gorgeous spring day in Peking University, the "5+2" half-marathon took place beside the Weiming Lake on campus. PKU Council Vice Chairman Ye Jingyi, Director of Department of Physical Education Li Ning, and other guests attended the opening ceremony.
This year witnessed the 11th anniversary of the birth of the half-marathon racing in PKU. 100 teams, altogether 700 runners took part in the race. Given the increasing interaction between the Internet and real life, many Internet elements were added into this activity. For instance, the smartphone APP “PKU Runner” played a critical role in the race by combining online marathon and offline marathon.
The runners are encouraging themselves
In Li Ning’s speech at the opening ceremony, he said that over the past 11 years, the "5+2" half-marathon had gained a good reputation and involved many Internet elements, making the race more modern and attractive. He hoped that the next half-marathon could be organized even better to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Peking University next year.
In the opening ceremony, “PKU Runner” made its debut and promotion. The program of this APP is supported by Peking University. Its development team members, from different departments and grades, were all enthusiastic about Internet. They had been awarded the honorable title “New Youth of Internet” in the second "PKU Internet Culture Festival", because the APP helped record the outcome of student after-class exercise, that is, the online half-marathon, and was widely praised by students and teachers. Several guests present downloaded the APP, showing their approval to the students’ creativity.
The runners of different ages
The half-marathon lased for two hours. 98 teams completed the entire race, and the team from Beijing Sport University won the first place. The second and the third place were respectively won by Peking University and Tsinghua University.
Written by: Xie Changli
Edited by: Li Ruiqi