Interesting Races in Interesting Places - Shanghai

Mike C

In April I had an unexpected business trip to Shanghai.  I was a little bummed as I was looking forward to another Central Park 10K.  I did some quick research and was surprised to discover that the New Balance Jinqiao 8K was on the weekend that I was in Shanghai.  This is one of only two annual Shanghai races (the other is the Shanghai Marathon). The only problem was getting into the race since it was sold out.

I took along my Flyers singlet just in case I managed to find myself in the race.  When I arrived I checked with a colleague in the Shanghai office who told me he had no idea how to get me in.  Yet on the evening before the race, this same colleague called me to let me know that a friend of his was too ill to run the race and that I could use his number.   Needless to say I declined another glass of wine at dinner and took the bib.



The morning of the race I navigated my way on the subway to Pudong for the race. I arrived rather early just to make sure I didn’t miss this epic 8K.  Shanghai is not known for its clean air and the city didn’t disappoint on this day. You could almost taste the country continuing its rapid growth.

Shanghai Smoggy Skyline

At the start there was no corralling so I stood near the start line with other runners, and those who I would refer to as fast walkers.  When the gun went off the first kilometer was spent navigating around the walkers and those who could not quite finish the first kilometer. 

New Balance Jinqiao 8K Road Race

During the next 5 kilometers of the race, I was able to find my stride.  At around 6K, the full impact of the pollution started to take its toll (or was it the wine the night before?), and I was really struggling despite the flat course.  I managed to cross the finish line where I was handed a 54th place card for the men.

After the race there was the usual Chinese Lucky Draw and a hot dog eating contest.  I asked a few local experts how they kept up with their running and they said it was very hard with a lot of miles on the treadmill, especially when the air is really bad.  I'll try to remember those words and my experience if I'm ever tempted to complain about the heat and humidity running in bucolic Central Park this summer!

Mike C.