The Hefei Marathon began with 30,000 runners competing on the track

On November 19, in the morning of the early winter, a shot was fired on the shore of Chaohu Lake, and the Hefei Marathon, which had been absent for three years, officially started!

Little known is that China's marathon movement began in Hefei. In 1957, the National Sports Commission held the first marathon test race in Liangyuan Town, Feidong County, becoming the first marathon event in New China. In addition, the New Year's Day cross-country running, as a special way to welcome the new year, has been continued for 63 years in Hefei.

Dedicated service, helping to achieve good results

On November 19th at 8:45, Pan Hong, a runner from Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, appeared near the half marathon finish line. In the end, she ranked first in the women's group of the Hefei Half Marathon with a net time of 75 minutes and 25 seconds.

"The organizers of the Hefei Marathon are very dedicated and have specifically reduced the number of turning points. The audience here is also particularly enthusiastic. I love Hefei!" Pan Hong exclaimed excitedly.

It was due to the good reputation that top domestic marathon elites such as Yin Shunjin, Dong Guojian, Renqingdongzhibu, who won the men's national championships in the last three years, came one after another, making this "Hefei Marathon" a "star race".

For this event, the China Athletics Association appointed nine national-level referees to be present, and the organizing committee selected more than 50 national-level referees from within the province, totaling 327 professional referees.

Various departments ensured a well-coordinated plan: The traffic control department of Hefei City managed the traffic on the roads involved in the event to ensure safety; the public transportation group deployed 70 large capacity buses, opened three free bus lines, and adjusted multiple bus routes; the health system allocated 32 ambulances for the Hefei Marathon, set up 23 medical treatment locations, and dispatched 72 medical staff to be on site...

Focus on details, sports bring charm to the city

The staff of the Hefei Marathon Organizing Committee told reporters that this year's Hefei Marathon and Half Marathon were registered based on the overall carrying capacity of roads, materials, and security before the race, ultimately controlling the scale to around 30,000 people.

How is medical support provided? At the Hefei Marathon finish line in Luogang Park, reporters saw that the only mobile ECMO (artificial lung) ambulance in our province participated in the rescue and support of the Hefei Marathon for the first time. In addition, the Hefei Marathon Organizing Committee also contacted Anhui Acupuncture Hospital, Shuguang Hospital, and Hefei Science Fitness Guidance Center, setting up post-race acupuncture recovery areas at the full marathon and half marathon finish lines respectively. Stretching areas, ice pack areas, etc. were also set up to provide post-race recovery services for the participants.

On the day of the race, about half of the participants came from outside Hefei, including 37 foreign participants. On November 18th, hotels in Binhu New District of Hefei were fully booked, and the Hefei Marathon boosted the city's food, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping, and entertainment.

Reported by Feng Jing

Source: Anhui Daily