The First Female Leading Runner at Soochow University International Ultra-Marathon

The 2016 Soochow University International Ultra-Marathon came to an end on December 4^th, 2016. Ying Shan, from China, ran 241.334 total kilometers and was crowned with the champion of this event, becoming the first female leading runner ever since the first Soochow Ultra-Marathon launched in 1999. Zi-Yu Zhoa, also from China, ran 236.990 total kilometers and came in the second place. Ka-Hei Lam, from Hong Kong, ran 235.200 total kilometers and came in the third place. Taiwanese runners, Ting-Jui Kang and Hsiao-Chun Huang, ran respectively 231.149 and 202.448 total kilometers, broke their personal best records and winning the third places among male and female runners.

The First Female Leading Runner

Ying Shan, from China, had just finished her 24-hour ultra-marathon in Quanzhou in October 2016 and came immediately to participate in this Soochow event. During the race, Shan concentrated on running without much rest and finished the race composedly. Exhausted, yet she smiled every time she passed service stations. She said the volunteers’ supplies and cheers were always a momentum that pushed her to win with spectacular performance.

Third-Time Participant Crowned Champion among Male Runners

The three-time participant Zi-Yu Zhoa, despite his injured legs were not fully healed, still ran with steady pace and continuous encouragement, bringing home the first place among male runners. He praised Soochow University for being a great example that Ultra-Marathon founders could look up, hoping to bring Soochow University experience back to China. Zhoa promised to return to Soochow University Ultra-Marathon in 2017 to gain more experiences.

Obstacles to overcome

This year, the climate change and sports injury brought troubles to many foreign participants. Katalin Nagy, from USA, was the only foreign participant who finished 203.449 total kilometers to win the second place. Another three-time participant Florian Reus, from Germany, didn’t perform well because of his back strains and the high-humidity climate in Taiwan. First-timers, including French participant Ludovic Dilm and Polish participant Andrzej Radzikowski, were heavily affected because of stomach disorders. Japanese participant Yoshikazu Hara also had to quit midway because of relapsed injury.

New Bests of Taiwanese Runners

Great records were made by Taiwanese participants. Six entered the top-ten list of male participants, and three entered the top-five list of female participants. 

A remarkable progress was made by Ting-Jui Kang, who improved drastically from last year’s 214.600 kilometers to this year’s 231.149 kilometers, and won in the third place among male runners. Hsiao-Chun Huang won the third place among female runners with 202.448 kilometers, just after the experienced Chinese runner Ying Shan and American runner Katalin Nagy.

In the press conference later, Ting-Jui Kang said he didn’t have enough time to practice last year, so this year he was fully prepared. Hsiao-Chun Huang said she had stomach aches last year, so this year she conquered physical problems and achieved excellence with confidence and encouragement from passionate cheers.

The Power of Perseverance

Malaysian participant Zhee-Long Cheng, though afflicted with cerebral palsy, made his fifth-time challenge at Soochow University Ultra-Marathon. During pre-game routine check-ups, Cheng jokingly said he gained much weight recently for eating too well. Tense and nervous as usual, his optimistic attitude still fully displayed. During the race, the old injury in his right pelvis started to bother him, forcing him to ask for medical aid several times. Cheng planned to continue the 24-hour race, but the old injury made it impossible for him. Although he failed to achieve his goal of 100 kilometers, he accomplished 79.311 kilometers, which marked him a role model for everyone with his perseverance and determination.

Soochow University Ultra-Marathon has been held for 16 times, and each time was a tremendous challenge and a difficult stage of journey. However, the spirit of perseverance has been handed down from generation to generation. Just as all participants in the race have understood, as long as they run, step by step, they will eventually accomplish their goals.