中国的马拉松热

 　　Every weekend morning, the 10-km track in the Olympic Forest Park in the north of Beijing comes alive with athletes and amateur joggers.

　　They embrace the refreshing¹, slightly chilly² morning air and gamely ignore the capital's pollution in their quest for fitness.

　　The young could be said to race with a spring in their step, and some of the older enthusiasts³ stick to a more steady, stoical pace.

　　"There are so many people running here. I don't feel tired when we run together."

　　"I'm getting old, so I run slowly. I feel good after I've run a long distance and sweated a little. I seldom have to go to hospital and take medicines now."

　　中国的马拉松热

　　While some prefer to run in the early morning, a significant number of others run in the evening after they finish a day's work.

　　Tian Jun is a regular night runner in Beijing. He explains how it first started:

　　"I started to run in 2008 for health reasons. I used to be overweight, I had high blood pressure and depression. I run to lose weight and to get rid of some of the stress from work."

　　Tian says he has been transformed from someone who could barely catch his breath after walking round the house to covering distances measuring many kilometers.

　　He adds that running is also a great way of making friends as it's easy to find like-minded people jogging along. Compared with team sports such as badminton or volleyball, running is easy to arrange and it doesn't need a gym or too much equipment.

　　Tian became so impassioned by his new interest that he began inviting⁴ friends to join him on his evening excursions.

　　"We run in a group of 40 to 50 people. It's fairly easy to organize a group of friends to jog along with me. We prefer to run at night because the air quality seems to be better in the evening. Most of all, after you've given your muscles a work-out, it feels so refreshing to take a shower. We also get the best sleep on those nights."

　　Thanks to his regular exercise, Tian has now been able to take part in two Marathons, the Beijing and Xiamen marathons. When he'd run both, Tian said he felt completely rejuvenated⁵.

　　Like Tian Jun, a growing number of people in China's big cities enjoy running a marathon - but it's not just about finishing the race. Runners find many other sources of inspiration.

　　Li Ai is also a marathon fan and a runner. The young lady has a petite figure and used to enjoy an easy lifestyle.

　　"Through running, I get along with myself better, keep up with my life. It even helps me to realize how I'm feeling. A Marathon is a platform on which to show yourself, and to rediscover yourself, and also a place to meet fellow 'marathoners' and share your enjoyment⁶ with them. It's hard, it's tough, but it's awesome⁷."

　　Li believes that while running is a sport, marathon running is an attitude. She says she has been inspired by the words of Andy Burfoot, a famous American Marathoner, who once said: "I have learned that there is no failure in running or in life as long as you keep moving. It's not about speed and gold medals. It's about refusing to be stopped."

　　So far, marathons have been held in all four Chinese municipalities - Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing - and in 34 cities across 17 provinces and autonomous⁸ regions. In the past three years, the number of events has risen by around 10 percent a year.

　　And the phenomenon doesn't look as though it's going to run out of steam any time soon.

　　In 1981, the first International Beijing Marathon attracted a meager⁹ 188 participants, most of them Chinese full-time¹⁰ athletes. Thirty-two years later, the 2013 event boasted a field of 30,000, including about 1,000 non-Chinese, and all the race slots were filled just 13 hours after registration¹¹ opened. Just 1 percent of the runners were professionals.

　　The response has been so positive over the past two years that the Chinese Athletic¹² Association has announced plans to add further events to this year's schedule.

　　According to Zhang Tianwei, a senior media office worker, the Marathon has transformed from an elite¹³ sport into an activity of mass participation¹⁴. And despite the growing number of races and runners, Zhang sees room for more.

　　"Compared with developed countries such as the United States and Japan, there are still fewer Chinese people running marathons. But more and more are taking part and enjoying the benefits of doing it. People are realizing that those who exercise every day are really different from those who don't. So in my opinion, there are bound to be more events in China in the future."

　　Statistics show that as many as 10 percent of Beijing's 21 million population are long-distance runners. So whatever the motivation, whether it's to improve one's physical or mental health, or both--it seems the Marathon trend is going to run... and run.

1 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

2 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

3 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

4 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

5 rejuvenated   

更生的

参考例句：

• He was rejuvenated by new hope. 新的希望又使他充满了活力。
• She looked rejuvenated after plastic surgery. 她做完整形手术后显得年轻了。

6 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

7 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

8 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

9 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

10 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

11 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

12 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

13 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

14 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。