By Li Nan · 2019-01-10 · Source: NO. 3 JANUARY 17, 2019
The Xiamen Marathon in southeast China s Fujian Province draws 28,208 participants on January 6 (COURTESY PHOTO)
Ye Wei has been off to a running start in 2019, literally. The 35-year-old, who works at a state-owned enterprise (SOE), came 12th among Chinese runners at the 2019 Xiamen Marathon on January 6, clocking his personal best of 2:29. It showed how much his physical fitness has improved. The first time he took part in 2003, he couldn t even finish the run. I reached the end by taking the aid car, Ye said. But 16 years of persistence has made him the best marathoner in Xiamen, the coastal city in southeast China s Fujian Province. Ye attributed his improved performance to persistent training and a newly introduced system in the marathon, the wave start. It is a staggered start in which the top-seeded runners get off first, with the rest following in two waves. The wave start allowed me to run with pe