Marathon has become a new favorite activity in most major Chinese cities. Tens of thousands of people, including a number of foreigners like me, participate in these races. Each race holds local colors and symbols of a particular city, which has made the marathon a platform to showcase the pride and identity of the city. Every city competes with other cities to make its marathon grander and achieve more records every year.

Last October 26, I participated in the Mengniu Chengdu Marathon, and I was among 35,000 participants. Last year, when I successfully completed the half-marathon, I made a self-determination that this year I will apply for the full marathon. Fortunately, I was selected this year and got the chance to materialize my determination.

Early morning on October 26, when we were walking toward the start-point near the Jinsha site museum, the sky was still dark. Chengdu Metro provided free service for all participants the whole day. By 7:30 am the start-point was full of colorful men and women, ready to reach the end point as soon as possible. They were ready to run to make another memorable record of their life. Once the gun went off, we started running on wide roads, made completely vacant for the race. We were passing through the major sites and places of Chengdu and at every short distance local young and old people were cheering us, shouting-"Come on!" Actually those cheers were really "adding oil to runners' feet." At many spots artists were singing and dancing, playing musical instruments to add energy. It was not only encouraging the participants but also underlining the whole-hearted support of local people for the marathon. Even small children were standing on the roadside, holding Chinese national flags to make us stronger.

Running 42.195 km is not an easy feat for a non-athlete like me. Definitely, will power is the only thing that can make us succeed in such a difficult race. I was certainly not running to beat any other participants but to win over myself. Therefore, I was running calmly, enjoying the lively atmosphere all around, listening to the cheering, drum banging, music and local performances. As we were passing the new areas of Chengdu, I was looking at the uniquely designed skyscrapers. As Chengdu is the city of parks, I was enjoying the beautiful parks, river and lakes on the way to the final destination.

Volunteers were serving water, cold drinks, fruits and other light foods at the rehydrating points. Their efforts made our race easier. Rehydrating at every certain distance made us continue running. Hundreds of health workers were making us stronger to complete the race.

I saw many different types of people running together. One 75-year-old man was running the 100th marathon and he was running so smoothly. I was unable to keep pace with him. Old ladies full of white hair were enjoying the race without any pressure. When I began feeling tired and my legs started hurting, they encouraged me not to give up. Some people get muscle cramps and other runners were helping them to continue the race. The whole scene made me feel the deep humanity at the event. It was more than a race where people do not compete to win or lose, but rather, many runners were trying to complete the race together. Isn't this the major characteristic of Chinese-style socialism! How eloquently it is reflected in the behavior of Chinese people!

The closer I arrived to the final point, I felt more energetic, though my legs were hurting like fresh wounds. Though legs were suffering, my heart was saying- "Hey! You are going to finish very soon." There was only a beautiful finisher-medal in front of my eyes.

And finally, when I crossed the finish line, I forgot all the pain and hardship. I felt all my pain vanish and my heart was full of happiness and pride. As other participants I clicked some photos with the background of the finisher's gate. When I got the medal, I hanged it on my neck and made a call to my family to share the moment.

Moreover, for me this year's marathon was more important because I was running for a cause. I wanted to dedicate my participation in the race to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Nepal. Therefore, I was wearing a cap with the national flag of Nepal printed on. That cause made me feel much pride to complete the long-distance race. It's my personal effort to mark the timeless friendly relation between my country Nepal and China. I believe, accumulation of every such tiny efforts can make friendly relation at people's level much durable and deep-rooted. Even a symbolic move can make differences.

Life in Chengdu as a foreign student has always been learning new things and experiencing novel ideas. Running marathon became a part of it. Many friends congratulated me for completing the marathon and my pleasure knew no bound. Running with so many people, supported by so many people made me understand Chinese people and society better and closer. Unity and support of Chinese people is making such events grander and memorable.

Niraj Lawoju is a Nepali student at the Sichuan University School of International Studies.

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