This year, Jinjiang Marathon invited overseas Chinese, compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, as well as members of non-local chambers of commerce, to form 12 “Running Teams of Overseas Chinese Businessmen” comprised of nearly 200 members. Among them, associations in Macao SAR, China, as well as in the United States, Singapore and Thailand formed 4 overseas running teams, while chambers of commerce in Guangdong, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and other places formed 8 domestic running teams.
Compatriots travelled thousands of miles to China for the sake of love and enthusiasm. Zhu Zhongyuan from the Macao Orange Wave-riding Running Team, broke his personal best half marathon record by participating in the marathon in Chinese mainland for the first time. “Previously, my best half marathon record was 1:37 in the Macao Marathon. Today, I achieve the score of 1:33 in the Jinjiang Marathon, which is amazing!” Zhu Zhongyuan also said that the Jinjiang Marathon course was very comfortable for athletes, and there were also many unique performances to enjoy along the way, providing a great experience.
The organizing committee of this year’s Jinjiang Marathon creatively set up a check-in wall for Running Teams of Overseas Chinese Businessmen with the theme of “Love for Jinjiang and Love for Jinjiang Marathon” at the start and finish points of marathon as well as the finish point of health run. Running teams from all over the world brought their unique banners and took photos in front of the wall to capture the exciting moments.
“No matter where we are, we always care about our hometown in our hearts. It is very intimate and warm to participate in Jinjiang Marathon with compatriots in the US. We hope that our hometown can hold more large-scale sports events and make its name of ‘sports city’ spread far and wide.” Lin Qiuyu, the head of the Running Team of the Jinjiang Federation in the United States, said excitedly.
“Thanks for the kind invitation from my hometown. Next year, the Singapore Chin Kang Huay Kuan will definitely organize more people to participate in the Jinjiang Marathon!” Xu Meijing, the head of the Running Team of Singapore Chin Kang Huay Kuan, took a photo of the commemorative plaque of “Running Teams of Overseas Chinese Businessmen” and could not wait to send it to the WeChat group to share with other compatriots. She said that they all thumbed up for Jinjiang Marathon and wished that Jinjiang Marathon would get better and better.