Yang Xiuyun (left) runs along the Gan River. (Photo courtesy of Yang Shuyun)
A 72-year-old Chinese marathon runner enjoys life as a race against time.
Nanchang, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — Yang Shuyun, 72, is addicted to running. Her 10km run in the morning is like her first meal of the day for her.
Before retiring, Yang was a breeder at Chaoyang Pioneer Farm in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, East China. He didn’t know what a marathon was at the time, but now he has run nearly 40 marathons not only in China, but also in Helsinki, Finland.
“Life is like a marathon. It’s a race against time,” said Yang, who has been running consistently for 22 years. The old lady has short hair and speaks as fast as she runs.
Yang was suffering from kidney stones when she retired. Her doctor said that if she didn’t have surgery, she could only recover by taking her medicine and exercising.At the time, Yang was able to walk along the Gan River, no matter how windy or rainy it was. I often saw people running around.
One morning Jan went for a walk and again met this group of runners running together and cheering each other on. Seeing her envious look in her Yang, her runner warmly invited her.
“At first, I was worried that I might drag these young people down, but they took me in very enthusiastically.” , The distance Yang measured with his feet became longer and longer. At the same time, she also met a group of friendly runners.
“There are older runners, but most of them are much younger than me. They call me ‘Sister Yang,’ which is a younger name,” Yang said with a smile. Now she feels empty when she doesn’t see her runner friends for days on end.
Yang Xiuyun (M) and fellow Chinese participants pose for a photo before the 2019 Helsinki Marathon (Photo credit: Yang Xiuyun)
Daily running has also changed Yang’s body and mind. To her doctor’s surprise, her kidney stones, which were initially the size of broad beans, disappeared after several years of running.
Yang worked in a noisy and messy environment for a long time and was tired after work, but running changed her. In 2006, Yang joined the Nanchang Long Distance Running Association, where she became one of its first members.
Yang ran the Shanghai Marathon in 2011 but wasn’t satisfied with finishing in five hours. Since then, she found professional running instructional videos to tune her running moves. During her morning exercise, she also had other runners help her correct her posture and find out what she wasn’t doing well.
In 2012, Yang suffered from varicose veins in her right leg and stopped running after surgery. rice field.
Yang qualified for the Hangzhou Marathon in 2016. After her five years of professional training, the 66-year-old ran her four hours and twenty minutes.
“To be able to participate is a victory. As a long-time runner, I understand that running a marathon is not about competing with others, but with yourself,” Yang said.
In 2019 Jan participated in the Helsinki Marathon with his running buddies. “After finishing the whole course, I thought it was great to see so many foreigners showing their thumbs up. We Chinese grandmothers are not only good at square dancing!” Yang sarcastically. said.
On the banks of the Gan River, they continue to push boundaries. In addition to Yang, his 67-year-old Xu Zhiyuan, whose monthly mileage exceeds his 300 kilometers, said he always forgot his age when he was running. Yu Haohua, 72, has been running four times a week for nearly his decade, and his occasionally high blood sugar levels have returned to normal.
Last summer, Yang’s two sons and two grandchildren drove along the river every day, and three generations ran in groups to form a different landscape.
“Now it takes me about an hour and a half to run 10 kilometers. I am slowing down, but I will never stop,” Yang said. ■
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