Feature: China running groups chic under feet

by Xinhua writer Liu Xin

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- In gardens, along the streets, around campus, and inside the gym, joggers have taken hold in China as the race for a modern, healthy lifestyle begins.

But unlike marathon runners, who run for the gold, the exercise has become a social event for Chinese, with huge running groups formed to make it more enjoyable.

Earlier this month, China's online sports news service Sina Sports listed the top 10 running groups according to their size, activity and operating model.

There were a total of 4.54 million runners registered in the selection process and 65 million votes. " A total of 1,009 running groups took part," Sina's Senior Vice President Wei Jianglei, also a runner, said. "They represent the main force of Chinese amateur running."

Wei has been running for 16 years, averaging 50 km a week. He has finished 20 full marathons.

"Running helped me lose 10 kg and made me a more positive person," he said. "I used to suffer hyperlipidemia, high cholesterol and hyperglycemia. Now they have all vanished."

Groups allow members to share experiences and improve the impact of their running. He believes that the ultimate goal of running is not to win against others, but to keep healthy.

Mama Running, a Beijing-based running group with 809 members, is composed of mothers who hope to rebuild their bodies after giving birth.

The group's leader He Xiaoman said they organize runs on their official WeChat account each week. "It's not easy for moms to stick to running since they are busy with children and family affairs," He said. "But we encourage each other to put on the running shoes."

The group also invites members to participate in marathons abroad such as those held in Chicago and Japan's Nagoya.

The first Chinese running groups appeared in 2007 and were supported by sport brands. With amateur runners emerging, the trend quickly spread.

"Most of them gather online and hold spontaneous events each week," Wei said.

They make a potentially dull sport interesting by utilizing smart phone applications.

"We can track our running routes and record our pace and calory consumption," He said.

The information can be uploaded to the Internet and shared with people interested in the sport.

Running is particularly popular among China's wealthy groups.

Hurun Report and China Minsheng Bank surveyed ultra-high net worth individuals last year and found they paid most attention to health management, with running the most popular sport.

Real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi posted a photo of finishing his first marathon in Paris with his wife on April 13 last year.

"The boom of running shows Chinese people's spiritual pursuit as they have enough material basis," Mao Daqing, former Senior Vice President of China Vanke Co., Ltd and a runner of over 20 marathons, said.

"Sports should be more than fashionable, it should boost the strength of the country," some people have acknowledged.

When running becomes more popular among its cities, China is increasingly keeping pace with other major countries in the number of marathons it is hosting.

Four municipalities and 79 cities in 23 Chinese provinces or autonomous regions hosted marathons in 2015, 34 more than in 2014.

In 2015, the Chinese Athletics Association registered 134 marathons, 83 more than the previous year. Nearly 1.5 million runners from about 90 countries competed in last year's events.

The marathon registration becomes so hot that it was even not an easy task for the runners to reserve an entry permit to the marathons.

"It's sometimes harder than booking a train ticket before the Spring Festival," He Xiaoman said.

During the application of Shanghai Marathon in 2014, totally 2.3 million people have to wait for the 18,000 quotas who would be qualified to participate the running. And Beijing Marathon applied the random draw to select the participants.

"At least 200 marathons will be held in China this year," Huang Yi, manager of Chinese marathon organizer Wisdom Sports Group who participated in 35 native marathons, said.

China's running fever has brought sport brands exploring their business in running products. GPS sport watches, compression

leggings and hydration packs are the must-haves for runners.

World sportswear giant Adidas received 1.8 billion yuan income in 2014 in the Greater China region and witnessed double-digit growth for its running category in the past four years. Now the brand is the sponsor of Beijing Marathon and Shanghai Half Marathon.

China first outlined its National Fitness Program in 1995. In 2014, the State Council promoted the program as the national strategy.

According to the statistics released by the General Administration of Sport of China in November last year, 33.9 percent of China's urban and rural residents taking part in physical exercises in 2014, 5.7 percent more than 2007. And 93.8 percent of people above 20-year-old believed that sports was important.