By Ma Yalun, Wang Benlun, Xiangshi Junzi & Su Zhuolin

返灣湖濕地公園鳥瞰圖 A bird view of Fanwan Lake Wetland Park

潛江籍奧運舉重冠軍呂小軍舉著“奔跑中國”城市會旗領(lǐng)跑（蘇卓琳 攝）Lyu Xiaojun, a native of Qianjiang and 2012 Olympic weightlifting champion, takes China” flag (Photo by Su Zhuolin)

The Qianjiang Fanwan Lake Wetland International Marathon kicked off in Qianjiang City of Hubei Province on April 21 of 2018.Enthusiastic runners, countless volunteers, strict traffic control, exciting onlookers and a lively awarding ceremony were just a few of the highlights of the day.As alert participants, we could strongly perceive how influential the event was—and how it would significantly help to promote Qianjiang both at home and abroad, and how this event will contribute heavily to the development of Qianjiang.

A Joint Effort for a Successful Game

To prepare for the first marathon in the city, Qianjiang spared no effort to ensure its success.

A quick online search will tell you a few facts about Qianjiang: It occupies an area of 2004 km2, with a population of a million, of which only about 200,000 to 300,000 people live in the urban area.The marathon race was held within the city’s Fanwan Lake Wetland Park, almost 20 km away from the downtown area.

Accommodations were a huge challenge for the city. To avoid causing inconveniences to participants, organizers and staff visited over 300 hotels in advance to find out their capacity and check up on their facilities. Unqualified hotels were ordered to make rectifications and upgrade their services. Starting on the morning of April 20, runners began to arrive in Qianjiang from all over the world, and checked in hotels. At the end of the event, no complaints on hotel services were filed.

4月21日，“2018潛江返灣湖濕地國際馬拉松”在中國湖北省潛江市舉行。過萬跑友，無數(shù)安保人員，無數(shù)志愿者，熱情的觀眾，緊張的競爭，激動人心的頒獎禮，所有這些似乎和別處的馬拉松賽事沒有太大區(qū)別。然而，作為帶著思考的親歷者，在我們眼中，無論是對國內(nèi)還是對國外，這次潛馬都有著特殊的影響力，對潛江市的對外開放和國際化將起到巨大的推動作用，值得濃重記下一筆。

傾城為潛馬

為辦好潛江歷史上第一次馬拉松，潛江可謂舉全市之力。

上網(wǎng)查一下就知道，潛江是個面積2004平方公里、人口僅百萬的省直管市。以園林辦事處為主體的主城區(qū)，人口也不過二三十萬。這次馬拉松的主賽場設(shè)在潛江市返灣湖國家濕地公園內(nèi)，主會場離中心城區(qū)還有近20公里。

接待壓力是潛江面臨的第一大難題。為了把賽事辦好，不給參賽者造成不便，潛江市政相關(guān)部門，對全市300多家賓館酒店，進(jìn)行接待能力調(diào)查統(tǒng)計，并對酒店和酒店客房存在的問題進(jìn)行全面整改。從20號上午開始，參賽選手陸續(xù)從四面八方趕到潛江，并順利入住各自預(yù)訂的酒店。直到賽事結(jié)束，沒有一例抱怨住宿服務(wù)質(zhì)量的投訴。

由于賽場離主城區(qū)還有一段距離，更因為交通管制，所有私家車輛不得進(jìn)入賽場，賽事相關(guān)人員、參賽選手只能通過400多輛大巴分批到達(dá)賽場。參賽選手和賽事相關(guān)工作人員共15000多人，相當(dāng)一個軍的兵力。這么多人要在5個小時內(nèi)完成轉(zhuǎn)移，其指揮和調(diào)度能力可見一斑。

No private vehicles were allowed to enter the race area for the sake of traffic safety. All participants, staff, volunteers,and runners could only take the official 400 buses to arrive at the starting line. More than 15,000 people had to be transported and scattered into four directions in 5 hours. What a tough task it is to coordinate and cooperate such a huge number of people!

Yet, Qianjiang did it. Soon after checking into our hotel, we received messages from the staff to inform us where and when to get on the bus and the plate number of the bus. At 3 am, we left the hotel for the gathering point. Traffic control had already started and police officers were busy coordinating vehicles. On our way, we saw buses parked at different locations. There were about 8 buses where we were to gather. At 3:30 am, the bus left on time with no delay. When we arrived, the place was a sea of people. We found out later that three groups of people had been transported there before we arrived.

We will never forget that there was a pouring rain the morning we left for the destination.We found out later that the meteorological administration had used cloud seeding in order for the event to be held at the best weather conditions.

At about 6 am, we were informed that all runners had arrived and they should go to their designated gathering points.The movement of over 15,000 people in an orderly and errorless manner was again achieved by Qianjiang people.

Everything went as planned.The onlookers crowded in from towns and villages to the site.CCTV and other media were gathered at interviewing points.I suddenly recalled the afternoon of January 19, when the Hubei Provincial Government held the press conference to announce the marathon in Qianjiang, the leaders of the city, on behalf of all Qianjiang residents, had expressed their excitement about the event—“Finally Qianjiang people can run a marathon in their homeland.” They also promised to showcase Qianjiang’s beauty to people around the world. “We invite everyone to run here, eat crayfish, and experience Qianjiang!” The policemen and security staff hadn’t been home for 2 days. The game finished at 2:30 pm, so they didn’t even have time for lunch.

熱情的觀眾人山人海（何定科 攝） Numerous exciting onlookers (Photo by He Dingke)

然而，潛江做到了。我們剛?cè)胱【频?，對口工作人員的短信就發(fā)過來，告訴我們集合地點、時間和車牌號等。凌晨3點我們離開住地，向集合地點出發(fā)，這時，街上重要路段已經(jīng)實行交通管制，警察不停地指揮著過往車輛。一路上，我們看到很多大型巴士，分停在不同的地方，我們集結(jié)的地方也有七八輛。三點半，大巴準(zhǔn)點出發(fā)，一分鐘也沒耽擱。我們到達(dá)時，現(xiàn)場已是人頭攢動。后來才知道，在我們之前，已經(jīng)有三批人被運送到這里。

臨行前的一場傾盆大雨尤為令人難忘。后來我們才知道，氣象部門為了保障賽事在理想的天氣條件下進(jìn)行，提前進(jìn)行了人工降雨。

六點左右，主持人用喇叭告訴大家，所有參賽選手均已抵達(dá)賽場，并請大家在指定地點集結(jié)。15000多人的轉(zhuǎn)移，高效有序，無一差漏，潛江人又做到了。

一切按計劃順利進(jìn)行。觀眾也從各村各鎮(zhèn)涌到賽場。中央電視臺等各媒體記者們紛紛匯集到指定采訪區(qū)域，從空中到地上，一切都進(jìn)入調(diào)式準(zhǔn)備。寫到這里，想到1月19日下午，在湖北省人民政府新聞發(fā)布廳舉行的潛馬發(fā)布會上，潛江市領(lǐng)導(dǎo)表達(dá)了全市人民的心聲：潛江人終于能在家門口跑馬拉松啦！同時承諾，“讓全國乃至全世界人民看看我們潛江有多美！”“請參賽選手們跑馬拉松、吃小龍蝦，感受潛江風(fēng)情，體驗龍馬精神！”警察和安保人員已經(jīng)兩天沒回家，由于比賽2點半結(jié)束，他們甚至連中餐都來不及吃。

這是潛江人第一次辦如此隆重的國際賽事，他們沒有經(jīng)歷過，一點經(jīng)驗都沒有，憑著敢想敢干敢擔(dān)當(dāng)?shù)臐摻?，全市全民全身心投入，一切考驗都挺過來了。的確令人感動，果然龍馬精神，真了不起。

返灣湖流彩

清晨，一陣暴雨過后，返灣湖濕地公園及其周邊，主會場的音響打破四周的靜謐，湖渠的水面映照著烏蒙蒙的云天，綿延數(shù)公里的水杉在經(jīng)歷雨霧的洗禮之后，抖擻精神，準(zhǔn)備迎接新的一天。燈前翻飛的蝙蝠不見了蹤影，偶爾可以看到一群或三兩只水鳥，從頭頂飛過。返灣湖國家濕地公園具有歷史意義的一天即將開始。

馬拉松比賽現(xiàn)場，彩旗、彩虹棧道、水杉林、溝渠護(hù)坡、觀眾、演職人員的表演、不同顏色服裝的參賽隊員、穿不同顏色服裝的志愿者隊伍、安保人員等等組成各條彩龍，在萬頃田野間游弋。隨著中國中央電視臺向全球直播比賽實況，全世界的馬拉松愛好者都將目光投向這里。

潛江，擁湖而美，因江而名。境內(nèi)江湖相連，似乎只要一轉(zhuǎn)身，就能與江湖之美撞個滿懷。返灣湖是這些湖泊的代表，匯集潛江所有湖泊之美。

大約六年前，我采訪過返灣湖。記得湖中有個小島，島上還有個小湖，湖上有亭，宛若仙境。我女兒聽說湖中有野菱角，非拉著我?guī)脴渲撇?。水鳥在蘆葦蕩里穿行，白色的居多，也有灰色的、棕色的、黑色的，它們偶爾落在葦梢，輕盈飄逸，自由自在，羨煞游客。我還看過“接天蓮葉無窮碧，映日荷花別樣紅”的盛景，至今仍鮮活地閃現(xiàn)在眼簾。

Cheering onlookers (Photo by Chen Mengyun) 加油（陳孟云 攝）

This was the first time for Qianjiang to host such an international sports event.The city had no experience,but their confidence and spirit in confronting challenges was palpable. Every citizen played a part and all difficulties were overcome. It was touching how they collaborated as one and achieved success.

The Beauty of Fanwan Lake

Dawn came with a torrential downpour. The loud speaker at the site broke the silence of the morning at Fanwan Lake Wetland Park. The lake reflected the clouds in the sky. The redwoods were washed and stood refreshed by the rain, welcoming a new day.Bats disappeared while birds surfed the sky. A historical day for Fanwan Lake Wetland Park was unveiled.

The marathon site was an ocean of colors: the flags, the rainbow walking path, the redwoods, the riverbanks, the onlookers, the performances,the runners in costumes, the volunteers in their own outfits,and the security staff… CCTV broadcasted the event live to a worldwide audience of marathon lovers.

Qianjiang is named after the river it is on and is known for its lakes. The river and lakes intersect each other, and beautiful water views await at every corner.Fanwan Lake is the most famous and representative among all the lakes in Qianjiang.

About six years ago, I covered a report on Fanwan Lake. I remembered there was an island in the middle of the lake, above which, a pavilion stood. It was a fairyland. My daughter heard about the wild water chestnuts growing in the lake and insisted on picking them up with tree branches. Birds, most of them white mixed with some grey, as well as brown and black ones,flew through reeds, occasionally making stops on top of the reeds.Such grace and freedom made us jealous. On summer days, endless lotus leaves were like a huge green carpet linking the lake to the sky,and lotus flowers in sunshine are typically beautiful. I could see the view vividly through my mind’s eye.

Female champion reaching the finish line (Photo by He Dingke)女子冠軍到達(dá)終點（何定科 攝）

Friends told me Fanwan Lake was no longer the same as before. A few decades ago, locals started filling up the lake in order to create more farmlands. The lake once shrank to about 5 km2.However, in recent years, the Qianjiang Municipal Government has adhered to the principle of sustainable development and has given priority to the protection and restoration of its wetlands.The Fanwan Lake restoration projects have been carried out—some farmlands were restored to lake, fishermen’s houses were relocated, and fishing nets were taken out. The area of wetlands was enlarged to 13 km2. The Ecological system was also improved, with fish and shrimp species re-introduced, and over 20,000 birds of different species returned. Last year, photography lovers came here to shoot baer’s pochard, a critically endangered type of duck.

朋友介紹說，返灣湖大變樣了。上世紀(jì)，由于大面積圍湖造田，返灣湖面積曾一度縮小到7000畝。近些年，潛江市堅持綠色環(huán)保的發(fā)展理念，高度重視濕地保護(hù)與修復(fù)，對返灣湖實施濕地生態(tài)修復(fù)工程，通過退田還湖、漁民搬遷、水上拆圍等措施，擴大濕地面積到2萬畝，改進(jìn)生態(tài)，魚蝦資源逐漸恢復(fù)，鳥類種群數(shù)量已增加到2萬多只。去年，攝影愛好者還拍到世界極危動物青頭潛鴨。

多維度品味

潛馬更多的不同，要通過身臨其境的人，用眼睛、鼻子、耳朵、舌尖甚至全身心去感受。參加潛馬的人一定會有共同的感受，潛馬之旅，不僅僅是運動之旅，更是文化之旅、美食之旅、觀光之旅和休閑之旅。

由中國田徑協(xié)會和中國中央電視體育頻道聯(lián)合主辦、智美體育集團(tuán)獨家運營的“奔跑中國”馬拉松系列賽的重要一站——中國首屆鄉(xiāng)村濕地馬拉松將在這里舉行。潛江馬拉松是繼省會城市武漢之后，該項系列賽事的第五站。

剛剛跑過或經(jīng)歷過漢馬的人，跑潛馬的感覺是特殊的。環(huán)境是最大的不同。這里的鄉(xiāng)間賽道，兩邊都是綠樹和田野；這里的空氣更加純凈，富含負(fù)氧離子，還帶著泥土的芬芳和魚蝦的腥味。一路清草野花，讓運動員心情舒暢，耐力倍增。會場主持人稱這次馬拉松為“綠色生態(tài)的馬拉松”。

一周之前，在中國西南部城市昆明，“美麗中國”馬拉松系列賽第一站的比賽剛剛結(jié)束，本次潛江返灣湖濕地馬拉松，也是“美麗中國”系列賽的第二站。能夠排在世界有名的春城之后作為“美麗中國”系列的潛江，為此感到自豪，這足以說明，潛江的美是全國公認(rèn)的。

Kelai John Ekiru, male champion in full marathon, after crossing the finish line (Photo by He Dingke) 全馬男子第一克拉義沖過終點后百感交集（何定科 攝）

至于舌尖上的感覺，當(dāng)然要數(shù)潛江小龍蝦。一陣奮力的奔跑下來，約上隊友，來一盆油燜的、一盆蒜蓉的、一盆清蒸的……，和著美酒下肚，美美睡上一覺，其樂也哉！醒來之后，再去曹禺公園和曹禺紀(jì)念館參觀，領(lǐng)略一番“東方莎士比亞”的風(fēng)采，了解些花鼓戲、皮影戲等非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)方面的知識，你就會感覺到潛江的文化自覺和精致。

這次參加潛馬的國際選手多來自肯尼亞、埃塞俄比亞、烏干達(dá)等非洲國家，他們幾乎囊括本次比賽的男女前三。在問到他們對這個城市的感覺時，他們幾乎異口同聲，潛江太美了，跑在這樣的賽道上非常輕松。

Marathon runners (Photo by Ma Yalun)選手風(fēng)采（馬亞倫 攝）

希望讀者看過報道后，會產(chǎn)生對潛江的向往，來這座水鄉(xiāng)園林之城，感受2500年大楚文化，嘬一回小龍蝦，當(dāng)然，還要到返灣湖國家濕地公園去觀鳥、賞蓮、吃螃蟹……◆

Tasting Qianjiang

The Qianjiang Marathon was much more than just a sports match. Participants had a full taste of it through their eyes,noses, ears, and tongues. The marathon was less a journey of sports than a journey of culture,cuisine, sightseeing, and leisure.

Co-organized by the Chinese Athletics Association and the CCTV Sports Channel, and solo operated by Wisdom Sports, the Qianjiang Marathon was the first marathon race taking place in a rural wetland. It was also the fifth event in a series of “Running China” events, after the Wuhan Marathon.

Runners who had just participated in the Wuhan Marathon would have had a different experience in Qianjiang.Here, the routes were village paths—different from asphalt roads. Along the route were green trees and fishy farmlands. The air,full of oxygen and muddy odor,smelled more pure, which boostedrunners’ stamina. No doubt the host of the marathon could not help dubbing it an “ecological marathon.”

Dragon dance (Photo by Su Zhuolin)大龍舞起來（蘇卓琳 攝 ）

Wide-angle lens (Photo by Ma Yalun)廣角鏡（馬亞倫 攝）

A week ago, Kunming, the “City of Spring” in southwestern China,hosted the first event in the“Amazing China Eco-Marathon Series.” The Qianjiang Fanwan Lake Wetland Marathon was the second one. The people of Qianjiang were proud that they could parallel Kunming,which is a token of recognition of Qianjiang’s beauty across the country.

As for tasting Qianjiang, the crayfish was the first option. After strenuous running, runners met together and ordered crayfish in different cooking styles: stewed,stir fried, steamed… What a good life it was to eat the delicious food with a couple of drinks before going for a nice sleep. The next morning, runners could pay a visit to Cao Yu Park and Cao Yu Museum to learn more about Cao Yu, who is widely recognized as the Shakespeare of the East.Visitors could also learn about flower drum opera and shadow plays, in which Qianjiang’s local culture specializes.

The foreign runners in the Qianjiang Marathon mostly came from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda,and other African countries. They garnered the top three spots for both men and women. When we interviewed them about the event, they all said Qianjiang was beautiful and that they enjoyed it very much.

I sincerely hope this report will arouse further curiosity about Qianjiang on the parts of our readers. I invite all to visit this city of crayfish, rice, and water gardens, to experience a 2500 year-old culture. So come watch birds, see lotus flowers, and eat crabs in Fanwan Wetland Park…◆