Shanghai Running Magazine Volume 3 | Page 11

see in second or third-tier Chinese
cities. Upon entry it became clear
that it was at best a three-star hotel,
albeit one with a bizarre collection
of amenities. The hotel featured a
microbrewery, karaoke club, billiards,
virtual golf machine, multiple shops,
bar and swimming pool. Rooms were
dated but functional and amazingly
featured BBC News 24. All electronic
appliances or perceivable brands
were Chinese. Guards stood outside
the front of the hotel to prevent us
leaving but largely we were left to our
devices once inside hotel.
Dinner was an underwhelming selection of re-heated food. Male waiting
staff were stiffly bow-tied in white
dinner jackets while women wore
traditional Korean dresses. Service
was robotic, any request for personalisation was normally met with a
resentful stare. Another bottle of water, stare. Change seats, stare. Given
we were running the next day I asked
for an additional bowl of rice and the

waiter stared so ferociously at me
that I got the impression I’d taken it
directly out of his child’s mouth. Not
impossible given regime.
I was up at six on the day of the race,
the sun was shining through a haze
of smog, which I soon realised was
no doubt partly due to the coal-powered power station in the middle of
the city. Arriving at the stadium we
saw thousands of people pouring in.
Nearly all of them were wearing a
dreary selection of Mao suits from
a muddy palette of brown, black or
navy blue.
We were given more briefings, and
then the runners, including more
than 200 international amateurs,
marched in something resembling
unison into the stadium, heaving
with people. At this point I started
to realize how ridiculous the situation was: a motley collection of
international tourists from across
Asia, Europe and the States parading

© Shanghai Running 2014

around an essentially Olympic-scale
event. Most people fell enthusiastically into their new role, waving
to the crowds, who in turn gladly
reciprocated.
After reaching the centre of stadium
we listened to a speech in Korean
from the Minister of Sports opening
the event before having to bow to
giant posters of Kim Il-sung and Kim
Jong-il. Following that a brief stretch
and we gathered on the start line,
international professionals, Korean
runners and international amateurs
all jostling for position. After a false
start, because a football team kicked
a ball into a professional runner’s
face, the gun went off and everyone
streamed out of the stadium.
The Korean runners were dressed in
sports kit straight out of the 1980s.
Most of them seemed to be wearing
skimpy shorts with basic running
flats. Despite this apparent handicap
they were fast. Outside of the elite

11