The Ice Marathon, which began in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 20th century, is a speed skating event that rivals the marathon, but was unfortunately suspended at the end of the century due to local warming. The sport of running long distances on skates has since become a memory, but today it is back on the track. On the morning of the 30th, the first China Jilin Songhuajiang Ice Skating Marathon Challenge and the main venue of the 2024 National Fitness New Year's Greeting were held in Jingyu County, Baishan City, Jilin Province.
On the frozen Songhua River, the runners of the five tracks wore skates, running shoes, snowboards, rowed dragon boats, and rode bicycles, starting together from their respective starting points, and staged a spectacular "project in the same frame", setting off another climax since the beginning of the year for the ice and snow sports in the Northeast. The ice marathon, the century-old ice and snow "pearl" that has fallen silent, why does it shine again in the Songhua River?
On January 30, participants in the skating marathon challenge (drone**) Xinhua News Agency reporter Yan Linyun photo.
A refreshing "ice and snow experience".
This is a one-of-a-kind arena, a first for ice and snow in China. Zhao Weichang, who served as the referee of the event, said that in the Winter Olympics, the longest skating distance in the speed skating event is only 10,000 meters, and the athletes need to be 10 meters in lengthSkating back and forth on the 5-kilometer natural ice track, which is equivalent to a half-marathon distance, is not only the first in China, but also rare in the world.
In the cold winter, the frozen Songhua River is like a giant dragon winding into the distance, the mountains on both sides stand, and the pines and cypresses hang with snow, outlining a beautiful ink painting. On the morning of the 30th, with the sound of the starting gun, more than 7,000 players set off collectively from the river and poured into the vast ice and snow like splashing ink. "The experience was so wonderful! Neither running nor skating had ever had this kind of atmosphere before. Yang Shunqing, a 55-year-old player, said.
I've seen a lot of marathons, but this is the first time I've seen this format. Jilin Ice & Snow is really creative this time! Zhang Yifan, a tourist from Hangzhou, said that this trip to Changbai Mountain was originally only for skiing, taking pictures, and soaking in hot springs, but he did not expect it to coincide with the event, so he added this "branch line" to the itinerary, which felt worthwhile.
The warm and delicate "heart of ice and snow".
On that day, behind the hot words of "the most beautiful natural skating track at 42 degrees north latitude", there was also the "heart of ice and snow" that warmed and meticulously guaranteed the operation of the event.
When holding a large-scale event on a naturally frozen ice, the first thing to rule out is a safety hazard. "Before the event, we conducted a detailed assessment of the risk of the event. Liu Qi, deputy director of the Jilin Provincial Sports Bureau, said that because this is the first time in China to set up such a scale track on the ice of the Songhua River, there is no experience to follow, so the organizers hired experts to explore the ice three times in the stage to confirm that the average thickness of the entire ice layer is 47The construction will be carried out only after 7 cm and the load capacity can reach more than 5 tons.
Competitors in the Snow Bike Marathon Challenge on January 30. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yan Linyun.
The large temperature difference between day and night, the uneven ice surface at the tuyere, and some cracks on the ice surface are as wide as two fingers – these are all obstacles to the operation of speed skating competitions. In order to make the track smooth and smooth, in the past 15 days, outdoor ice workers in Jilin Province have been polishing and maintaining the track day and night, and even the ice resurfacing truck dedicated to the indoor ice rink has been driven to the Songhua River. "It's the flattest outdoor ice I've ever glided on. Jiang Weili, a 45-year-old player from Meihekou, praised after the game.
The hardware is excellent, and the software is warm enough. At the supply station of the track that day, in addition to the regular supplies such as warm pastes, bread, ginger syrup, etc., there is also an iron pot stew of "soul food" in the Northeast winter. A mouthful of cauldrons, wafting with the steaming aroma in the bitterly cold weather, made many players take the initiative to lower their pace to satisfy their hunger. The "easter eggs" in the competition bag also make people's hearts warm - the "black technology" self-heating ice and snow socks produced in Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province, some players sighed: "If you get this pair of Winter Olympics socks, it's worth it if you don't go to the game." ”
A one-of-a-kind "ice and snow puzzle".
Ice and snow sports are sports that focus on intimate interaction with nature. In the Netherlands, a traditional powerhouse of winter sports, an event called "elfstedentocht" began in 1909, whose Chinese name is "Eleven Cities Ice Marathon". It's a 199-kilometre natural ice skating tour that passes through 11 cities. Due to the long distance and arduous process, the event is regarded as a unique and beautiful scenery of global ice sports.
After nearly 30 years of silence due to climate change and other reasons, this classic non-Olympic sport was recreated on the Songhua River in northeast China, and was declared "the largest skating series" by Guinness Commissioner Wu Xiaohong on the day of the competition. "Our goal is not just Guinness. As an important carrying area for 'driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports', Jilin is also determined to create a new event platform to attract more people to participate in it. Mu Dapeng, director of the Jilin Provincial Sports Bureau, said.
On January 30, participants start from the starting point in the Ice Skating Marathon Challenge. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yan Linyun.
At the time of the blowout of the marathon road running event, Jilin collected the puzzle pieces of the "Ice and Snow Marathon" with a unique winter gameplay. The marathon skating event with a long run on skates replays its light in Baishan City; The marathon ski race across the snow field on snowboards has been in bloom in Changchun City for a long time - the Vasaloppet International Ski Festival in Jingyuetan Jingyuetan in Changchun, China has been held for 22 sessions so far. Collecting the puzzle pieces has given Jilin, a major ice and snow sports province, another driving force to promote the high-quality development of the ice and snow economy.
Since then, Baishan City has added a new ice and snow business card. Xie Zhongyan, secretary of the Baishan Municipal Party Committee, said that the event quickly achieved full quota after the registration channel was opened, not only attracting players from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Chongqing and other parts of the country, but also attracting friends from Nigeria, South Africa, Panama and other countries to participate.
*:Xinhua.