In the matter of competing for admission tickets for hobbies, middle-aged men and young people share joys and sorrows.
In the stereotype, most of the hobbies of middle-aged men implement the word "quiet" - fishing for a day, drinking tea, moving their arms at most, and moving their fingers on the strings. But since last year, they have been more fond of "energy-saving mode", only to be frustrated because they didn't win the marathon they wanted to run.
How hard is it to win a marathon? According to reports, the popular Xiamen Marathon and Shanghai Marathon are all six or seven people vying for a place, and the difficulty is close to that of the concert [1][2]. Well, how did the marathon become so popular?
Middle-aged people have fun, Africans earn tickets
used to be a marathon, but it was still in a state of being loved and ignored.
Back in 2012, there were only 33 marathons in the country. In the Beijing Marathon, known as the "national marathon", it took four days for all 30,000 places to be filled [3].
Not only was everyone's enthusiasm not high enough, but it was also relatively difficult to run a marathon at that time - small-scale, having to go through the complex approval process of the local department; Large-scale ones must also be additionally approved in writing by the Chinese Athletics Association [4].
Fortunately, the Chinese Athletics Association cancelled the approval of the marathon event in 2015 [5]. With its low entry threshold, large scale, and ability to showcase the city's style, the marathon has successfully captured the favor of a number of cities, and the number of races has skyrocketed to 993 in 2016, an increase of 641% from 2015, and has continued until 2019 [6].
From Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, to Cangzhou, Zhaoqing and other third-tier cities, they all want to try the water of the marathon [6][7].
And the "number one fan" of the marathon is a middle-aged man. According to the 2019 China Marathon Big Data Analysis Report, nearly three-quarters of marathon runners are male, with the majority being 45-49 years old [6].
Why do they usually bother to help them when the oil bottle is poured at home, but they have become the absolute main force of the horse race outside? Just look at their circle of friends after the race: **Carrying the finisher medal, smiling youthfully, as if returning to the 18-year-old head**, as well as wearing bone conduction headphones, pedaling Nike Adi running shoes, wearing a sports bracelet on the wrist, and a full-body photo with all kinds of equipment, with the text "Self-transcendence, never admit defeat".
It can be said that the marathon satisfies the three wishes of middle-aged men at the same time - the knife is not old, the wealth is rich, and the escape from the family firewood, rice, oil and salt.
Although the middle-aged man ran happily, when it came to the award ceremony, he could only "focus on participation". Almost all of the people who get the prize money on the field are Africans.
Of the 12 most popular marathons in China in 2023, only two were not won by Africans. Like the Shanghai Marathon and the Xiamen Marathon, Africans even directly rounded the top eight in the men's group [8][9].
Unlike middle-aged people who "run for a pleasure", for many African runners, the marathon prize money ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 yuan per marathon is their only economy** 10]. Marathon organizers are also happy to invite African runners to "support the scene" [11].
In the long run, an industrial chain of African horse racing has even been formed - business-minded Chinese see the profit, take the initiative to become marathon brokers, "matching" the event organizers and African runners, once the athlete wins, the agent can take 10%-15% [11].
It is not difficult to understand that Africans come to China to run horses to "make money", but why do Chinese marathon organizers also need Africans?
Marathon, the city's cash cow
In fact, most of the reasons behind the city organizers' choice to "go both ways" with African runners are to improve the level of the marathon.
In the eyes of professional runners, the cityscape and special food are just pluses, and the objective level of the event is the core reason for their registration. The higher the grade, the higher the competition, which means that the competition has passed the official inspection, and often has a better experience and higher participation value.
According to the international standards set by World Athletics, marathon events are rated from lowest to highest as Sign, Elite Sign, Gold Label, and Platinum Label [12].
The Gold Label and Platinum Label marathons are the strongest kings in the division. But in order to be evaluated, the level of participating athletes must not be sloppy.
In the latest standard, gold standard events require five men and five women at the gold level; The Platinum Label event is more stringent and requires three male and female platinum athletes and four male and four gold athletes [12].
The classification of athletes mainly depends on their ranking in the 10,000 meters, road running, and marathon events.
As of February 2024, Africans account for more than 70% of the athletes who meet the criteria in the official World Athletics rankings [13].
This explains the demand for Africans in China's marathon organizers: elite runners, most of whom are themselves Africans, are invited to rate the "support field".
And once the competition obtains the certification and blessing of the gold standard identity, the good days will follow.
On the one hand, a marathon with tens of thousands of people is like a giant mobile billboard. Large enterprises that want to take the opportunity to promote will naturally not easily let go of the great opportunity of title sponsorship.
For example, the 2023 Gold Label Shenzhen Marathon was named after Honor, the runners' uniforms were printed with Li Ning, and the logos of Ping An of China, China Minsheng Bank and other companies were listed on the starting and finishing signs [14]. The frequency of appearances of various famous enterprises is quite high, just like the scene of school recruitment.
On the other hand, marathons and city tours are like a "buy one, get one free" relationship. The Shanghai Marathon, one of the only two platinum label events in China, achieved 4$500 million in tourism revenue [15].
Many participants who came all the way from other places to Shanghai to run horses, the left hand marathon participation manual, the right hand to eat, drink and play check-in guide, the horse race during the day with their feet to measure the Wutong District, and at night do not forget to take a group photo with the "magic capital three-piece suit" on the Bund.
Even if the contestants come and go in a hurry and have no extra time to play, the necessary tickets, air tickets, food, drink and accommodation necessary for the competition in other places are also a big expense.
There is no ambiguity about running a marathon
Seeing that the head event is running hot, many organizers have the illusion of "I can do it" and are eager to try.
Among them, there are many incompetent organizers who try to "confuse the pearls": one or two professionals pull in a few college graduates, take advantage of the east wind of the marathon to attract sponsors, and miss the runners who do not win the popular event, so a "grass platform" marathon is born [16].
But the marathon is the least suitable event to fool.
Just looking at the scale and complexity of the contestants is enough to make many organizers "look at each other". To bring together tens of thousands of people who span the three generations of the old, middle and young generations, and who can "live in the same house" by accident, and then organize them to run dozens of kilometers safe and sound - if you want to do this, it is completely impossible to have some mature experience in running the race.
Not to mention the various services that make people "run well" on top of "running well".
According to the evaluation standards of Chinese marathons, a qualified marathon has requirements from the route, starting and finishing point planning, to the runner service, race temperature and medical rescue, for example, the width of the track should be more than nine meters, and the narrowest should not be less than six meters wide; Drinking stations are prepared with at least 250 ml of water and beverages for each athlete. 17]
Contestants may feel that these standards are just "basics". But it is a huge test for the organizers who have to serve tens of thousands of people and cannot make mistakes.
In the horse runners' complaints, the narrow roads that can't be run, the invisible supplies, and the endless queues can be called their three nightmares.
The competition held by the grass platform team is a little more outrageous, and it has risen to the level of performance art. For example, in a marathon that is not completely closed, the experience is walking side by side with the uncle and aunt who rides the bike, and you have to wait for a red light to cross the road while running.
In addition, many marathon routes pass through the main urban areas, and if the organizers do not make a good announcement, the residents who have been blocked on the road will also suffer: late, detoured, and collapsed citizens who find their doors surrounded when they go out.
If it is said that those who know a city through a marathon are called "city business cards", then what can be blocked by a marathon can only be "urban blood clots".
And the most seriously injured are the middle-aged men with the biggest "running addiction", who failed to draw in good games, suffered from bad games, and were rarely aroused enthusiasm, and as a result, they were greeted with a basin of cold water. I can't help but ask myself, "Will you run next time?" ”