An aerial view of participants yesterday morning along Shennan Boulevard. Liu Chaolin
Thomas Royet from France shows his medal after completing the race yesterday. Xu Shuntian
Thomas Royet bought a pair of running shoes three years ago, hoping to run a race; however, he didn’t expect that yesterday would be the first time to wear them for the HONOR • Shenzhen Marathon 2022, and he ran so intensely that he didn’t realize the shoes had worn out until he crossed the half marathon finish line.
“My shoes are almost dead after running 21 kilometers. I bought them three years ago at the price of 2,100 yuan (US$306), so 100 yuan per kilometer,” Royet, from France, joked after finishing the race clocking in at one hour, 29 minutes and four seconds. Royet’s friend Richard Howard from the U.K. clocked in at three hours and 36 minutes for his full marathon race.
For the two marathon racers who call Shenzhen their home away from home, it was exciting to run the Shenzhen Marathon again after three years’ hiatus due to the pandemic, especially when running in their home city.
“There’s nothing like competing in your home race. It was nice to take part. We’ve had a long wait, but finally the Shenzhen Marathon is back. Everyone is excited because suddenly we have this chance to run in our home city, and feel the love of the crowd, your friends and colleagues that gives you that extra support of a home race,” said Howard, who ran the Shenzhen Marathon in 2018 and 2019.
Royet is an executive at a French company in Shenzhen and has been living in the city for 17 years. He hasn’t missed a race since he started running the Shenzhen Marathon in 2015. Royet achieved his half marathon personal best clocking in at one hour and 18 minutes in 2019. As an old hand in the Shenzhen Marathon, Royet enjoys running each time and has given the event a thumbs-up. “For me, Shenzhen is my home. I’ve been here for 17 years, so it’s like running at home,” he said. “The event is very well organized and smooth. We started from the Civic Center and finished at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center, which are places I often go to.”
In order to better prepare for this year’s marathon and achieve their goals, the two runners did their best in daily running and strength training. Royet told Shenzhen Daily that he did running and physical training five or six times a week, which featured a 12-week-long training program and workouts with circuit, cardio and resistance trainings.
The two runners see Shenzhen as a perfect city for running and sports in general, thanks to its weather, landscape and first-class sports facilities. “Shenzhen is like a runner’s paradise. For example, the beautiful Shenzhen Bay is long enough to train for long distance. You’ve got world-class facilities for workouts in stadiums as well. If you want to challenge yourself, you can go to Nanshan Mountain or Tang-lang Mountain,” Howard said.
“What I like the most about Shenzhen is the weather. It’s warm almost all year round, so there is nothing to stop you from exercising,” Royet said.
Running marathons brings runners a healthy lifestyle and takes them to different cities around the world. Over the past years, Royet has run 32 half marathons and 22 full marathons in different countries. He also did a 100-kilometer challenge in the desert twice. “I went to the Czech Republic, Paris, Morocco, Cambodia and Thailand. I like traveling and enjoy local food wherever I run,” he said.
Meanwhile, Howard also participated in dozens of marathons in China and abroad, including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2018, London Marathon 2019, 2021 Xi’an Marathon, and Macao International Marathon 2022.
Since most international borders have opened, the two runners have ambitious marathon plans this year.
“Now that the borders are open, it’s such great news. We can travel again. Now I’m just watching which race to join and I just want to register for all of them,” Royet said excitedly.
Howard revealed that after the Shenzhen Marathon, he plans to go to Seoul in March and to Paris in April. Then he will travel to Chicago in October to complete his third major marathon and then finish his season in New York in November.