Huaxi Dushi Bao reporter Luo Qin photography Chen Yuxiao
42.195 kilometers, this is the whole distance of a marathon. Do you have the courage to challenge? Many people don’t know that in Chengdu, a woman who is over 40 and is the mother of two children has achieved the World Marathon Grand Slam — — Dream of the world’s top marathon tour.
Her name is Ding Yan. From September 27th, 2015 to April 24th, 2016, she participated in Chicago Marathon, New York Marathon, Tokyo International Marathon, Boston International Marathon and London International Marathon.
On May 29th, 2016, Ding Yan won the six-star medal of "World Marathon Grand Slam" in Jeju Island, making her the third woman in China and the first woman in Sichuan to finish the World Marathon Grand Slam.
On August 8, in a cafe in Chengdu, Ding Yan, smiling, accepted an interview with a reporter from Huaxi Dushi Bao. The topic of the day actually started from the parent-child movement.
attempt
In order to make her son love sports, she led the whole family to ride and taste the sweetness.
8 at 10 am, Chu Qing after the rain. Ding Yan, dressed in a black dress, sits in a corner of a cafe in Shuangnan, Chengdu. She carries with her a few thick albums, which are full of stories and experiences about her family’s cycling trips and her marathon at home and abroad for many years.
"Actually, my contact with running and marathon was very accidental. It can be said that it was for my son at first." As soon as she sat down, Ding Yan opened the chatterbox. Although we met for the second time, this cheerful, warm and generous woman was not unfamiliar and restrained when chatting. She even opened the snacks with her and put them on the plate on the table.
Born in 1974, Ding Yan worked in engineering budget. Because she was busy with her husband’s career, her son was always given to her grandmother when she was born. Because of her busy work, it is difficult for her to accompany her children often, and she always feels guilty in her heart.
In 2012, Ding Yan and her husband’s career had already been on the right track. When she saw her son who was only a junior but was over 1.7 meters tall, she figured that it would be better to take her son to participate in parent-child sports, which would not only exercise, but also temper the will of the doll. Mother and son could also exchange emotions and enhance understanding.
In that summer vacation, Ding Yan took her son to join the parent-child cycling team organized by friends. A group of more than 20 people are parents with dolls. Everyone started from Beijing and rode all the way to Yantai, Shandong, covering more than 900 kilometers and taking more than 10 days.
"In the first day or two, the doll complained bitterly and had a heavy negative mood," Ding Yan recalled, but seeing other children of the same age or younger in the team riding with heavy loads, his son’s competitiveness was aroused, and in the following days, he gradually found the feeling, and the more he rode, the more interested he became. Finally, the group arrived at their destination safely and smoothly.
In this way, Ding Yan and her son fell in love with cycling. In the Spring Festival of 2013, mother and son and their riders went cycling in Sri Lanka. In the Spring Festival of 2014, Ding Yan’s son and the same group of riders went to Sri Lanka again. "Dolls who fall in love with sports have different spirits." Ding Yan said that his son has changed a lot, his body is stronger, and he is more generous with strangers.
It’s not just her son who changed. Ding Yan also fell in love with sports in this process, and gradually tasted the sweetness — — She found herself in good shape and lost weight, and all her friends thought she was much younger.
In the summer vacation of 2014, Ding Yan took her husband and son to the UK. After a 21-day cycling, she felt that cycling could no longer satisfy her. "We should find a sport that can be adhered to for a long time and make sports a habit."
fascinated
It is a pleasure for her to fall in love with running marathon in her late 40 s
Under the introduction of a friend, Ding Yan joined a running friend group in Chengdu. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, she will meet with her running friends in Jincheng Lake and run in the night.
Through the running friends team, Ding Yan met Ha Ge, a well-known outdoor sports enthusiast in Chengdu. This opened a new door for her who became a monk halfway and fell in love with running when she was nearly 40 years old.
"At that time, I realized that running requires professional knowledge, and I also learned about marathon running for the first time." In Ding Yan’s view, the marathon is a professional athlete’s business, and she never thought that she could participate. Under the "fudge" of Hage, she learned that the threshold of marathon is not high, and she only needs to persist in training to have opportunities, and signing up for marathon can also make her usual running training more motivated.
On November 9, 2014, the Xichang Marathon Half Race was Ding Yan’s first marathon. It took less than two months from registration to competition, but with the encouragement of runners, Ding Yan, who can usually run for 12 kilometers without stopping, successfully completed the half-horse. On November 29th, Ding Yan participated in the Chengdu Xinchuan Cup Half Marathon Charity Run. In January 2015, Ding Yan ushered in the first all-horse in her life — — Xiamen International Marathon finished in 4 hours and 19 minutes.
Japan Kyoto Marathon, Hong Kong Lantau Cross Country Race, Chongqing International Marathon, Dujiangyan Double Heritage Marathon, Beijing International Marathon, Sweden Gothenburg Half Marathon and Singapore Sunset Marathon. From March to July, 2015, Ding Yan participated in and completed the above events in less than half a year. She fell in love with the marathon like a demon. In the eyes of ordinary people, the marathon is very boring and tests endurance and perseverance. In her eyes, every second is enjoyment.
challenge
Test the Water Berlin Marathon and Start the Six Grand Slam Marathon Tour.
The more you run, the more you love it. The more you run, the more obsessed you are. Ding Yan’s love for marathon has gradually become fanatical. Through the introduction of runners, she came up with the idea of challenging the world’s top marathons, and with the help of professional organizations, she signed up for the Berlin Marathon in Germany and started the six Grand Slam marathons in the world.
On September 27th, 2015, just seven days after running the Beijing International Marathon, Ding Yan stood behind the Brandenburg Gate, the starting point of the Berlin Marathon. With the cheers and cheers of people on both sides of the track, she took a step and began to run rhythmically. She ran well in the first half, but when she reached 23 kilometers, she felt more and more laborious, her pace became heavy and her speed became slower and slower.
In this way, when she struggled to run for about 28 kilometers, an old woman with silver hair and a cross-country water bag appeared in front of her. "The old man’s pace is even and his breathing is very rhythmic. Driven by her, I adjusted my breathing rhythm and started running again." Ding Yan said that on the way, she communicated with her grandmother in simple English. I learned that this old man named Georgie Hamilton is from London, England, and her daughter lives in Berlin. Her job is to coach the European celebrity swimming competition.
Running 38 kilometers away, just beside the hotel, Ding Yan kept searching among the audience on the roadside, hoping that her relatives would appear in front of her. There seems to be telepathy, and she soon saw her little daughter and her family Xiaomei in the crowd. She stopped to approach her daughter, and the mother and daughter gave a deep hug. The 4-year-old daughter was so excited that she held her mother and refused to let go.
"I really want to run the whole course with my daughter, but there are still more than 4 kilometers to reach the finish line. I really have no physical strength." Ding Yan reluctantly gave her daughter to her family, continued to return to the team, and rushed to the finish line, and finally completed the first show of the six Grand Slam marathons in 4 hours, 29 minutes and 01 seconds.
achievement
The British old lady who finished six Grand Slams became her inspirational role model.
On October 11, 2015, the Chicago Marathon was held in the United States. With the cheers of enthusiastic people along the way, Ding Yan successfully ran through the finish line, and the result was fixed at 4 hours, 35 minutes and 24 seconds. On November 1st, she completed the New York Marathon in 4 hours, 34 minutes and 20 seconds.
In February 2016, Ding Yan ushered in the fourth stop of her Grand Slam — — Tokyo International Marathon, Japan. She made up her mind that she couldn’t leave her regret because of injury. It was also at this stop that she set the goal of running the world’s six Grand Slam marathons within one year.
Because there were many broken roads near the finish line, she had to walk and run, and when the finish line appeared in front of her, she couldn’t help but wet her eyes with tears.
On April 18th and 24th, 2016, Ding Yan completed the Boston International Marathon and the London International Marathon, respectively, and completed her dream of running the six Grand Slam marathons in the world. It is worth mentioning that in London, she reunited with the old British lady Georgie Hamilton. This old man who still loves sports has become Ding Yan’s idol and role model.
has some knowledge of
World Marathon Grand Slam
There are four Grand Slams in tennis and six Grand Slams in marathon. The World Marathon Grand Slam is the world’s top marathon tour. It was established in 2006, including the five most influential marathons in the world, including London, Berlin and Boston, Chicago and new york. Since 2013, the Tokyo Marathon has been added.
thoughts expressed in words
Won the "Grand Slam" six-star medal.
The marathon will not stop.
On May 29th, 2016, in Jeju Island, South Korea, Ding Yan received her own "World Marathon Grand Slam" six-star medal. It is understood that only runners who have completed the "World Marathon Grand Slam" can get this six-star medal by applying to the World Marathon Grand Slam organization and verifying it. On the same day, Ding Yan’s husband and children in China were not idle. They participated in the parent-child run in Chengdu Jincheng Lake, and their daughter also showed her father how to warm up before running. She said that these were all learned while running with her mother.
Nowadays, Ding Yan’s life is inseparable from running. She took her family to love sports and enriched her life. She said with a smile that she was busy with her career, and she was very insecure when she got fat. She even avoided taking pictures. Later, she fell in love with running, and her body was healthy. People were more sunny and cheerful, and so were children. She loved sports at an early age. My 5-year-old daughter, my 16-year-old son and her busy husband will follow her to exercise and run whenever they have time.
"My marathon trip will not stop. I have planned the Chicago Marathon in October this year and the Hawaii Marathon in December. Achievements are not important. Thanks to sports, I am closer to my family and my life is richer and more fun. " Speaking of her fate with the marathon, Ding Yan is still unfinished.
