First-generation runner witnesses evolution of China's marathon over 4 decades

Winning the championship in her first full marathon, Luo has been fascinated by marathons since then. "It's not that I chose the marathon, but the marathon took me in. It gave me peace and a sense of belonging," Luo said.

Continuous fatigue from racing, coupled with a lack of scientific training and nutritional care, led to various degrees of sports injuries in different parts of her body. Once, she fell from a pull-up bar at school, fracturing her knee joint, which almost ended her athletic pursuit.

She still insisted on running, but she had to reduce the frequency of marathons and later could only run half-marathons, 10 kilometers, and 5 kilometers.

As she grew older, Luo was involved in the organization and service work of marathon events. Now, at 68 years old, Luo no longer participates in official competitions, but she still loves sports and is active in various fitness organizations and sports associations in Tianjin.

At the Tianjin Marathon 2024 held on Sunday, Luo was busy organizing cultural performances and cheering squad, being the recommender of the event on livestreaming.

She marveled at the rapid changes and developments in China's marathon events over the past 40 years.

In 1981, Tianjin Marathon had only 165 participants, but this year it has reached 30,000, with the number of registrants exceeding 120,000.