APEC Blue and Beijing Marathon Blue

APEC in Beijing.

What a great idea!

As a new resident to Beijing, I just want to say how much I am truly enjoying the "APEC Blue" weather that we are having this week not to mention the APEC holidays. Before the meeting even started, the world leaders have already tackled the issues of climate change, global warming and green technology in China's capital city, and put the citizens of Beijing all on holiday.

APEC in Beijing. The G20 summit next week will be held in Brisbane, Australia. Is it too late to change the venue to Beijing? I like these APEC blue skies. Maybe the G20 and the United Nations should consider having this grand event in the China's capital city semi-annually, quarterly or even monthly. Local residents can only drive on designated "odd/even license plate days". As I was walking toward the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Beijing, a car zoomed past me emblazoned with "Offiical Asia-Pacific Cooperation Meeting Vehicle". I should have checked his license plate to see if he was driving on the right day of the week.

Why stop at APEC Blue? Let's also have "Beijing Marathon Blue" days.

I was one of the 40,000 runners in the Beijing Marathon and Half Marathon running event three weeks ago. Marathon running is by definition an aerobic activity. "Aerobic" means "requiring oxygen". Yes, we need more oxygen. A lot more oxygen. 42 kilometers of happy, healthy smog-free running would be the ideal for any runner. Surgical masks are intended for an emergency room. All those surgical masks running along in search of a clean-air doctor is a sad sight indeed.

Why not shut down the factories for a day or two prior to the start of the 2015 Beijing Marathon?

About 30 percent of the foreign entrants did not show up for their place at the starting line of the marathon this year. It is pretty easy to guess the reason why. "Beijing Marathon Blue" would be more than good public relations for the city. Lets stop singing the blues. Let's turn the sky to Beijing Marathon Blue.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics are often touted as the greatest Olympics of all time. I attended those Olympics and it is hard to argue against this claim. The extensive preparation leading up to the games, the warmth of the people, the dedication of the army of volunteers impressed visitors worldwide. When I arrived by train from Shandong there were 20 smiling, happy volunteer faces at the station willing to assist me in anyway. It seemed everywhere I went in Beijing during those glorious two weeks, there were 20 smiling, happy faces willing to help me.

I would like to say the same for the Beijing Marathon. The Beijing Marathon has not only a clean-air issue but a safety issue.

The Beijing Marathon has been in existence for 33 years, yet it seemed in many ways like a first go-round. Running and marathoning are booming in China. Runners are coming from all corners of the globe to participate. Why not turn October's Beijing Marathon into a 5-star/ world-class marathon event like the Great Wall Marathon in May?

When I ran the Chicago Marathon many years ago, I ran it in just over four hours. Today, if I was a character in the tortoise-and-hare fable, I would be the tortoise. Little did I know before the last race that now it takes me about four hours just to run a half-marathon. I thought I would complete the Beijing Half Marathon in under three hours. It didn't happen. There were literally hundreds of others like me who kept running/ jogging/ shuffling and walking, wanting to finish. Should some of us never have entered the race? Possibly. Can we blame the air quality on our performances? Partially.

Though the race theoretically "ended" at the magic three hour mark- there was no one to signify the end of the race. We waited at stoplights. We ran around moving cars. We ran three or four extra kilometers as race route signs were taken down or relocated. There was no one at the half-marathon finish line when we arrived. No one. Is it the slow runners' fault? Is the new runners' fault? We can all tell time. Seems to me there should have been mandatory measures in place to end the race exactly at the three-hour mark for safety and security reasons. The marathon runners were supposed to finish the 42-kilometer course in six hours. The half-marathoners and marathoners ran side by side throughout the race. Those who ran too slow were left to fend for themselves.

Runners in Beijing don't need the extra smog and pollution. I heard that 1 million trees in and around Beijing were planted prior to the 2008 Olympics. Looks like another million couldn't hurt. The Beijing Marathon wasn't all bad. There were many potentially fascinating human-interest stories developing before, during and after the race. There were those whose ran in full costume regalia. A man dressed as the Monkey King, a Spartan soldier and the cartoon character Despicable Me all ran along with the runners with or without surgical masks. It would have been interesting to talk to the scores of citizens along the course who waved, cheered and made banners and the hundreds of volunteers. I watched one woman complete the half-marathon while pushing her baby and baby carriage the full 21 kilometers. There were a number of corporate groups who ran for charity, including a group of 20 wearing angels' wings.

Let's have a safe and clean race next year. Here's hoping for blue skies for next year's 2015 Beijing Marathon. whether they are "APEC Blue" or "Beijing Marathon Blue".

Jeff Walsh is a long-distance runner and English teacher at Beijing International Studies University. Walsh has been in China for eight years and is originally from Chicago.