(Feature) The running life of Xi Zhanyu, the 63-year old farmer

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CHANGCHUN, May 25 (Xinhua) -- "Xi Zhanyu became the lead runner of the Changchun Marathon!" When the village got the news, people were so excited and went around spreading the news.

Tall and thin, hollow-cheeked, wrinkled, intent and modest eyes. From the outside, Xi Zhanyu, 63 years old, looked no different from other villagers in Taku Village, Mangka Town, Changchun City, Jilin, however, his running exploits have become famous in all the villages around. Despite his old age Xi Zhangyu has became the Marathon pace setter of Changchun International Marathon, much to the acclaim and pride of his village.

17 Marathon events, 430 kilometers on track, Xi Zhanyu has never stopped running from the age of 60, when he first became aware of marathon running. Since then his passion for running marathons has grown. The last three years has seen him take on marathons in Beijing, Harbin, Qinhuangdao as well as managing to fit in a spot of mountain climbing, tackling Tai Mountain, Taihang Mountain and Changbai Mountain, in between marathons.

Xi Zhanyu's passion for running started when he was young. During his youth spent on the farm he would use his time off from work to run and play sports, even borrowing money to organize sports meetings for the village. In 2007, during the build up to the Beijing Olympic Games, Xi Zhanyu took on the mammoth task of running 12,000kms in 16 provinces to promote the games.

Xi Zhanyu excels at running, he regularly achieves first place in over 60 age group half marathons and boasts an impressive best of 1 hour, 28 minutes and 26 seconds at that distance. Describing himself as "talented," he now believes that he has the ability to try out professional competition.

He likes to show off his talent whenever he can. He took part in the marathon in Dalian, Changshan Islands for the first time, and rushed into third place for an early part of the race. Seeing the old man putting his younger peers to shame he was appalled by the fellow runners as well as the spectators. However, the natural show off in Xi Zhanyu came to the fore. Seeing the attention and praise he was receiving, Xi Zhanyu attempted to overtake the front two runners by running backwards.

Unfortunately, like Icarus flying too high to the sun, Xi Zhanyu got his legs crossed and fell over and hit his head. Lying on the ground with stars in his eyes the paramedics rushed of to him and insisted that he visit the hospital, but Xi Zhanyu refused, and vowed to finish the race.

Explaining to the paramedics, that this was his first marathon, his sheer force of will and the all-clear from the medical staff, Xi Zhanyu got up and finished the race.

"My head hurt, my eyes were spent, and I felt my legs were swollen and painful to the touch," Xi Zhanyu revealed. Remembering the experience, Xi Zhanyu took a moment to laugh as he reminisced about how for the rest of the race he had to drag his swollen legs around by pulling up on his shorts. Despite the pain and the injures, Xi Zhanyu showed grit and determination to finish and he eventually crossed the finish line six hours later.

Xi Zhanyu's preparation for his marathon running takes place on the Singhua River. Mangka Town is next to a large dam and his practice route takes him on route that follows the river and across the dam. However, during his preparations in March 2017, a doctor discovered a tumor in his left lung. This was a hard time for Xi Zhanyu, he was facing uncertainty for his own health, while his wife had also been taken sick.

A short time later after some tests the doctors gave Xi Zhanyu the good news that the tumor was only benign and would only require a small surgical procedure. However, his wife passed away during this time. Grief overtook Xi Zhanyu and he refused to have the operation, stating his desire to join his wife.

Yet it was running that saved Xi Zhanyu. When he got home, seeing his wife's pictures on the wall, he felt he still had a lot of things to achieve. "I used running to get through my grief." Xi Zhanyu redoubled his training in the following months. Everyday, Mangka town, to Taku village, across the dam, along the river. 38 minutes, seven kilometers, in sun, wind and rain, Xi Zhanyu gave his training his all.

Pushing himself everyday, Xi Zhanyu pushed through the grief and the pain his loss. He was starting to become happy again. The joy he felt from running, his other lifelong companion, Xi Zhanyu's tumor disappeared.

His reputation with the other villagers expanded and he started to gain quite the local following. Gradually other farmers and villagers began to join him on his runs, it was just like when he was a boy and he had been organising the local sports meetings. Zhao Shumin who was at the same age as Xi Zhanyu was one of his die-hard fans, "We are all farmers, we never thought running could produce fame, the things he did make me adore him from the bottom of my heart."

Now Xi Zhanyu runs everywhere in his wife's flower patterned cotten-padded jacket. Although not typical running attire, and certain villagers have questioned this usual choice, Xi Zhanyu revealed that, "My wife did not go to many places, I go everywhere running marathon, in order to take her to see the world." Now this touching tribute to his wife has become part of his iconic look during his races.

Xi Zhanyu will be leading the race at this year's Changchun International Marathon. On May 26, Xi Zhanyu, sporting his wife's flowery jacket, will be pace setting in the Half Marathon for the first time. In this, the third iteration of the Changchun International Marathon, will boast over 30,000 athletes from 25 countries and regions, however, much of the attention will be on Xi Zhanyu and his extraordinary journey to get to the start line. Enditem

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