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Yangcheng Half Marathon 2025

The Yangcheng Half Marathon proved to be an great day out for the Suzhou Striders. The slight chill and drizzle may have added a bit of spice to the proceedings with a sometimes slippy surface underfoot, but the heavy rain held off, allowing the runners to focus on some cracking performances.
Leading the pack for the Striders was baitang bullet ZP who blazed through the course in an incredible 1:19:02. Super fast lady runner Maxine delivered an equally stellar performance, finishing in 1:27:27—a personal best for her, cementing her reputation as a local running superstar.
Joe Welsh ran an excellent race, clocking in at 1:21:57. Although it wasn’t a personal best for him—he holds a sub-1:20 record from around six years ago—it was his second-fastest half marathon and his best time in his current category of not-quite-a-youngster-anymore.
For speedy Swede Daniel, the day was particularly special, as he completed his very first half marathon in 1:36:10—a personal best and a significant milestone in his running journey. Singaporean artist-athlete Lawrence, narrowly missed the mark chasing his PB, finishing in a solid 1:41:09. His effort, however, remains admirable, reflecting the dedication he poured into his preparations over the proceeding weeks and months. Chris, another dedicated runner, often spotted putting in extra laps around Baitang Park early in the morning, saw his hard work pay off as he finished in 1:41:52.
Paul Craig, seasoned veteran of track, trail and tarmac, delivered a strong performance with a time of 1:43:45, adding another solid finish to his impressive and lengthy running career. Ludo, the cultured Frenchman, brought his flair and determination to the race, crossing the line in a time of 1:49:09. Close on his heels were fighting Angus, who finished with a chip time of 1:49:02, and B, who completed the course in 1:49:14.
Yue Zhenhua marked his debut in the half marathon world with an impressive time of 2:00:53, setting a strong foundation for future races. Normand flew in at 2:01:08 and the ever-determined and consistent Aurora Ma finished her run in 2:08:00, while Ben wrapped up his race in 2:05:00. Coach Michael Nietzel also ran an impressive debut half marathon, caught in the pack at the start but seen flying past the competition from km 7 onward. Stalwart parkrunner Martina demonstrated resilience and spirit, completing the half marathon in 2:32:28 with a strong finish proving a great example to daughter Stella who aced the 5k race inside 25 minutes.
One of the most inspiring stories of the day came from Bree, who finished her very first half marathon despite carrying an injury and walking most of the race from 17k on. She pushed through to cross the finish line in style—a testament to her determination and perseverance. Just in time for the team photo.

Among the 6,000 runners who participated in the event, the Suzhou Striders held their own and put in some solid performances on the day. After the race it was a quick gathering to admire medals and share war stories before escaping the cold for a hot shower and an afternoon nap. Job well done!

March 17, 2025
Suzhou Run for Blue Rotary Run

The Suzhou ‘Run for Blue’ 5k Rotary run took place just a couple of kilometres from my house near Dushu Lake. Starting at 9am on a hot Saturday morning, 20th May 2017. It was nice short race for a good cause, well organized, and a first place finish for me! I took my e-bike and arrived nice and early for the race at around 8am. This gave me plenty of time to warm-up and chat with the other runners. It ended up that some of the guys in the organisation were international students at my university. Mostly from the business school.

the course

Arriving early also meant I could take a look at the other runners as they arrived. It seemed like it wasn’t going to be such a big race with maybe around 50 or so runners. The course was quite familiar, somewhere I’d normally pass through on my training runs. Looking at the map they had I reckoned the course would be short, less than 5k, maybe more like 4 or 4 and a half. About 15 minutes before the start I went to warm up with a jog through the park. Before the race we had an organized warm-up and a description of the course with a run-down of the rules. The course would pass through the park, round the moon bay, half a kilometre along the coast road, and back. Along the way we would have our hands stamped to make sure we didn’t cut any corners. One stamp on the way out, one at the turn around, and two stamps on the way back.

Race shirt

The start of the race was kind-of unceremonious. We gathered around where the race would begin and had a countdown, 5-4-3-2-1- go! After we started moving I hung behind the leader for a few seconds then pushed out in front. I knew the route and figured that I didn’t want to wait in line to get my hand stamped. We moved out of the park, over the bridge, along the lake, and into the moon bay. One kilometre done and I hadn’t looked back yet. It was around 25° Celsius and the sun bright. I kept my pace up around the bay, before moving into the trees and the first stamp. I held out my hand and got stamped to move on to the road and the-turn around. Almost half way and not a punter in sight. I was starting to feel like I might get another race win under my belt.

Splits

I got my hand stamped again at the turn around and crossed the road to retrace my route back to the start. About halfway back along the road I caught sight of the 2nd and 3rd place runners on the other side of the road. I must’ve had about a 3 or 400m lead at this point. I dropped my pace down to around 4:40 minutes per kilometre so I could survive the rest of the race. The legs were starting to tire a bit and I didn’t want to blow my lead. I felt the race was only there to be lost at this point.

Champ!

I picked up my pace at the bay. The end was in sight. Back along the lake, over the bridge, another hand stamp, and into the part for the last 500 meters. I picked up the pace again to around 4:10 minutes per kilometre. Right before the last 100 metres I almost took a wrong turn. I sprinted over the line. 18 minutes 56 second for four and a half kilometres and a first place finish. The second and third place runners arrived about a minute later. The second place guy actually took the wrong turn before the home-straight but the third place runner called him back and waited for them to finish together.

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Winners

After the race we hung around to receive our medals, have some photos taken and watch the salsa dancing. I was well chuffed that I’d managed to win my local race. A great day’s running and a nice medal for the collection. Solid gold I reckon!

February 12, 2018
Lost in Thailand Part 2: 12th Don Bosco Minimarathon 2015

Running in the heat can be tough. For this particular race I was also coming back from injury and dealing with weight issues. It was a humid 25 degrees Celsius and I could still feel my sore foot after a good three months of easing back in, but an old trick picked up from the mountains in Mexico would help me put in a decent race time and pick up a nice trophy as a souvenir of my holiday.

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February 5, 2018
Wuzhong Four Seasons Trail 30k

The Wuzhong Four Seasons 30k would be my first trail race in over a year, and I sure felt it. Just under five hours in the mountains climbing 1,900 meters over 30 kilometres with some leg busting ascents and gnarly downhill. And a good bit of narrow, stony, and downright hazardous trail thrown in just for good measure. A nice challenging race and a great start to the 2018 running calendar.

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January 25, 2018
Lianyungang International Marathon 2017

The most significant factor effecting my performance at the 2017 Lianyungang Xu Wei International Marathon would be the harsh north wind. It made me push out too fast at the start and slowed me right down during the tough middle section. If I ran this one again I would have paced myself better at the start and used the other runners to shelter myself more during the windy mid-section. This time I had a poor race strategy and suffered. Not my worst time ever, but certainly a race to put down to experience more than anything else.

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January 2, 2018
Bicycle camping in Taiwan, Day 5: Guanshan to Hualien

This would be our best day’s cycling yet. Over 100km. Across the tropic of Cancer and out of the rift valley to Hualien on the coast. Moving day and night in the rain to get to the city before catching the train the next morning.

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January 1, 2018
20th Hong Kong International Marathon 2016

There’s no place in the world like Hong Kong. It’s the closest you’ll get to Blade Runner without actually travelling into the future. Formerly a possession of the British Empire, passed back to China in 1997, the place is an eclectic mix of everything that passes through it densely packed into 1,000 squared kilometres, hemmed in by the sea on one side and the mountains on the other. The marathon used to run from Hong Kong to Shenzen but now runs completely within the territory. A lot of the route passes out of the city over bridges and under tunnels so there’s not an awful lot interesting to see. It’s not a particularly fast marathon either, and it rained quite heavily during the 2016 edition, but I managed a half decent time of 3:24:02 and had a very enjoyable trip.

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December 29, 2017
Leicester Marathon 2015

Leicester is a city slap bang in the middle of England about halfway between London and Liverpool, famous for Garry Lineker, Walkers Crisps and Leicester City Football Club. Back in season 2015/16 Leicester City would go on to lift the English Premier League title. My own showing at the Leicester Marathon on the 25th of October 2015 would be somewhat less triumphant, hitting the wall badly around the half way point to hobble home in 3 hours 34 minutes.

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December 29, 2017
Bicycle camping in Taiwan, Day 4: Binmao to Guanshan.

On the fourth day cycling in Taiwan we’d cycle out of Binmao and head north along the coast to Taitung and inland along the rift valley as far as Guanshan. A fairly flat and easy cycle past rice paddies and palm trees in one of the most famous of Taiwan’s indigenous regions. Starting out dry and finishing off in the pouring rain.

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January 15, 2017
Bicycle camping in Taiwan, Day 3: Pingtung County to Minmao

Tuesday was the third day of our Taiwan cycling adventure. This would take us 400 meters high up into the mountains then right back down to sea level before cycling north along the coast and up a river valley to camp in a local hot spring. A lot of climbing and a good distance covered.

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January 8, 2017